Hi all me again,

Been thinking about the test drives i had at the weekend, and one thing that worried me was that when using the tiptronic mode on both the cars i tried the gear change was incredibly slow to the point i was changing up so early so the revs didn't climb to high.

I had a bad experience with a smart roadster, while in plain auto mode, i was doing a bit of spirited driving on the way home from clooecting it, and while breaking heavily into a fairly sharp bend the back end was hopping about all over the place, after this i drov it inpaddle mode, and this then stabilised the back end as you could flick down through the gears fairly rapidly to keep braking power fro the back wheels that wouldn't exist in std auto mode as the gears would not change down.

So my worry with the autos i tried the other day is that there is no way it would change down quick enough to do this.

So gets me thinking would i be better getting a std crossfire with a manual box? any input from someone who has dealt with this kind of issue would be welcome.

there is a nice manual not to far from me so i might give it a spin.

I guess my problem would be worse in the SRT as you would have the extra performance but could only use it in straight lines.

cheers Kev ( sorry for the long one!!)

 

yes they are slow to change. not sure if there is a mod that will speed it up! When I drive "in anger" I use kick down. when the art is mastered you can kick down and hold revs just off the red line and the box wont change up till you let it.

 

cheers for the reply, its more about changing down while braking into a corner to keep the back end inline.

cheers Kev.

 

I have owned both N/A & SRT auto's & found the tip on the N/A very slow change to the point of not really worth using it, I can remember having to predict the change about 1000 rpm early to allow for the delay.
In comparison the SRT box is much sportier & a total joy to use & I personally would not want anything else but again in tip mode although faster than the N/A I still cannot get to grips with it as well as leaving it in auto mode. If you prefer the manual input of gearbox driving by all means give one a test drive for sure.

 

lot more fun if you let it step out!! (TC off)

but agree a good old manual does give you far more control.

 

A Euro Tune helped my response time in auto stick mode. It's better than it was straight from the factory and seems to be more responsive on both up and downships. Also, if you train the tranny by driving it in manual regularly, it seems to respond better becasue it knows your shift points. That may or may not help but it seems to on mine.

Good luck

 

My own feeling is that auto and sports cars just dont go together, i've got a manual Roadster, its got the usual problem of being a bit tight into second when cold but other than that its great, I waft along in a big diesel Merc all week and the auto box is ideal, it suits the car perfectly and I wouldnt want a manual, but at weekends on a nice twisty road I want a gear stick and clutch.

I once had a tiptronic Mitsubishi FTO and it drove me nuts, its the shortest ownership of a vehicle i've had, I bought it on a whim and then found all the problems that you are describing when I tried to drive it like a sports car, I got rid of it again within weeks.

My opinion is go for a manual.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, i will try a manual over the weekend, i thing i would prefer it over the auto, although i have to say the auto in auto mode was impressivly smooth. But like you say if you want to drive it sporty i think a manual is the only way. Weird how they only do the SRT in the auto then!!!

cheers all.

 

They say the manual can't hold the power. Ive also heard that there is no demand for a manual for the higher power Mercedes cars... Whatever the case, I wouldnt trade my manual for an auto anyday, or amount of power.

 

i'm sure the manual box can handle the power, the biggest problem with manual Mercedes is trying to do a hill start thanks to that stupid left foot applied and right hand released parking brake that they fit, you actually need three arms and three legs to set off properly on a hill, thankfully the manual Crossfire didnt inherit that design icon but has a standard set up.

 

Ok drove a manual yesterday and what a difference itmade, that was it, it helped the car was by far the best I had seen by quite a way.... So no srt and I brought a coupe...how things can change.

 

Welcome to the xfire fold. Will you be posting pictures..be good to view.

For the May lunch meet, the location will be between Chichaster and Bournemouth. Hope you can attend....Will be interesting to meet a few more xfire owners from the south west area at the lunch and at future www.crossfires.co.uk events..

l will post lunch details etc during mid April.


UKKen