I don't understand the tiptronic.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: SFV CA
2008 Black Out C350 Saks Edition / 87 VW GTI
My sister got a C350 and I got to drive it quite often. She let me mess around with the car so the first thing I tried was the tiptronic. In my car, the tiptronic works just the way I want it to (probably becuase I am used to it) and feel like I have a lot of control of the car.
In the C350, however, it feels utterly uncontrollable. I'd be in 6th gear, cruising 65mph and if I floor it down to the point right before the click and the RPM jumps way up and the car went way faster than I expected. Even @ lower speeds, the RPM jumped up a fairly good amount.
I also noticed that it doesn't automatically shift down for me... I didn't really know what was going on, I just put it in D1 and just went up as I would in my car...
But overall, a great car. Not as powerful as my car, but definitely more luxurious feel. The steering is a bit too light for me and made me jerk a little bit on the ramps from turning it a little too much.
In the C350, however, it feels utterly uncontrollable. I'd be in 6th gear, cruising 65mph and if I floor it down to the point right before the click and the RPM jumps way up and the car went way faster than I expected. Even @ lower speeds, the RPM jumped up a fairly good amount.
I also noticed that it doesn't automatically shift down for me... I didn't really know what was going on, I just put it in D1 and just went up as I would in my car...
But overall, a great car. Not as powerful as my car, but definitely more luxurious feel. The steering is a bit too light for me and made me jerk a little bit on the ramps from turning it a little too much.
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From: Southeast
2008 C300 Sport, RWD, US
Speaking of steering, at first it seems that I had to really work at keeping the car on the road. Glance off to the side for a second and I would inadvertantly be drifting into the next lane. Now at over 4,000 miles, it tracks pretty straight.
Out Of Control!!
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From: OC
a quarter mile at a time
Are you guys saying 7G does not rev match when down shifting manually? I haven't been to the twisties yet so there wasn't a need to use the manual mode. But if this is true, it is very disappointing.
The whole point of having a tiptronic is to be in proper gear before the turn so there is no shifting delay when you jab the throttle when exiting a corner, not to engine brake.
The whole point of having a tiptronic is to be in proper gear before the turn so there is no shifting delay when you jab the throttle when exiting a corner, not to engine brake.
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From: San Antonio
2008 C350
Based on this thread I decided to play around with the manual shifting feature last night. It definately will take some getting used to.
When cruising in S mode (I presume it works for C as well), a push to the left will cause it to select the lowest gear possible for that speed and engine speed. That will allow you to step on it if you need to. From there I tried manually shifting through the gears like I do in my Mustang and found that the car lagged between shifts.
Also, the gear manually selected is simply the "max" gear that the car will go in, meaning it will continue to act as an auto tranny up through that gear. Additionally, I do believe that even if you select a max gear, it will shift above that gear if the engine speed gets too high, meaning it won't let you redline the car for too long. For obvious reasons I didn't feel the need to test this one.
Bottom line is that this feature is nice to have, and the former sports car driver in me will use it from time to time, but it is a far cry from a true manual tranny. OK with me though, I wanted an auto and love the smooth shifting 7G tranny, especially in Comfort mode. Still, I would love to try out the C63 and see how responsive that tranny is to manual shifting. Might just drop by the dealer when it arrives in the US.
When cruising in S mode (I presume it works for C as well), a push to the left will cause it to select the lowest gear possible for that speed and engine speed. That will allow you to step on it if you need to. From there I tried manually shifting through the gears like I do in my Mustang and found that the car lagged between shifts.
Also, the gear manually selected is simply the "max" gear that the car will go in, meaning it will continue to act as an auto tranny up through that gear. Additionally, I do believe that even if you select a max gear, it will shift above that gear if the engine speed gets too high, meaning it won't let you redline the car for too long. For obvious reasons I didn't feel the need to test this one.
Bottom line is that this feature is nice to have, and the former sports car driver in me will use it from time to time, but it is a far cry from a true manual tranny. OK with me though, I wanted an auto and love the smooth shifting 7G tranny, especially in Comfort mode. Still, I would love to try out the C63 and see how responsive that tranny is to manual shifting. Might just drop by the dealer when it arrives in the US.
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C300 (W204) w/ MM, P1, & 18"amg's
^ Ya I noticed that the engine speed controls the tranny beyond you command. That has its + & - but i would still like to redline for a second or two at least. That never hurt anyone lol
-Mike
-Mike
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From: OC
a quarter mile at a time
When cruising in S mode (I presume it works for C as well), a push to the left will cause it to select the lowest gear possible for that speed and engine speed. That will allow you to step on it if you need to. From there I tried manually shifting through the gears like I do in my Mustang and found that the car lagged between shifts.
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From: San Antonio
2008 C350
I was travelling at 65, pull and hold left for a second and it dropped straight to 4th and the rpms started to rocket up, when I tapped it right to get into 5th while accelerating. You don't think the car can maintain 75 mph in 5th?
Last edited by MBTex; Dec 5, 2007 at 11:33 AM.
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Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2005
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From: OC
a quarter mile at a time
That is absolutely is true. I said the lowest gear "for that speed and engine speed"....not simply the lowest gear.
I was travelling at 65, pull and hold left for a second and it dropped straight to 4th and the rpms started to rocket up, when I tapped it right to get into 5th while accelerating. You don't think the car can maintain 75 mph in 5th?
I was travelling at 65, pull and hold left for a second and it dropped straight to 4th and the rpms started to rocket up, when I tapped it right to get into 5th while accelerating. You don't think the car can maintain 75 mph in 5th?
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From: San Antonio
2008 C350
I've never tried is on a W203 so I'm not sure if it is the same. Also, I am sure that there will be a difference, in the gear selection at least, between the W204 C300 and C350 for obvious reasons.
