Has anyone had a chance to play with the manual mode on the transmission?

If someone is willing to test this out for me, it would be appreciated:

1. Can you lock the truck in 6th at say 30 mph and press the accelerator and it still stays in 6th without it automatically downshifting?
2. How well does it engine brake? Like from 6>5, 5>4, and so on and so forth.
3. Does it automatically downshift as you get below certain gear thresholds? Like staying in 3rd and stopping for a stop light? Does it downshift automatically to 1st or 2nd?
4. Can you start off in any gear you want? Say for some reason you needed 3rd gear, can you start off in 3rd? Or is it locked to only 1st and 2nd gear starts?
5. How is the feel of the shifts when shifting manually? Does it feel like the driver is dropping the clutch or is it smooth?
6. With cruise control on, if you have it, can you still downshift or upshift if needed, or does it disable cruise control?

Again, I'd appreciate it.

 

From test driving them you can only make a safe downshift, and must have rpm high enough to upshift. Don't know about 6 th and 30 mph. Downshifting slows it down like driving a stick would. To me it felt smooth. And you could have cruise on. You can start in 1,2,3 which ever conditions allow. And if I remember right you had to downshift to 1 st when stopped.

 

I love the 6 speed trans as the gear selected is the only gear the truck uses. It acts like a true manual transmission. It won't shift up or down, it stays only in that gear. The F150 uses a Tow/haul mode for automatic engine braking.

I would expect the new select shift program to operate the same just adding a way to manually control 6th, 5th, and 4th just as you do with the other 3 lower gears.

Unless your racing, the Tow/Haul mode should do the optimum job on engine breaking and gear selecting when towing. Tow/Haul mode automatically selects the gearing for engine braking depending on how much and how long your pushing down on the brake pedal.

With my smaller Sport Trac, when towing, engine breaking with 3rd or 2nd was what was normally needed. I can't think even 4th would offer any decent engine breaking. If you are not towing and want some engine breaking for descending a hill, 3rd would be the best as it would be low enough to accelerate when needed and provide decent engine braking. Holding a higher gear wouldn't be ideal, requiring manual shifting.

Even though my 2010 trans doesn't have select shift, shifting from 1 - D is not like driving a manual. The shifts are smooth but to smooth. There's to much delay/clutch slippage between shifts. For me, the only real use is for engine breaking or slippery take offs. However the throttle on demand calibration is better than most, making it possible to feather it without spinning the tires.

Just my thoughts.

 

truck 2011 fx2 5.0 w/ 3.55 rearend w/ select shift

1) if your in gear and punch it, it stays in what ever gear your in
2) engine brake 6to5 almost nothing same with 5to4 from 4to 3 good 3 to 2 great and same for 2 to 1
3) down shift yes it does 6 to 5 about 40mph 5 to 4 about 30 and 4 to 3 about 20ish
4) you can start off in 1st 2nd or 3rd nothing else
5)it is very fluid and smooth
6) ill get back to ya haha never tryed

 

when your in drive you can also eliminate gears. so if you don't want it shifting past 3rd you just hit the button down and eliminate the gears in the lcd screen.

 

Resurrecting this thread... I used the select shift on my drive home today. I love it! Being able to control the shift points makes it so much more fun to drive. In my short drive though, I saw my MPG drop rapidly! :-)

Took a little getting used to the engine braking and timing downshifts since you don't have a clutch to control it. Butter smooth shifting up and down though once I got a feel for it...

 

When mine is in manual mode, it will drop gears as you slow down and come to a stop, but will not go back up when accelerating unless you hit the button. So its not really like a standard trans. If it is in 6th gear, it won't stay there all the way down to a stop.

 

Hmmm, didn't try letting it shift down on its own...

 

I have a 2013 5.0 XL regcab with the Class 4 trailer tow package. During its first week on the road in December, I hit the toggle switch to switch on the illuminated 6 speeds so I can watch what gear I'm in. I've left it there ever since.

Doing so doesn't seem to change the regular shifting pattern or speeds, but I like knowing what gear I'm in. I trust leaving it there won't hurt anything.

I noticed, for instance, that the transmission doesn't rush into 6th gear in town annoyingly, but stays in 5th for some useful throttle response at around 50 mph (80 k/hr) or so.

Craig

 

Stays on. I use it while towing. Usually staying in D but you can limit what the highest gear it will go into. Occasionally I will go into M to force it into the next gear if it decides to jump into too low of a gear.

Edit: You are welcome for a 2 year old response that no longer does you any good