Does anyone here actually use the left hand side of the J gate shifter?

Having driven manual/standard/stick most of my life I feel the need to get engaged with the gears. I really miss having a clutch! However, every now and then I shift the gears myself - especially if sat next to a beemer at the traffic light!

One question I have -how come there is no first gear? And does the car go through first to get to second when shifting "manually?" I tend to think it does.

Also, are there any advantages or disadvantages to "shifting manually" that those more wise than me in jag lore might know?

 

I have found shifting manually using the J gate for rapid overtaking is better all round, because you can pre-select a low gear before commencing the overtake, whereas if you rely on the box control, there is always a pause after you have pressed on the gas pedal until it decides what gear it is going to allow you to use, so yes, there is benefit.

Of course on our twisty and narrow English roads there is never a great deal of road space for overtaking, so one has to make maximum use of what is available and move quickly.

 

Quick downshift for passing, and downshift for help with braking suddenly. Once I got used to it, now I used it all the time.

 

i use it all the time to slow down and speed up

 

Cool - so it's not just me!

I also find in slow, crawling traffic that I use less gas if I stay in 2nd rather than let the transmission hunt for the right gear all the time.

 

Hey, that's a new one on me. I'll give it a try !

 

I often use it Dallas traffic to force a quick downshift and hard acceleration

 

Always. ^

I use the selector for overtaking, if I need to do so, quickly.

I suspect the down side of using it as you would a manual geared car, is more wear in the gear box and engine, by not driving at revs optimized by the computers.

Of course I have no data to back up my suspicion.

 

The J selector simply limits the highest gear that the transmission can select. It does not force the transmission to stay in the selected gear continuously.

 

Thanks Mikey - that makes sense.