Second test drive gear changes

Second test drive gear changes

Author
Discussion

Jumpingjackflash

Original Poster:

621 posts

186 months

Sunday 23rd June
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Hello I went for my second test drive of a A110 Pure. I was driving in sport mode but the gearbox kept changing up when hitting the red line. I tried track mode and the gearbox held the gear and bounced off the red line. To make it clear I do not drive bouncing off the red line but I want to be in control and believe the gear changes are my decision. I do not want to be driving thinking I need to change up before the computer decides.

I don't want to drive about in rack mode without traction control. Is there a mode or way of driving the Alpine in sport mode without gearbox changing up for me?

is it on the Pure that does this or does the R not do it?

Simon Owen

838 posts

141 months

Sunday 23rd June
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Is your preference to drive in auto ? When driving in a spirited manor I use manual 100% of the time, whatever mode I’m in. Never once noticed or had any complaints about the gearbox ‘taking over’ under these circumstances. Because of the nature of the delivery it’s actually quite rare that I approach the rev limit on a give & take b road.


Julian Thompson

2,593 posts

245 months

Sunday 23rd June
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Personally I never use sport mode - it’s auto or track for me. If I want to drive I want to drive without any assistance. Car is so light and direct and relatively underpowered that quite honestly ESC is not necessary anyway.

kdempsie

98 posts

176 months

Sunday 23rd June
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Yes, in Normal and Sport it always changes up if you hit the limiter in both auto and manual.

In Track you can hold against the limiter. I don’t know the full details but the stability system is not fully off in Track mode, you do have to hold down the button on the dash to put it full off.

Jumpingjackflash

Original Poster:

621 posts

186 months

Sunday 23rd June
quotequote all
kdempsie said:
Yes, in Normal and Sport it always changes up if you hit the limiter in both auto and manual.

In Track you can hold against the limiter. I don’t know the full details but the stability system is not fully off in Track mode, you do have to hold down the button on the dash to put it full off.
Thank you for the answer. It is nice getting a simple answer to a simple question on a forum without being judgemental.

Miserablegit

4,173 posts

116 months

Sunday 23rd June
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kdempsie said:
Yes, in Normal and Sport it always changes up if you hit the limiter in both auto and manual.

In Track you can hold against the limiter. I don’t know the full details but the stability system is not fully off in Track mode, you do have to hold down the button on the dash to put it full off.
That isn’t my experience of it.
I always drive in sport and generally drive in “semi-auto” meaning I change the cogs with the paddles- the car is in auto mode but for a brief period it changes to manual mode after a gear change and then reverts to auto - Alpine changed the timing from the original setting and now I think it takes too long to revert.
This occasionally means that if I overtake after changing down the car stays in manual and I kiss the limiter before I change gear again.

k_m

112 posts

9 months

Sunday 23rd June
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If you press the D button in Normal or Sports Mode for a couple of seconds (until it switches to blue lighting) the box is in manual shift mode forever. To get back to Auto you have to push the D button again (returns to white lighting).
Using the paddles switches the box to an interim manual mode, after about 7 seconds it goes back to Auto (unless you go downhill without using the throttle, then it stays in the gear selected).
I prefer the Sports mode and use Normal mode only when crusing through town. In Track mode the box switches too aggesssive for my taste so if I want to shift manually I use Sports mode plus the blue D method. I also like the look of the dials in Sports mode better, in Track mode they look a little confusing.

Edited by k_m on Sunday 23 June 15:04

k_m

112 posts

9 months

Sunday 23rd June
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Edit: no need to press D for a longer time, just one push and it turns blue.

bcr5784

7,183 posts

152 months

Sunday 23rd June
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k_m said:
Edit: no need to press D for a longer time, just one push and it turns blue.
Not quite true, if you hold the paddle longer than strictly necessary ( perhaps a second or more) when you next change gear you will change gear AND revert to auto.

Derek182

166 posts

87 months

Sunday 23rd June
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Jumpingjackflash said:
Hello I went for my second test drive of a A110 Pure. I was driving in sport mode but the gearbox kept changing up when hitting the red line. I tried track mode and the gearbox held the gear and bounced off the red line. To make it clear I do not drive bouncing off the red line but I want to be in control and believe the gear changes are my decision. I do not want to be driving thinking I need to change up before the computer decides.

I don't want to drive about in rack mode without traction control. Is there a mode or way of driving the Alpine in sport mode without gearbox changing up for me?

is it on the Pure that does this or does the R not do it?
I have a 2024 A110GT, I've never tried track mode and generally drive in normal mode and auto but when traffic permits or for overtaking I use sport and sometimes manual.
Recently I was in sport and manual and going to overtake, I started in 3rd but nearly hit the rev limiter at which point it changed up for me. In this scenario it was obviously a good thing as it helped me to complete the overtake quickly and safely.
Similarly if I'm in manual and forget to change down enough for a junction then it will change down for me instead of stalling as I've left it in 3rd!
One of my goals with the car is to drive it more in manual and get better at it, until then the fact that it is idiot-proof is helpful for me.
And I assume this is normal behaviour for a modern semi-auto?

k_m

112 posts

9 months

Sunday 23rd June
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bcr5784 said:
k_m said:
Edit: no need to press D for a longer time, just one push and it turns blue.
Not quite true, if you hold the paddle longer than strictly necessary ( perhaps a second or more) when you next change gear you will change gear AND revert to auto.
I don't get your point here. Why is it not quite true? When u push the D button in Auto mode it turns blue and you are in manual mode until you disengage that mode again.

