Anyone got a semi?

[Swanny17]

Getting a new motor which has semi-automatic transmission and wondered how easy they are to drive/get used to.

 

Have driven a fully automatic before, several times, but not a semi.

 

 

[Morgan]

Thread title. 

[milky_26]

Straightforward to drive especially since you have previously driven a fully automatic car. The only thing to be careful with initially is if you have some sort of gearstick rather than flappy paddles remember don't go for the clutch pedal before changing gears.

[I P Knightley]

I've had a couple of semis but mainly rely on a firm grip and good wrist action to get to "journey's end".

[Sooperstar]

Flappy paddle v stiff shaft comments already been made, so I have nothing further to offer.

[highlandjambo3]

Just now, I P Knightley said:

I've had a couple of semis but mainly rely on a firm grip and good wrist action to get to "journey's end".

I’ve found you get off quicker with an automatic……..plus, with a spare left hand there is so many other things you can do.

[ri Alban]

Just don't be to Hard on it 

[I P Knightley]

But enough about masturbation. In response to the question:

 

Both cars I've had with semi-automatic gearboxes have been great. Most of my driving is either city driving or motorway hauls. In both cases, I just leave the car in full auto mode. I only ever used my paddles when scooting along a country road with overtaking and corners going on. In my head, I was Kimi Raikkonen .

[I P Knightley]

2 minutes ago, highlandjambo3 said:

I’ve found you get off quicker with an automatic……..plus, with a spare left hand there is so many other things you can do.

I think the Highway Code frowns upon flicking through the pages of a porno mag while driving.

[ri Alban]

Is the this the thread for the half blun. 😎

[JamesM48]

[Smithee]

Is it derby day already?

[William H. Bonney]

A semi? 
Im lucky if I can get it into first gear. 

[highlandjambo3]

53 minutes ago, I P Knightley said:

But enough about masturbation. In response to the question:

 

Both cars I've had with semi-automatic gearboxes have been great. Most of my driving is either city driving or motorway hauls. In both cases, I just leave the car in full auto mode. I only ever used my paddles when scooting along a country road with overtaking and corners going on. In my head, I was Kimi Raikkonen .

The semi automatic option is really only in place to override the full auto mode as full auto is *limited, I’ll try to explain:

 

So, your in full auto and the cars gear sensor will always try to step up to the highest gear whilst maintaining the least output from the engine for greater efficiency however, let’s say you have a fully loaded car and your going uphill….we know 5/6 gear in a manual won’t cut it so we change to 4th (or third) to keep up to speed…..now here’s the difference, the manual car driver will stay in that low gear until he gets to the top of the hill…..the auto will attempt to go back up a gear when it gets to a set speed even if the car is still going up hill…..so it’s repeat…repeat for the auto, it will change up and loose speed again, this is when the auto driver flicks the gear stick over to semi auto, the gearbox will now not attempt to go up a gear until the driver flicks up a gear or selects full auto again.  Same as going downhill on a snowy/icy road, select semi and stay in gear 1 or 2, STAY OFF THE BREAK allow the engine to control your decent.  On a flat icy/snowy road select semi and gear 2 to move off.

 

*No matter how advanced the auto car is, the car cannot see the road ahead, the driver can…..simple 😉

 

p.s I drive an auto Mazda CX-5….. best car I’ve ever owned.

[Pans Jambo]

2 hours ago, Swanny17 said:

Getting a new motor which has semi-automatic transmission and wondered how easy they are to drive/get used to.

 

Have driven a fully automatic before, several times, but not a semi.

 

 

Ive got a semi. An Audi.

 

Never use the "semi" bit really. Always on auto.

 

Never go back to a manual. Cant be arsed with clutch etc now. prefer lazy driving.

[I P Knightley]

1 hour ago, highlandjambo3 said:

The semi automatic option is really only in place to override the full auto mode as full auto is *limited, I’ll try to explain:

 

So, your in full auto and the cars gear sensor will always try to step up to the highest gear whilst maintaining the least output from the engine for greater efficiency however, let’s say you have a fully loaded car and your going uphill….we know 5/6 gear in a manual won’t cut it so we change to 4th (or third) to keep up to speed…..now here’s the difference, the manual car driver will stay in that low gear until he gets to the top of the hill…..the auto will attempt to go back up a gear when it gets to a set speed even if the car is still going up hill…..so it’s repeat…repeat for the auto, it will change up and loose speed again, this is when the auto driver flicks the gear stick over to semi auto, the gearbox will now not attempt to go up a gear until the driver flicks up a gear or selects full auto again.  Same as going downhill on a snowy/icy road, select semi and stay in gear 1 or 2, STAY OFF THE BREAK allow the engine to control your decent.  On a flat icy/snowy road select semi and gear 2 to move off.

 

*No matter how advanced the auto car is, the car cannot see the road ahead, the driver can…..simple 😉

 

p.s I drive an auto Mazda CX-5….. best car I’ve ever owned.

Thanks for that.

 

I don't think I've ever found myself on a long incline where the 'auto' can't make up its mind or flicks back & forth between 4 and 5. That said, I've found that on the flat in a 40mph zone it might occasionally drop from 5 to 4 before going back up almost immediately. Now I understand why.

[highlandjambo3]

5 minutes ago, I P Knightley said:

Thanks for that.

 

I don't think I've ever found myself on a long incline where the 'auto' can't make up its mind or flicks back & forth between 4 and 5. That said, I've found that on the flat in a 40mph zone it might occasionally drop from 5 to 4 before going back up almost immediately. Now I understand why.

