hitokiri89

When is the right time to Downshift ... I never really use the tiptronic and I would like to start enjoying it . Any tips or explainations would be great .

waiszeto

down shift at 3000rpm, so u wont get any lag

C300Sport

It really depends on what you are trying to do and how hard you are trying to do it... It is likley just going to take a bit of practice to get the hang of it for any given situation.

dcjwlee

Don't downshift to first unless you are stopped or want to wreck your transmission. First is for getting moving.

RLE

You can't over rev on a downshift because the electronics won't allow it.

dcjwlee

I never said it didn't but if you really believe that downshifting to first while moving is at all necessary and won't stress your transmission then by all means go ahead. I, on the other hand, will err on the sid of cauion and say 'don't do it'. First gear is always the first to go IMHO.

RickP330

I have the toggle switch on the Throttle pedal (2008) it appears to me that this will downshift for you and hold it there for a few seconds, but I'm not sure how to use it. typically once it downshifts I have to back off the throttle untill I am ready to stab it, but getting it timed right is hard to do. Does anyone know how to use this properly?
RP

RLE

OK. I admit it. I am defeated. What are you talking about? Toggle switch on throttle pedal?

RickP330

When I press the throttle pedal to the floor I have a resistance point Where I can press it a "click" more. My early 2008 has it, but I have yet to drive another which did. It appears to have some influence on the transmission shifting. If I understood what the intent was and I could use it properly I think it would be kick but!! If I had to guess the switch functions the same as holding the shifter to the left. It will downshift the car to the closest gear in it's "powerband". But it seems it's time dependent. you only have a few seconds before it goes back into full automode.
RP

Blazeitup123

i use the button for passing on the highway, the 350 gets my in front of a non speeders car in under 4 seconds. i don't use it too much in city traffic. tossing the car around in 2nd and 3rd in the city is lots of fun though.

MBnewby

I too have this on my 2008 C350 and never really understood it's purpose...hmmm I would like to learn more. Anyone know what this is actually called? It does seem to kick it into the lowest appropriate gear based on RPM. I kind of annoyed me at first, like why is my accelerator clicking when I stomp on it...

MBnewby

I find the tiptronic mostly worthless for agressive driving since it takes sooo long to upshift... It is very nice to have while driving in snow/ice though because you can really control the RPMs. Sport mode is much more responsive for aggressive driving.

C300Sport

It is called a "kickdown switch". It basically tells the car that it should shift to the lowest possible gear for maximum acceleration.

keith100

I think he means the kickdown switch,

zankok

master heel and toe first

Mtl20v

Pretty much every automatic car I have driven in my life has that. I find it weird that This is the first time you see this.

Downshifting to accelerate is pointless. Just smash the pedal and it will go down 2-3 gears. I only downshift manually to slow down when approaching a light or stop sign.

jamesw204

i have a 2009 c300 and i dont have the kickdown switch...

C300Sport

My manually equiped car has it as well but I doubt it is actually hooked up to anything. More likely, it is just simpler and cheaper for MB to build one type of peddle assembly than trying to build differently for different transmissions...especially given the low take rate of manual cars.