From drive to nuetral push

[Jack Flash]

I've had a few automatic transmission cars in my life, and, have always
been able to push the shift lever from drive to neutral in one quick stroke.

I've now had this car for a few months now, and have tested this on many occasions
and I need to press on the shift lever release in order to bring it to neutral. Is this
a fault in design ? Or is it the way it should work ?

I feel this is an important safety issue especially while winter driving, since, it allows
to release traction and regain control in slippery situations.

I have searched the forum looking for answers concerning this issue, and have not found
anything on this subject. So, sorry if it's been previously addressed.

 

[fudge12]

That's the way it's supposed to be. While I agree with you that it does help to switch to neutral in slippery conditions, I doubt anyone would immediately grab for the gear shifter and throw it in neutral, let alone putting it into the wrong gear. It's also the same reason why some LS's have AdvanceTrac control feature.

 

[1LoudLS]

advancetrac or even standard traction control will react much faster than you could ever notice, move your hands, shift the selector and have the transmission make the change. then wait for the wheel to lose enough momentum to either stop spinning or hop on the brakes to stop the spinning and risk over braking...

all the computer has to do is see wheel spin, cut the fuel, then apply the brakes just enough to spot the spin without locking up the tires, all which it can do in a fraction of a second.

 

[Jack Flash]

Thanks for the responses. Although advancetrac may be a neat feature, it's
good for the rear wheels, not the front. I live in an area where winter driving
in severe winter conditions is normal on almost a daily basis from November
through March. And when the front end decides it's pushing beyond traction,
the only help you have to gain control back is to cut traction to the rear wheels.
Best way to do this is 'slap' the lever in neutral.

This upcoming winter will be my first with this car, so, will see how this 3500lbs little
piggy will control in these conditions. Good thing I run studs in my winter tires...

 

[1LoudLS]

Although advancetrac may be a neat feature, it's
good for the rear wheels, not the front.

so you're not familiar with AdvanceTrac...

 

[RigsLS]

Leave it alone Loud1, he's from Quebec Canada,
they do things a bit different there compared to the rest of the planet.

 

[1LoudLS]

fair enough

 

[RigsLS]

Check out this list of "conditions" on QC drivers licenses.
Most seem normal yet others are thought up while sniffing glue out of a bag.

http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/driver_licence/conditions.php



for many years as long as we can remember, when visiting or passing through the "country" of Quebec,
one was not allowed to make a right turn on a red light, despite having come to a full stop.
They changed that to "Turning Right on Red is OPTIONAL, NOT MANDATORY"

- Respect the decision of a driver who decides not to turn right on a red light.
- Never beep your horn to force the driver ahead.
- Remember that courtesy goes a long way on the road!


http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/road_safety/behaviour/turning_right/index.php


:runaway:



rest of Canada you'd get an "Impeding traffic" ticket if you did not advance right on a red when safe to do so.

 

[Jack Flash]

Leave it alone Loud1, he's from Quebec Canada,
they do things a bit different there compared to the rest of the planet.

BigRig Really !!?? You're judging me on my geographical place of living, and, on
government policy ?! Have I insulted you in any way ? Have we ever met for you
to have such disrespectful and condescending judgement of me ? I doubt it very much.

Wow....tough crowd. I'm on other forums and have never been treated this way, and, was
certainly not expecting this from a classy car enthusiast forum.

I see you are a long time member and a respected one at that, so, if you could put your
judgement aside, and stay on the subject at hand, perhaps we could have a respectful
exchange. I am new here, and new to this car, but not a stranger to forums. So, I do expect
to have a few of you want to put me in my place, I have no issues with that. Comes with being a
newbie. I also understand, unfortunately for me, I will come off sometimes with a 'gimme' attitude
since I have a long learning curve. This is where members like yourself come in. So we can learn from
the best, not be dumped on.

You obviously have issues with my place of living. I can't do anything about that. But don't judge me
that way for it. Next time you run through la belle province, shoot me a PM, I'll gladly take time if I
can and have a cup of coffee with you. I'm sure we'll both share good car stories.

Now, back to the issue at hand, gear lever and advancetrac. Perhaps I haven't read enough on the
subject, my bad, I apologize. But in my defence, my reasons for have a little doubt on traction aids
is my past experiences with them. Some are very good, some less. Just looking for a fix if this is one that's
on the less good side.

So, 1loud, if your still interested in sharing with me, I'd love to learn from the best, and go to bed more knowledgeable.
BigRig, your more then welcome, or anyone else for that matter.

In the mean time, I will search a little more on the forum concerning this subject.