Yup….most people won’t need it.  The concept I explained was heavy car, up hill, caravan, trailer etc…….

 

It is VERY handy to know about the downhill semi gear selection in winter….give it a practice on a quiet downhill road, it’s quite a revelation to know you don’t need the break to control the decent

[Swanny17]

Cheers for the replies folks, looking forward to fiddling about with my semi. 

[Harry Potter]

2 hours ago, Swanny17 said:

Getting a new motor which has semi-automatic transmission and wondered how easy they are to drive/get used to.

 

Have driven a fully automatic before, several times, but not a semi.

 

 

Always been full manual, better driving expearience, imho.

[Stu_HMFC]

Semi in the shed, Staunie in the terrace 😂

Edited Friday at 15:40 by Stu_HMFC

[highlandjambo3]

2 hours ago, Swanny17 said:

Getting a new motor which has semi-automatic transmission and wondered how easy they are to drive/get used to.

 

Have driven a fully automatic before, several times, but not a semi.

 

 

Are you sure?  I’ve never seen an automatic car which doesn’t have a semi auto function…..as mentioned earlier here, some people never use this.  The auto will show PDNR (or similar) people just bang it into D and off they go however, when in D try and pop the gearstick right towards your leg or left away from your leg (you can do this stationary or on the move) your gear display will then show a number as you’ve selected semi auto.  This isn’t new tech….I had an old 1980 German Mercedes’ that had this feature.  Like I said earlier, never seen an auto car that didn’t have a semi option to select.  TBH I imagine a lot of auto owners don’t even know the feature is there.

[highlandjambo3]

Just now, highlandjambo3 said:

Are you sure?  I’ve never seen an automatic car which doesn’t have a semi auto function…..as mentioned earlier here, some people never use this.  The auto will show PDNR (or similar) people just bang it into D and off they go however, when in D try and pop the gearstick right towards your leg or left away from your leg (you can do this stationary or on the move) your gear display will then show a number as you’ve selected semi auto.  This isn’t new tech….I had an old 1980 German Mercedes’ that had this feature.  Like I said earlier, never seen an auto car that didn’t have a semi option to select.  TBH I imagine a lot of auto owners don’t even know the feature is there.

To add…….my interpretation of your post is you’ve driven an automatic car but didn’t select the semi auto function.

[I P Knightley]

58 minutes ago, highlandjambo3 said:

Are you sure?  I’ve never seen an automatic car which doesn’t have a semi auto function…..as mentioned earlier here, some people never use this.  The auto will show PDNR (or similar) people just bang it into D and off they go however, when in D try and pop the gearstick right towards your leg or left away from your leg (you can do this stationary or on the move) your gear display will then show a number as you’ve selected semi auto.  This isn’t new tech….I had an old 1980 German Mercedes’ that had this feature.  Like I said earlier, never seen an auto car that didn’t have a semi option to select.  TBH I imagine a lot of auto owners don’t even know the feature is there.

I remember the old "kickdown" function in a ZF (?) auto box.

 

Eee, those were the days. We only had two channels on the TV...

[Tazio]

1 hour ago, highlandjambo3 said:

Are you sure?  I’ve never seen an automatic car which doesn’t have a semi auto function…..as mentioned earlier here, some people never use this.  The auto will show PDNR (or similar) people just bang it into D and off they go however, when in D try and pop the gearstick right towards your leg or left away from your leg (you can do this stationary or on the move) your gear display will then show a number as you’ve selected semi auto.  This isn’t new tech….I had an old 1980 German Mercedes’ that had this feature.  Like I said earlier, never seen an auto car that didn’t have a semi option to select.  TBH I imagine a lot of auto owners don’t even know the feature is there.

I’ve owned a few old Mercedes, they’re a bit of a passion. The Mercedes auto boxes always had PNRD and D1 and D2. The latter two held the box and either stopped it reaching top or made the car move off in 1st instead of the default 2nd for a sportier start. If you are labouring on a hill due to gear selection just pop into out of D and into D1 and it drops a gear without you having to use the kick down function. 

[Ulysses]

5 hours ago, Swanny17 said:

Getting a new motor which has semi-automatic transmission and wondered how easy they are to drive/get used to.

 

Have driven a fully automatic before, several times, but not a semi.

 

 

 

What's the car?  I bought my first DSG about 18 months ago, a Skoda Superb.  I've also driven a very nice rental Audi A4.  I'll only ever drive a manual again at gunpoint.

[Angry Haggis]

15 hours ago, Tazio said:

I’ve owned a few old Mercedes, they’re a bit of a passion. The Mercedes auto boxes always had PNRD and D1 and D2. The latter two held the box and either stopped it reaching top or made the car move off in 1st instead of the default 2nd for a sportier start. If you are labouring on a hill due to gear selection just pop into out of D and into D1 and it drops a gear without you having to use the kick down function. 

Why would under normal driving conditions a car pull away in second gear? What was the thinking behind this setups on old Mercs Taz? 

[ri Alban]

1 hour ago, Angry Haggis said:

Why would under normal driving conditions a car pull away in second gear? What was the thinking behind this setups on old Mercs Taz? 

Tested them from the top of a hill.

[Sir Craig Gordon]

Unless it's a sports car I don't see why you would want to use the flappy paddles to change gear. My M3 had them so when having a spirited drive the flappy paddles were fun but 90% of the time it was in normal auto. Our current Merc is a 1.5 diesel and also has flappy paddles, I've never used them. Pretty unnecessary on slow boring family car IMO.

[Japan Jambo]

Have flappy paddles, never use them.