Use Autostick
So you bought a car with an auto-stick (manually-controllable automatic transmission) function, and you're wondering how to use it. Well, pay attention.
Steps
- Get into your car and adjust mirrors and seats.
- Start the car and find a nice long empty stretch of road for trying this out.
- Put the car into first gear (or the sport/auto-stick gear).
- Step on the gas and reach desired RPM (~3500 or so for general use; higher, toward but not past the red line for high performance in appropriate conditions, not when learning) before shifting.
- Shift up either hitting the shifter to the right, or hitting it up (depends on the vehicle).
- Shift down when you are decelerating and get to low RPM, ~1500 or so, by tapping the shifter in the other direction. (An auto stick transmission normally does not need to be put in neutral, just first, when stopped.)
- Many cars will shift on their own rather than go to a too-high RPM and break something or go to a too-low RPM and stall, but unless you have confirmed that yours will, watch (and when you're accustomed, listen for) the RPM and shift accordingly.
- When you are comfortable with the system, you could race with it in an appropriate time and place. One user has suggested as a racing technique "Stand on the brake and floor the accelerator until you reach ~ 5000 RPM. Release brake!" which might be similar to "dropping the clutch" in a manual car. Such techniques are very hard on the car.
- An auto shift transmission is nice for driving in mountains because it is so easy to downshift for engine braking.
Tips
- since transmission shifts are more noticeable you can usually just listen to the car and when it reaches the peak RPM you'll be able to hear, that's the best time to shift.
- No two cars drive the same, each car has it's own optimal RPM get a feel for it before you start stomping the gas.
- most of the time you're going to want to shift at 3000 RPM to avoid stress on the cars transmission
- for an ideal shift you're going to want 4000 RPM or even higher if you're racing
- Don't be afraid to ask somebody about how to use this feature on your car.
Warnings
- Failure to shift on time could cause major damage to your cars transmission so be careful
- always keep in mind that sometimes you will exceed the speed limit posted on the road so keep in mind that there may be police/children,pets,or weather conditions always be careful when operating a motor vehicle
- your car will be traveling at high speeds so take all precautions when using this function
