I called the dealer on how to drive my new Mustang with the paddle shifters, guy told me to put it in sport mode and then simply use paddles to shift up and down and that there was a rev limiter to prevent engine damage.

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All of the above info the guy told me was either incomplete or wrong according to the instructions I read.

Car can be put in either D or S (sport) when using paddle shifters, D for holding a gear for a short amount of time for passing or in S for complete manual gear control.

The engine does not have a rev limiter, I believe engine damage can occur if the person runs the engine at high revs for a long period of time by not shifting when one should.

Also the engine will automatically downshift as well to prevent low revs from stalling out the car.

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Can someone confirm any of the above info either from what the dealer told me of from the instructions I read and wrote above?

Also does paddle shifting really give me an advantage in doing anything, off the line starts, passing on the highway, better mpg, etc?

Thanks
Terry

 

My '13 has a rev limiter, so I am sure the new ones do as well. Even so, I don't think it is wise to bounce off the limiter between shifts.

 

I would be surprised if there was a mass-produced modern car that didn't have a rev limiter. I'd be willing to bet the Mustang has one too.

 

From my owner's manual:


SelectShift in drive (D):
• Provides a temporary manual mode
for performing more demanding
maneuvers where extra control of gear
selection is required (for example,
when towing or overtaking). This mode
will hold a selected gear for a
temporary period of time dependent
on driver inputs (for example, steering
or accelerator pedal input).
SelectShift in sport (S):
• Provides a permanent manual gear
selection where full control of gear
selection is required.
To exit SelectShift mode shift the
transmission into another gear (for
example, drive [D])

 

The dealer is right. Paddle shifting is a gimmick at best. Put the car in sport mode and let the computer do the shifting. It will shift better than you can. The paddle shifters will not hold the car in any given gear. The car will shift on its own if you don't. This is done to prevent people from damaging their transmission and costing the manufacturer a lot of money in warranty claims.

 

In S on the trans selector you can shift almost like a manual and it's fun to do so. Practical use on the street? Maybe none but it's not a gimmick. The trans can handle it and there is an engine rev limiter. Should you rev the engine to redline? That's your call. The total of all this is the car gives you many options to make your driving experience a fun one. Use it wisely and you'll be fine.

 

It's a gimmick. I have it on my car and never use the thing. Put the car in sport mode and hit the gas. I promise you it's going to change gears for you anyway. It's just going to change the shift points and lockout the overdrive to keep you in a higher rpm range.

 

OK, S mode and hit the gas then, I was looking for higher rpm's in the gears, in D mode the rpms don't get high enough for my taste.

Terry

 

In my car the easiest way to notice it is when you are at a stop and the engine is at idle speed. In sport mode the idle speed will be higher than in regular drive mode. That elevated RPM keeps throughout the power range and the OD will not kick in at cruising speed. Sport mode is more noticeable in the Ecoboost than it will be in the V6. The ecoboost in sport mode has about the same performance level as my 14 V6 and about the same gas mileage.