@axr6 who siad

"I did have more of an issue with the car upshifting on me BELOW the readline, usually just a short moment before I pulled the shift lever."

If this happens in the lower gears it is likely that the rev counter is unable to keep up with the revs as they increase so quickly. The engine management reads the revs exactly but when you are accelerating fast the lag in the analog tach means it is always behind.

 

Dang, are you saying the XKR accelerates so fast that the needles can't keep up? That's pretty dang fast!

 

I gotta say I'm very happy with my 2008 portfolio ed XKR (4.2) I've been on track with it and its up-shifting points seemed perfect in DS mode.The M5 and M6 behind me weren't a serious challenge especially out of the corners. I think I was mostly only using the paddles to preemptively downshift into corners. About the only thing I felt the car would benefit from is a limited slip diff and less soundproofing as I like to use the engine note to hear shift points rather than any distraction of ever having to look at the tach. Maybe my hearing isn't as good as it was but even under race conditions and with the roof down the engine is too quiet to really shift by sound. I did have a race helmet on though.

My car definitely firms up the handling in DS mode.
Am I right in thinking that in 2010+ cars that sport mode changes shift points and dynamic mode firms up the handling and lightens up on the TC? DS mode does it all in one (you can still also separately turn off the TC completely) so I suspect dynamic mode + sport mode together in 2010+ cars is pretty much identical to DS mode alone in pre-2010 XKRs, its just broken out into 2 buttons so you think you're getting more :-) .

It only just now occurred to me (duh) that DS might actually stand for Dynamic + Sport which would seem to confirm it. If so, I prefer the idea that I dont have all those buttons. I mean when would I actually use one and not the other? fast shifts but soft ride = potentially dangerous cornering. Hard ride but 'cruising mode' shifting = pointless.

The tach isn't slow to respond but the engine is powerful enough that the tach can certainly lag a little from reality. Its another reason I wish I could hear the engine a little more in DS mode.

 

There is no question that the transmission shifts well and is suited for whatever driving you want to do, but IMO if I can't really control the gearshifts, it becomes a much less engaging drive.