Quote:
Originally Posted by Iexpedite
Does the car normally shift down to protect the weaker 6th gear or is it done to ensure on-demand power is available.
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I think that is the key question - and no, I can't answer it. I have the same issue with the auto box in my car. It will change down when I would have kept it in a higher gear with a manual box. My initial impression was that this is to ensure on-demand power is available, which is something I would sacrifice.
I have recently tried experimenting with the manual shift controls, which in my case are paddles on the steering wheel. Very boy-racer F1 style. I have come to the conclusion they are unusable, for a couple of reasons. The one that is relevant here is that the auto will override my settings if my manual gear selection is outside of its comfort zone. I can't think why the manufacturer would have made it work that way unless it was to prevent damage, so maybe my initial impression (about changes being intended to maintain availability of on-demand power) is incorrect.
As to what to do about it, I have been wondering whether it can be changed in software. I wonder if I plugged in to the OBD port and logged all the data flying around I might find messages that control the gear changes. If so, maybe it would be possible to inject my own messages. This would of course be foolish if I just broke my gearbox.