How do they work? Can you downshift also?

Does it shift automatically from 1st to 2nd?

 

How does it work? Left paddle is downshift, right paddle is upshift.
Yes, you can downshift also, via the left paddle.
If your in manual mode, it will not up shift for you. You will need to shift yourself.

I like having that paddle shifters as I find they are alot of fun. I also like DS mode as well if you don't feel like manually shifting.

 

You can up shift (obviously) and yes you can downshift - when you downshift the system rev-matches, which means it taps the gas automatically to bring then engine up to a higher rpm so the downshift transition is smoother.

The most amazing part of the system, that I can't believe they were able to do, is that you can put it in 1st gear and gun it to red line, then take your foot off the gas and it will stay in 1st gear and bring you all the way down to idle. if you set it into a gear, it stays, unlike every other car I've ever come across where the second you ease off the gas it throws you into the highest gear.

It's an amazing drive train.

 

Garnet, (or any others) have you found yet the ideal RPM to shift from 1st to 2nd... during my numberous test drives I struggled to find the sweet spot, I was trying to identify the RPM, like 6800, so when the delay in shift actual moves the gear you are at or just before redline. I kept either shifting too early or too late and ran a 1/2 second into the red loosing the momentum, when I tried to back off to a lower RPM like 6500 it switched by 7200, missing the last few hundre of the wind out. it seemed to me the switch happens quicker at slower speeds and has takes a fraction longer at top RPMs.

Can you see when the DS mode does it?

So curious if anyone found the ideal spot on a quick takeoff. I was ok for the other gears since RPM's move slower, but if you found sweet spots for the other gears, I'd be interested on those as well. 1st-2nd comes up so fast I'm not sure the pedal even makes it to the medal

 

I'd love to be able to answer your question, however I am not yet out of the break-in period and haven't pushed my G passed 4k. I am sure you'll get some other responses though.

 

This was a great question and I'm also trying to figure out the sweet spot to shift using the paddles... Should I be shifting from 1st to 2nd at about 7000 rpm so that i just barely hit the redline? Does shifting right at the redline for all gears give me max performance or should I be shifting at different RPM's for the higher gears? Sorry for being such a noob I just want to make sure I'm driving her the right way with performance in mind.

 

Interesting you should ask - I use the paddles something like 99% of the time, but today had a full cup of coffee (that the G is capable of hurling into the back seat), so was holding it. And thought what the hell, let's try DS at full throttle.

Wow - apparently the G doesn't hold back when it's shifting itself. It shifted right at 7,600, and I felt a nice final push of power right at the top. That seems odd given that HP rolls off after 6,800, but maybe "roll off" is relative...

I'm being way too nice with the paddles...

 

I think the auto does pretty well for most driving situations...
I'll use it mostly for passing - and WOW. It is instanteous.
So my impressions:
Auto for most driving - and even spirited driving...
Paddles for those times when you need to pass, or freeway entrances, merging, IS350 and BMW 335i sightings.

 

That was true on the 03-06 models. The drive and power trains on the 07s have been redesign to give you power all the way up to red line - they call it "Acceleration Swell"...

Check this link from Infiniti's site, and click on the "Acceleration Swell" link on that page:

http://www.infiniti.com/g_sedan/key_...rformance.html

 

Yes I've seen that thanks, but the dynos on the HR run by some folks show HP rolling off at 6,800.

 

The paddles work great and have a great feel to them.
The only issue I have is that they don't turn with the wheel. This can make tight fast corner shifting an issue.

 

IS 350 and 335i sightings...

 

re HP rolling off at 6800- if you shift at the red line and you get to the hp max in the next gear up faster; shift at 6800 and it takes longer to get back there

in auto or paddle mode it happens very fast in for 2nd and 3rd gear, after which you are both going to fast and grinning to much to notice

 

Does the tranny have idiot protection so you can't downshift and overrev the engine? If it does, how close will it let you get? My last car with an AT and manual shift mode would frequently deny the down shift even when doing so wouldn't have actually overreved the engine. I appreciated the overrev protection since the AT wasn't as communicative as a manual and it was easier to accidentally down shift too far. But sometimes it was overly protective.

 

That was an intentional design. On some other cars, the paddles DO move, but it can be really hard keeping track of their position during heavy cornering. It would suck to hit the wrong one at a critical moment.