I was driving my car using the J-Gate the other day and wondered, how many of you use it? Does it hurt the tranny?

 

I used it all the time, loved it...taking turns was the best!

 

I use it when doing a spirited drive. I also tend to leave it in 4 on the daily commute, the throttle response is MUCH better. Yes I do not care that much about mileage. I just wish it would force the downshift to first better, mine will not go all the way to first unless you are under 5-8MPH, makes coming out of slow corners even slower.[sm=boohoo.gif]

If ever anyone came up with a good upgrade for the computer I would buy it if all it did was allow a better downshift to first when going under 10-15.

 

Man you guys are brave. I'm going to try it tomorrow !

 

lol wtf ^^^. It's not like we are heroes for using the J-gate. lol

I personally use it 99% of the time. It just makes the car all the more fun. But since the system does not rev match the down shifts, down shifts are jerky. Like coming to a light or down shifting for a turn. So what I find is that you have to rev match the shifts yourselves. When you go 4 to 3 or 3 to 2, just blip the throttle. You will end up with a seamless shift with no loss of power or jerking. Plus it sounds soooooo nice.

Now this blipping takes some time to get down. Sometimes you will blip to early and car will still be in 4th so it will jerk it. Sometimes you will blip too late and car will already be down to 3rd, so car just jerks and takes off kind've. But if you get it just right, which takes practice. OMG. It is just amazing. I feel so good when i can rev match it perfectly.

Of course this is no replacement and I love Heel and Toeing in a manual a lot more. It provides the ultimate satisfaction.

 

Oh and I personally use the J-gate so much cause this jag tranny just sucks. The shifts are slow and jerky. It doesn't downshift fast enough when you put ur foot down. It just annoys me. I'm going, I want to switch lanes to overtake, and car takes an hour to downshift. So with J-gate you downshift urself and just go. Much faster. Less jerky.

In my BMW which uses a ZF tranny, shifts are seamlessly smooth in auto mode. Car downshifts immediately. And in sports mode they happen even faster. Car goes down to first when getting ready for slow corner exits! I love it!! The car actually starts rev matching and down shifting while i'm on the brakes so its already in 2nd for me to just get on the gas mid corner. The Jag's always in 3rd or 4th when turning, then u have to gun it, then it takes time to downshift, then u start accelerating again. It's just not a good predictive transmission.

 

lol. comparing the jag trans to the ZF is like comparing hamburger to prime-rib!

ZF has been doing this a LONG time, and they've definitely got it figured-out.

 

I don't use it more correctly very very rarely lol . Being an auto tranny I am afraid of damaging the tranny from manually using it

 

I had no idea this was so popular - was it designed for this use? Kind of like tiptronic...

 

Nope, mine stays in "d" most of the time. The only time it goes into "4" is when I want to slow down w/o braking or for an extra boost when taking over another car.

 

I use mine very sparingly, it’s not that I don’t enjoy it but I’m just scared. My ’04 sport with 54,000 miles is already on it’s second trani, the first on crapped out at about 42K. I just figure with a weak trani and all wheel drive there’s just too much that can go wrong to risk a few seconds of fun.

 

I use mine all the time...makes it a lot more fun driving the car...

 

What's a J Gate My car didn't come with that apparently

 

J-Gate is very useful when trying to weave between cars because you can keep the revs up to be ready to switch lanes when a hole opens. I've been using it for about 45,000 miles of HARD redlining driving and downshifting for engine braking without ill effects. I don't push the car or use the J-Gate till the car's temp gauge says the engine is warmed up for at least 10-20 min. I keep up on maintenance every 3,000 miles. I have not had a single mechanical problem with my car EVER. *Knock on Wood* Just a bunch of stupid minor problems. My car is a 2003 2.5 with 62,000 miles. Another reason I use the J-Gate so much is because i have NO torque.

 

Oh and it seems that a lot of the newer 04+ cars are the ones that have failed trannys and prop shafts and transfer cases. Is that true or not? And did Jaguar change the design of any of the mechanical components during the production life cycle?

 

i have used mine a bit... just wondering if anyone knows if it damages the tranny at all?

 

its been snowing a lot and replaced all fluids during the fall. have warranty and went for it. use it instead of brakes, down shifts fine . but when i need a boost. hit the sport button. this car from a kick down can accelerate but not much ***** from a static run.

 

I use it mostly for controlling engine braking during foul weather. Works nicely on icy roads with all of the hills we have in this area. Last Wedneday we were hit with snow, then ice, then snow. I used the J gate for about 10 miles and never even got into D the road was so bad.

As for spirited driving use, it just doesn't seem well designed for the purpose. I'll use it once and a while but find it mostly unsatisfying. I doubt there will be any negative impact on the tranny unless you are stupid with it.

 

chris, what do you mean "stupid with it"?

 

By "stupid with it" I meant attempting to jam it into 2nd gear going 50mph. Stuff like that where you are not matching road speed with gear limits. Or yanking on the think like it's a slap shifter in your dad's 67 Camaro. The fact that you can't clutch it to match revs is a hinderance. Just common sense stuff.