I don't need to go 225 MPH, lower gears maybe?

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Mar 24, 2015 | 10:29 AM
  #21  
Gearing seems fine to me as is.
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Mar 27, 2015 | 10:25 AM
  #22  
Quote: Are you sure? From experience with the XK, people get confused because in manual mode the car will automatically drop to 2nd when you come to a halt, rather than 1st if you don't touch the paddles. It will then pull away in 2nd so they assume it always does.

In auto mode though the XK actually always pulls away in 1st so I wouldn't be surprised if the F-Type does as well. I recorded a video of my 07 XKR to demonstrate it and have also plugged in my SDD and watched the gear changes so I know for certain mine does.

The documentation I can find for the F-Type implies that it only pulls away in 2nd in snow mode.

The documentation for the Dynamic Launch mode on the F-Type says to put it in D or S as part of the process and explains that in Dynamic Launch the engine’s torque is not lowered during the gear change compared to sports mode.

"This delivers maximum through-gear vehicle acceleration, through 1st and 2nd and then through 3rd and 4th gear changes. This allows the car to accelerate more quickly than when in ‘conventional’ Sport Mode."

0.3 seconds quicker apparently but that shows that in D or S it will use 1st gear. Under light acceleration it will change from 1st to 2nd very quickly so may feel like it pulls away in 2nd.
Yes I am sure.
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Mar 27, 2015 | 06:19 PM
  #23  
Quote: Yes I am sure.
I checked mine, and under acceleration in 'D' from rest up to highway speed, it changed gear 5 times. That means it used all 6 gears, so it must have started in 1st.

However, I think the real answer is: it depends. I specifically asked Jaguar:

Quote:
In 'D' mode, does an XK/XKR normally select 2nd gear when accelerating moderately (i.e. not full throttle) from a standstill?
Their response:

Quote:
This can happen depending on how enthusiastic the driver is, This is to provide better torque and acceleration.
So, basically, the TCM will decide what gear to start from depending on how hard you stand on the throttle.
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Mar 27, 2015 | 08:45 PM
  #24  
Interesting. I have an eight speed in the F-type. I guess I will have to monitor it. To my knowledge, left to its own devices, it always starts in 2nd.
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Mar 28, 2015 | 03:41 AM
  #25  
It is quite hard to count the gear changes so I found that the easiest thing to do was find a long, quiet straight road and video the tachometer under moderate acceleration.

Here is my car, let's see yours

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Mar 28, 2015 | 04:25 AM
  #26  
So what happens when the torque converter locks up? I though that felt like a gear change too?
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Mar 28, 2015 | 06:25 AM
  #27  
I was going by RPM drop, not feel, and you can see the revs drop with each change on u102768's video.
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Mar 28, 2015 | 06:32 AM
  #28  
Quote: Interesting. I have an eight speed in the F-type. I guess I will have to monitor it. To my knowledge, left to its own devices, it always starts in 2nd.
The 8-speed will have a different set of TCM logic & maps. Interestingly, I was told by a ZF transmission specialist that the 8-speed doesn't confer any major performance benefit, but it helps fuel economy. That would fit with it starting in 2nd unless you really need some stump-pulling torque.
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Mar 28, 2015 | 03:52 PM
  #29  
Quote: So what happens when the torque converter locks up? I though that felt like a gear change too?
I can't remember if it was in my '96 XJ12 or my '98 XJR that I used to be able to detect when the torque converter locked up but as mentioned in my earlier post I have also used SDD with the gear monitor enabled so know for certain than my XKR drops in to 1st when stationary. I tried a few different scenarios and driving styles in both D and S (auto mode) and it always dropped in to 1st once I came to a halt.

It would be interesting if someone did the same in the 5.0L XK's and F-Types then we could confirm for sure.
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