major transmission question

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Oct 30, 2004 | 05:29 PM
  #1  
i need help understanding the diff modes in the c55

theres teh S mode whihc is regular steptronic right,u can shift up and down via shifter and the steering wheel.

then there is C mode which i guess is the same but for winter right?

ok then there is M mode, i have heard is like SMG manual. the dealer says u can only shift with steering wheel, but thats not tru cuz i was doing it with both,

so whats teh difference with the 2 modes, S and M, thanks
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Nov 1, 2004 | 10:33 AM
  #2  
The mayor difference I can see between the S and the M mode are that in M mode the car will NOT shift gears even if you redline it. It will only change gears if you manually do it, except if you hit a full stop, then it will automatically got to 1st.
In S mode the gears can be controlled via steering wheel, but if left untouched the car will auto switch gears. It will also downshift if you use your breaks aggressively. The tranny seems to decide which gear to use depending on how much throttle you give it. What im trying to say is that if you give it 20% throttle the tranny will try to go into a higher gear, but anytime you give it 40%+ throttle it will downshift.
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Nov 1, 2004 | 10:57 AM
  #3  
C is comfort mode, will start off in second gear and shift at relatively low RPM's for a "comfortable" ride. S is the sport mode which starts in first gerar and shifts more agressively at higher RPM's and will hold gears even up to redline depending on throttle postion and G loads on the car. M mode is manual, it will downshift automatically but will not upshift even at redline unless you shift with either the buttons or the stick. You can shift the car up or down in all three modes with either the buttons or the stick.

I am only now beginning to get comfortable with the shifting programs of the car and can say they have done a very good job in delivering a very flexible powertrain that can go from sedate and comfy in low speed cruising to an effective agressive mode when the car is pushed.
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Nov 2, 2004 | 06:28 PM
  #4  
Weird, b/c I just posted this in another thread where they had a poll on a similar topic and just yesterday I was driving in "S" mode when I accidentally hit the left touch button under the steering wheel and I noticed it held the 1st gear. It didn't upshift. Maybe it would have upshifted if I applied more gas but the engine seemed to rev kinda high and I was afraid of blowing up my engine before pushing it any further, so I used the botton to upshift to 2nd and then 3rd and so on.

I'm gonna start playing around with the the touch shift more so I get used it.

Nick
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