I have had many MT's over the years....but for a variety of reasons, my last few cars have been automatic AWD's. So I guess I do try to help the shifts along. I previously had an A6 automatic which had programming you could adjust to change the shift aggressiveness. It also "learned" your driving style like the G.

Here is my question. With my A6, I could run the gear up until *I* wanted it to shift, ease up on the gas a bit and it would shift. Like right now.

With the G, you can run it up alright...real nice and it will keep going.
But when you ease up and want it to shift....especially 2-3 up there in RPMS, it waits....thinks about it for a while... may rev/blip a bit, and then it shifts. Also feels like it slips for a while (torque lock?, not sure of the correct AWD term) By then if your speed has increased, the RPM delta may not even be that great. Of course if you just mash on it or just hold the pedal steady, it will shift fine. I remember one of the magazine reviews even mentioned the G35 auto shift throttle "blip".

But is there a way to nudge the car to shift when you want it? Yeah I know there is the manual mode, but I do not use that all the time. I never realized how used to the Audi tranny I had become. But this is about the only thing I miss from that car...I love the G35x...

One thought I had was that babying it during break-in may have trained the tranny different than how I am driving now so I could reset that.

Any thoughts from the veterans here most appreciated. I talked to a few other owners and they kind of understood what I was saying, but it seems to bother some more than others.

BJBBJB

 

Are you talking about Auto mode or manual mode? Mine's not an X but it shifts fine. Actually the shift was improved over stock after I installed Gorgees Grounding Gear.. I believe the RWD and the AWD have the same transmission.

 

Not sure exactly what you mean here. But I notice that the car shifts fine from an all out throttle mashing... If you hit the gas hard for a few seconds and then lay off the throttle I think I have experienced what you might be trying to explain. I see the RPMs stay up for a while before it shifts in to a higher gear. I have had this happen many times in my 05x. This is also the first DBW car that I have had so I imagine that has a lot to do with it.

 

Thanks, I'll try to explain a little more..

I am talking Auto mode, not manual mode.

As I mentioned, shifting is fine when mashing on the accelerator as is a constant pressure on the pedal. I only notice this when trying to accelerate up past 3K or 4K *and* then I try to entice the shift to happen when I want by easing up on the pedal.

Based on the feedback I guess the answer is just to hit the pedal and let it do it's thing. I just miss the ability to use the accelerator to help with the shift points and RPM's like in my old ride.

BJBBJB

 

If you are concerned about control of the shift points, put it in manumatic, it isn't a bad substute for a stick.

 

Related topic, and not trying to hijack......there has been much discussion on the 2-3 MM shift being harder than the others, and I definately experience that on my 05. Had anyone determined if this is just the way it is or whether the dealers are doing something about it. In and by itself, firm shifts are better for perfomance. But the 2-3 is noticeably harder than the others, and raises some concern......

 

BJBBJB,
Yes, I (think I) know what you are talking about.

In older cars that I have owned with vacuum controlled transmissions I would often ease up on the gas. I knew when it was about to shift and I would try to unload, or reduce the torque that the transmission was carrying at the moment that it was shifting. Thus reducing wear and tear.

On the computer controlled G35X I try to do the same thing. I have found that it is possible but a little less predictable. I also believe that the computers are already changing throttle position as it shifts.

 

Now the dealer confirms that my particular G35X seems to lag in shifting compared to others....well at least some there do.

I had a loaner that was an identical year, make, mileage etc. G35X as mine. When that car was ready to shift...it just shifted much faster than mine. I mean I do not want it to shift at lower RPM's, but if it is at 3-4K and wants to shift, the loaner just shifted, pretty much at the same RPM's as mine would have. Mine definitely sits there an extra 5-10? seconds or so and spins until it is ready to upshift..

Now the desk tech says they felt it and ditto a partner (in comparison to other G35's). However the master tech and service manager say there is NOTHING to adjust on the G35X's auto logic or torque converter that would change it.

If there is nothing to adjust, why is mine so different!!???

Any Infiniti techs or others that can give me something very specific for them to look at I would be most appreciative..... I even asked about clearing out the ECU, etc. and was told no...no...don't want to do that and that would not help anything. Very frustrating...

Thanks,
BJBBJB

 

You need to remember, your loaner is not your car. People drive like they stole it. The loaner's computer learn much faster than yours since you baby yours. As a result, the shifting is much faster in the loaner.

I know what you are referring to. I have the same experience in my G35X. I believe it is normal. In terms of the bliping, it only happens on downshifts. What you are feeling between 2-3 could be the converter.

 

Oggie,

Thanks for getting back to me. This is one of my issues though. The dealer swears that there is nothing the computer has learned that varies how it shifts. This was my first thought...that it had "learned" during my break-in period. But again, dealer says there is nothing to reset or adjust to change this...

I can live with the downshift blips. It is the upshift delays that I can't stand..

BJBBJB

 

You can reset the ECU and see what happens when you "retrain" it now that you are out of the break-in period. You can reset it by disconnecting the battery for a while (I'm not sure how long) or by another method detailed on this site, which a search will turn up. It involves turning the key on and pressing the accelerator in a special, timed, sequence. The battery disconnect is easy, but you lose your radio presets and seat memory.

 

Andy77,

I will have to look up the ECU reset info. What I don't understand is why my dealer would be so dead set against resetting it or so strongly stating that it won't help...

BJBBJB

 

Dealers aren't into performance tuning and most service advisors don't know left from right. I would suggest to try out Andy's suggestion on ECU reset once your car is broken in.

 

One of the reasons that I bought a 6MT was that I frequently rent auto G35's when I travel. Something that I noticed (and I have it on video from 2 different cars) is that in manumatic mode, if you let it run near redline in first and hit the button to shift to second, it just sits there for about 3 seconds, then slowly slip-shifts into second. in full auto mode it shifts crisp and quick. and in manual mode it shifts quick into all other gears except for 1-2 WOT at redline.

I just rented an '06 G35X and it did the same thing. Is this a known issue or have I just been lucky with my rental cars?

My wife wants one now (auto), and I am worried about longevity. she drives like a maniac.

 

I certainly am not an expert about these things, as I have no mods and don't do performance runs etc, but there are a lot of people here who do. They seem to feel that there is no harm in an ECU reset, and that seems reasonable to me considering it will reset every time you disconnect the battery, such as when changing it. It apparently takes a few drives for the MAF sensor and others to figure out what is happening, but then things smooth out. Most of the people seem top reset it after any mod and some reset it every few weeks if they think the driving is getting a little pokey. I don't know what the dealer's worries were. Have fun!