Hi Folks - I have a couple newbie questions. I'm finding the car just effortlessly "squirts" along through traffic, so I rarely find myself ever really leaning into the throttle. I don't know too much about the mechanics behind the VVEL. Is this an engine that will benefit from having its legs stretched every now and then, meaning, does it need to periodically work along the entire powerband, including up into the higher RPMs? Also, do fellow owners here really make much use of the paddle shifters and the manual mode in the 7AT? Quite honestly, I'm reluctant/apprehensive about giving the shifters a real go, for fear of working the engine and tranny too hard.

Any thoughts from the more learned and seasoned owners would be greatly appreciated.

 

Pretty much any car can be driven however you feel like driving it, obviously not abusing it. This car doesn't have any particular quirks as to how it needs to be driven. Just drive it however you feel.

 

I've driven and abused my G for 3 year now in September and it drives just as good as the day I left the dealer if not better. The paddle shifters work great but I normally use the tiptronic shifter in my 7at.

 

You really can't abuse an engine or A/T today other doing something willfully stupid like not changing oil or doing high RPM N-to-D gear drops.

VVEL does not benefit from any particular driving style - baby it or race it and it'll work fin for its designed life (which is probably gonna be longer than you'll own the car - at least 150,000 miles). The chief factor in engine life is engine run time hours, not average RPM or load.

I've only got ~40k on my 2011 G37x and it sees red line and WOT on a daily basis. Previous ownership of a Tacoma and Accord was the same - and each went ~150,000 miles with zero engine problems (they didn't even burn oil).

Sure, Subarus had that whole head gasket thing and there are MTBF-mandatory failures, but by and large engines pretty much don't prematurely fail in modern cars. If engines were susceptible to spirited driving or going more than 3,000 miles on an oil change or whatever, engines would fail often.

 

I have absolutely hammered my paddles in the mountains of Virginia. They work and are not fragile. The transmission will not let you make gross errors in judgment on downshifts; if your near redline in 3 and try to go to 2, you'll hear a "beep" and it will hold 3rd if it can't make the shift without over-spinning the engine, but beyond that it doesn't 'nanny' you. You can drive as aggressively as you want. Overall they work well but take a little getting used to if you're coming out of a DSG type transmission or a manual, but once you figure it out, you can have a lot of fun. The rev matching on downshift is quite nice.

 

Just get through the break-in period (first 1500 miles) by taking it pretty easy and keeping the rpms fluctuating often (not using cruise control). Then drive it like you stole it

 

The paddle shifters are there to help you drive more aggresively. That being said, as others have stated, the trans won't let you do anything really stupid as it will protect itself, except for that nuetral drop.

 

I find that I have to drive it hard and redline it on occasion or my MPG drops and the acceleration grows numb. I drive in traffic weekdays so every 5 days or so I try to open the car up a little.

If you have an auto there is no way to over rev the engine the computer wont let you down shift if it is not safe.

I use my paddle shifters often. If I need to downshift but dont necessarily want to go into manual mode you just hit one or two lower gears and it will hold that gear long enough for you to do whatever you want before it falls back into auto. Plus revving the car a little helps blow out some carbon and deposits left in the oil, at least thats what I tell myself.