Whaleblue

381 posts

95 months

Monday 24th June
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Talking at cross purposes chaps? One of you talking about the centre console D button, the other the “flappy paddles” on the steering column?

bcr5784

7,183 posts

152 months

Monday 24th June
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k_m said:
I don't get your point here. Why is it not quite true? When u push the D button in Auto mode it turns blue and you are in manual mode until you disengage that mode again.
I'm just pointing out you can disengage manual mode and go back into auto by a long press on either paddle - ie you aren't in manual forever.


Edited by bcr5784 on Monday 24th June 07:59

biggles330d

1,660 posts

157 months

Monday 24th June
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Derek182 said:
I have a 2024 A110GT, I've never tried track mode and generally drive in normal mode and auto but when traffic permits or for overtaking I use sport and sometimes manual.
Recently I was in sport and manual and going to overtake, I started in 3rd but nearly hit the rev limiter at which point it changed up for me. In this scenario it was obviously a good thing as it helped me to complete the overtake quickly and safely.
Similarly if I'm in manual and forget to change down enough for a junction then it will change down for me instead of stalling as I've left it in 3rd!
One of my goals with the car is to drive it more in manual and get better at it, until then the fact that it is idiot-proof is helpful for me.
And I assume this is normal behaviour for a modern semi-auto?
Same here, I'm trying to learn to drive it in manual but it takes some time to get your head into it. Weird, because in a proper manual it is just so natural to change gears at the right time. But the auto setup is very good I mostly leave it in either Auto or Sport. Never used the track mode on the road, and can't say I've had mine at the rev limiter in the 2.5 years I've had it. It's got plenty enough torque to short shift and feels a bit silly banging it off the red line in normal driving. On the track I can see why you might though.

AH_13

17 posts

29 months

Monday 24th June
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Derek182 said:
Similarly if I'm in manual and forget to change down enough for a junction then it will change down for me instead of stalling as I've left it in 3rd!
Hi Derek, do you find in this instance that the overriding auto change from 3 to 2 is quite a jerky one? It really throws the car for me.
I have written about it before thinking it was a general issue with my box, but have since worked out that it's behavior that happens only in sport / manual in the situation you describe. If the box is in sport / auto, it's all very smooth. Perhaps most illogically it doesn't happen in track / manual when it takes over coming to a junction - go figure..

Incidentally back to the OP, after working out the above - I have started using sport / auto a lot more and it gets it right (and quickly) about 95% of the time for me. Then you can always grab on the paddles if you want to take over. I agree it reverts back to auto a little quickly though - perhaps something that could be coded?


Portti

226 posts

42 months

Monday 24th June
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AH_13 said:
...Hi Derek, do you find in this instance that the overriding auto change from 3 to 2 is quite a jerky one? It really throws the car for me.
...
Generally I find that when slowing down and changing to lower gears manually, the gearchanges are more jerkier (is this a correct word?) than when just letting the car change down in auto mode. Similarly also when slowing down to a complete stop or to a very slow speed when the car is in manual mode, then when the car overrides manual mode and changes automatically from second gear to first gear, that gearchange is jerkier than in full auto mode. Can't comment on overriding auto change from third to second gear.

All of this in sport mode which I use basically all the time.

k_m

112 posts

9 months

Monday 24th June
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When I slow down realy slow in Sports Mode +Auto the gear changes are smooth until complete stop. But when approaching a traffic stop a little faster the gear changes get pretty rough from 3 > 2 > 1 > stop. So no real difference to Sports Mode +Manual. In Normal mode all gear changes are smooth, no matter how fast I approach to a stop. That's why I prefer Normal Mode + Auto when crusing and hopping through town.

Edited by k_m on Monday 24th June 12:30

bcr5784

7,183 posts

152 months

Monday 24th June
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A couple of points.

There was an update the gearbox software early on which extended the period of the manual override. It clearly is a compromise and was often too short before, now it's sometimes too long - and hence my use of a long press on the (usually) up paddle to get back into auto.

I don't know if there has been a further update, but a long press on a paddle in auto mode definitely does not put it into manual mode permanently on my PE as k_m reports on his car..

Regarding jerky chages, my car is pretty smooth in all modes I use (I don't use track enough to comment) EXCEPT changes down into first sometimes or when selecting reverse occasionally. For comparison PDK is a bit smoother in Normal in the lower gears - but that may be a result of the much longer gears Porsche uses.

k_m

112 posts

9 months

Monday 24th June
quotequote all
Dude, I never said pulling the paddle for whatever time switches the box to manual, I said PUSHING THE D BUTTON (that is the round knob at the centre console) UNTIL IT TURNS BLUE SETS THE BOX TO MANUAL

bcr5784

7,183 posts

152 months

Monday 24th June
quotequote all
k_m said:
Dude, I never said pulling the paddle for whatever time switches the box to manual, I said PUSHING THE D BUTTON (that is the round knob at the centre console) UNTIL IT TURNS BLUE SETS THE BOX TO MANUAL
My appologies I got hung up on "forever" - like I say a long pull on either paddle will revert to auto.


Edited by bcr5784 on Monday 24th June 13:46