Tiptronic owners - give me your opinions for the FAQ

Rogue pointed out that the FAQ 'Which Supra model is which?' post is lacking on the Tiptronic side of things, and he's right. I don't know anything about these having never driven one (heck, I've never actually even seen one!) so can anyone who has give me some thoughts please?

Stuff like what it's like to drive, how it compares with the auto and/or manual, additional problems/issues for potential owners to think about, etc, etc.

Just a heads-up that I won't be quoting word-for-word but will try and produce a general summary of the thoughts, so don't be offended if your replies get wordsmithed a bit into a general summary.

Thanks,

Dave.

('heads-up', 'wordsmithed'... jeez, corporate boy alert)

The tiptronic is the same gearbox IMHO as the auto, HOWEVER you have ecu control in manual mode, so you can shift up and down thru the 4 gears which is something you can't do with the stock auto.

It drives exactly the same and is indeed is an A340E gearbox.

Gav

Worth mentioning the buttons are "down" on the facing side and "up" underneath.

Shifting seems faster using them.

To enable Manual mode you nudge the 'stick' to the right which shows 'M' on the digital display, the buttons do nothing in standard auto mode.

I find it fun to use when driving hard and keeping the revs high. Useless for generally pootling about.

Only available on VVTi 97 onwards? (Never seen a non VVTi Tip)

I find it a nice combination of easy cruising in auto mode and fun to use for a bit of a thrash whilst keeping your hands on the wheel.

I found the normal auto boxes I owned annoying to manual shift as I had a habit of moving it up to neutral by accident.

Best of both worlds IMO manual and auto and combined with the sweet VVTI engine its a cool ride.

Plus, ref using the steering wheel buttons, its also worth mentioning that it wont let you accidentally over-rev the engine with a duff change (it beeps at you instead) and you can use the manual mode all day in 4th if you want, as manual mode acts just like a normal auto when you slow down for junctions etc.....I love it, but I wish the buttons were a little bigger and a little more positive when pushed. Ive only driven a 6 speed manual Supe for a test drive, but the gear shifts were slick and the clutch had a nice feel - if I had the choice between two identical VVTI TT Supras, one manual / one Tipt, I would toss a coin

Might be worth a mention about the high speed kickdown problem.

If you accelerate too hard it'll kick down from 4th to 3rd not always good. But a good speed can still be made (160-170+) you just need to build upto it.

Might be worth a mention about the high speed kickdown problem.

 

If you accelerate too hard it'll kick down from 4th to 3rd not always good. But a good speed can still be made (160-170+) you just need to build upto it.

Isn't that a speed converter/delimiter issue more than a tiptonic problem though?

-Ian

Isn't that a speed converter/delimiter issue more than a tiptonic problem though?

 

-Ian

Not sure

Isn't that a speed converter/delimiter issue more than a tiptonic problem though?

 

-Ian

Yup.