Out Of Control!!
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From: OC
a quarter mile at a time
It might be 2 seconds (I didn't count it out) but it didn't seem like it. When you "touch" shift left and right it goes up or down just one, but holding it there for "a second", as I put it, will cause it to shift directly to the lowest gear for the current engine speed.
I've never tried is on a W203 so I'm not sure if it is the same. Also, I am sure that there will be a difference, in the gear selection at least, between the W204 C300 and C350 for obvious reasons.
I've never tried is on a W203 so I'm not sure if it is the same. Also, I am sure that there will be a difference, in the gear selection at least, between the W204 C300 and C350 for obvious reasons.
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From: San Antonio
2008 C350
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From: Seattle, WA and Portland, OR
2008 C350 and 2003 Z4 3.0
Here is the answer from page 144 in the owners manual:
Controls in detail
Automatic transmission*
Automatic shift program
The program mode selector switch is
located on the lower part of the center
console.
Program mode selector switch
C Comfort For comfort driving
S Sport For standard driving
The selected program mode appears in the
multifunction display.
1Selected program mode (comfort or
sport)
Press program mode selector switch
repeatedly until the letter of the
desired program mode appears in the
multifunction display.
SelectCfor comfort driving:
The vehicle starts out in second
gear (both forward and reverse) for
gentler starts. This does not apply if
full throttle is applied or gear
range1 is selected.
Traction and driving stability are
improved on icy roads.
Upshifts occur earlier even when
you give more gas. The engine then
operates at lower rpms and the
wheels are less likely to spin.
SelectSfor standard driving:
The vehicle starts out in first gear.
Upshifts occur later.
!Never change the program mode when the
gear selector lever is out of park positionP. This
could result in a change of driving characteristics
for which you may not be prepared.
iThe last selected program mode(CorS) is
switched on when the engine is restarted.
Controls in detail
Automatic transmission*
Automatic shift program
The program mode selector switch is
located on the lower part of the center
console.
Program mode selector switch
C Comfort For comfort driving
S Sport For standard driving
The selected program mode appears in the
multifunction display.
1Selected program mode (comfort or
sport)
Press program mode selector switch
repeatedly until the letter of the
desired program mode appears in the
multifunction display.
SelectCfor comfort driving:
The vehicle starts out in second
gear (both forward and reverse) for
gentler starts. This does not apply if
full throttle is applied or gear
range1 is selected.
Traction and driving stability are
improved on icy roads.
Upshifts occur earlier even when
you give more gas. The engine then
operates at lower rpms and the
wheels are less likely to spin.
SelectSfor standard driving:
The vehicle starts out in first gear.
Upshifts occur later.
!Never change the program mode when the
gear selector lever is out of park positionP. This
could result in a change of driving characteristics
for which you may not be prepared.
iThe last selected program mode(CorS) is
switched on when the engine is restarted.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2007
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07 G35 Sedan
As for the MB, this is the first MB I've driven so I didn't know what it was called.
Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 87
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From: Toronto
C300 Sport
I tried the "tiptronic" while exiting the highway today. True, there is no distinctive blip, but there was no engine brake either. 50mph, braking at the last minute, I shift down to 3rd gear, no engine brake, RPM stays at 4000 range, negotiate the turn, RPM is at 3500 range, upon exiting the corner I give it gas and there is enough torque....so I think it works just fine.
And many already have mentioned that the tiptronic is a trademark of Porsche. We all know that. We all know we don't have Porsche gearbox. And we all know we mean touchshift when one says tiptronic.
And many already have mentioned that the tiptronic is a trademark of Porsche. We all know that. We all know we don't have Porsche gearbox. And we all know we mean touchshift when one says tiptronic.
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From: SEATTLE WASHINGTON USA
'08 C300 Lux Barolo Red Beige Leather P2 MM 18" wheels '84 944
Touch shift
<<When you "touch" shift left and right it goes up or down just one, but holding it there for "a second", as I put it, will cause it to shift directly to the lowest gear for the current engine speed.>>
I'm sure you meant "current car speed" which is the governing factor. The trans will not downshift to a gear which will over rev the engine.
<<I've never tried is on a W203 so I'm not sure if it is the same.>>
It is not the same on the previous C Class. If you want to go from 5th to 3rd, for example, you bump the lever quickly twice to the left. I did this all the time on downgrades.
I'm sure you meant "current car speed" which is the governing factor. The trans will not downshift to a gear which will over rev the engine.
<<I've never tried is on a W203 so I'm not sure if it is the same.>>
It is not the same on the previous C Class. If you want to go from 5th to 3rd, for example, you bump the lever quickly twice to the left. I did this all the time on downgrades.
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Posts: 4,781
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From: Boston
'05 A4 1.8TQM6
I would think it'd be pretty easy to program in the blip feature when using touchshift. I'm surprised MB hasn't implemented this yet. It's been done on some other manufacturers as early as 2001.
Evaluate current speed and current engine speed
Evalulate current gear and what the requested gear is
Calculate the engine speed it should be for the gear requested and current speed of travel
Check to see if it exceeds max engine speed
If OK, add throttle (since it's DBW) to appropriate engine speed
Downshift
If not OK, downshift to max allowable gear and do calculations above for that gear
It can be quite jerky sometimes when downshifting manually.
Evaluate current speed and current engine speed
Evalulate current gear and what the requested gear is
Calculate the engine speed it should be for the gear requested and current speed of travel
Check to see if it exceeds max engine speed
If OK, add throttle (since it's DBW) to appropriate engine speed
Downshift
If not OK, downshift to max allowable gear and do calculations above for that gear
It can be quite jerky sometimes when downshifting manually.
Last edited by GDawgC220; Dec 6, 2007 at 10:17 AM.
