Hey guys. Somewhat new to me XJR. Went to test the manual shifting with the J gate and it just doesn’t work. It continues to shift automatically even if I don’t touch it. Did a search but can’t really find anything similar. Any thoughts!

 

The J-gate is not manual shifting, it's just limiting to the gear you've selected. Put it on 3, it still goes through 1st, 2nd, up to third. If you slow down, it will downshift, not stay in 3rd.

It's no different than a GM column shifter automatic when you select a lower gear; it jut limits the transmission to that gear as its maximum.

Summary, there is no full manual override to shifting in the Jags.

 

Hmmm. Very interesting. I'll need to test this.

 

If you want to shift at high revs till the end you put it in two then the gear box shift automaticly into 1 an 2 but not any further . If you put it in 4 it will shift till 4.but not any further
Good use is in steep downhill to keep the speed constant.. VERY GOOD if you want to overtake another car
Otherwise it does not make much sense.

 

Yeah, it's not a new way of running an automatic. It's what column shifters and console shifters have done since... well, since they existed. When you have, P-R-N-D-3-2-1 or for older ones, just P-R-N-D-2-1, all it does when selecting a lower gear than D is make that the top gear it goes to. It does not force that gear, no matter what. I turns your 4-speed into a 3-speed or a 2-speed, but all the gears lower than your selection are still used as needed.

True manual selection of an automatic gearbox is available on some cars, but not these Jags.

 

I can't even tell what gear I'm in. Counting to 6 is hard for me. (don't mention the rev counter)
Of course, I do occasionally use the J-Gate for downhill "braking", which is really the only use I can think of.
Your transmission will work a lot better if you have a wooden knob from either British Autowood or Bob's Knobs, I'm convinced.
-------------
How I miss the Mk10 with D1 D2, not really but it was fun being unusual.
D2 would disable 1st gear so you only had 2nd and 3rd, presumably so the Queen in the back didn't spill her champagne on takeoff, and the Borg Warner 8 did have a bit of a kick.
(I never had the Queen in the back, just sayin', but I was ready just in case...)
-------------
My A180 has paddle shifts. Waste of time in my opinion, only ever used it to test it. Kickdown works fine. Again, maybe for downhill braking occasionally, but the car automatically holds lower gears when going downhill thereby leaving one to concentrate on avoiding pedestrians.

After all that, it's just a standard auto transmission like wfooshee described in the first place. I'm sure his name comes from the sound of a successful gear change.