 

[02pos]

apparently forums in Canada are different than forums here in the US, Every forum I have ever been a member of has been full of @$$holes, smart@$$es, and quite a few dumb@$$es. if you want to win the internet you have to have thick skin, he wasn't making fun of you personally, he doesn't even know you. by the way he was sort of defending you, (he said it wasn't your fault)

 

[1LoudLS]

I wouldn't worry about it too much jack, Mr. Rig is just joking around with you a little with the canadian thing. he caught a bit of it back in the beginning and thinks its better for another canadian to make fun of other canadians. yes sorry, canadians to catch a bad rap in a lot of forums, apparently we are still a little mad about the whole Celine Dion and Justin Beiber thing...

first off, I am far from the best so this will be a little simplified...

standard traction control works by sensing wheel spin and cutting power (by cutting fuel) and then quickly tapping the brakes to stop the wheel spin and regaining traction.

AdvanceTrac also uses other sensors to monitor things like vehicle rotation and can see by how you are turning the wheel where you are expecting to go and where you actually are going to go and will make corrective actions to get/keep the car on track, it will even pull the car out of a over rotation situation (would be spin out). it does this well and it does this fast...






on the flip side, this system also makes it very difficult to get the car going in very slippery spots (studded tires will help you out a bunch) one of my biggest complaints on this car is the lack of a limited slip rear end. in my personal opinion, it would have made this car a lot better for the third or more of our country and pretty much all of yours in the winter months...

if you have a 1st gen, this is a fairly easy/cheap (for mechanically inclined) modification, its a bit more work and parts for all the 2nd gens out there.

 

[1LoudLS]

also, welcome.

try not to take it to hard, everybody likes to joke around with each other on here.





unless everybody, and I do mean everybody is jumping on your case. if thats happening, then there is a real good chance you're being "that guy" lol

 

[Robot]

BigRig Really !!?? You're judging me on my geographical place of living, and, on
government policy ?! Have I insulted you in any way ? Have we ever met for you
to have such disrespectful and condescending judgement of me ? I doubt it very much.

Wow....tough crowd. I'm on other forums and have never been treated this way, and, was
certainly not expecting this from a classy car enthusiast forum.

I see you are a long time member and a respected one at that, so, if you could put your
judgement aside, and stay on the subject at hand, perhaps we could have a respectful
exchange. I am new here, and new to this car, but not a stranger to forums. So, I do expect
to have a few of you want to put me in my place, I have no issues with that. Comes with being a
newbie. I also understand, unfortunately for me, I will come off sometimes with a 'gimme' attitude
since I have a long learning curve. This is where members like yourself come in. So we can learn from
the best, not be dumped on.

You obviously have issues with my place of living. I can't do anything about that. But don't judge me
that way for it. Next time you run through la belle province, shoot me a PM, I'll gladly take time if I
can and have a cup of coffee with you. I'm sure we'll both share good car stories.

Now, back to the issue at hand, gear lever and advancetrac. Perhaps I haven't read enough on the
subject, my bad, I apologize. But in my defence, my reasons for have a little doubt on traction aids
is my past experiences with them. Some are very good, some less. Just looking for a fix if this is one that's
on the less good side.

So, 1loud, if your still interested in sharing with me, I'd love to learn from the best, and go to bed more knowledgeable.
BigRig, your more then welcome, or anyone else for that matter.

In the mean time, I will search a little more on the forum concerning this subject.

BigRig is from Canada too. He's really a cool dude.

AdvanceTrac uses all four wheels for stability control. It is extremely fast! I can rotate my car just by flooring it and turning the wheel from a stop. This works well when crossing opposing traffic. The old Golf GTIs did that very well.

 

[Jack Flash]

by the way he was sort of defending you, (he said it wasn't your fault)

Where ??

Thanks 1loud for the input. Not really a fan of winter, but, interested in the first snow fall to see how I can push
this car. Rear wheel drive is always fun....until the heavy snow falls come, then, it's less.

What ? Beiber's a Canuck ? Damn, not proud to be one now. LOL

I do have the first gen, it's a 2000. I'm sure there is something on this somewhere on the forum,
on how to do the transmission mod, I'll start digging.

Thanks to everyone for the input.

 

[RigsLS]

BigRig Really !!?? You're judging me ...

[[open can of worms]]

Province of Quebec in Canada sucks! There that's my opinion! ain't it great!

Driving through busy city Montreal, QC and amber construction roads sign alert flashes are NOT even provided in English. Quebec sends language police into other Canadian neighboring english speaking provinces to issue fines if not compliant in providing french on services or products. More than three quarters can't or refuse to speak clear English when greeted. English language NOT provided in QC on most everything.

Out of province from QC and road signs MUST be provided in French first, English second but not a lick of english when you get to their province or country as they'd like it to be!

[[close can of worms]]




^ as you can see, NOT a very big fan of the French Quebec separatism way of living in English speaking CANADA!

... now back to the thread of, "Wow I have to push a button to get it to change gears!"

me!

 

[1LoudLS]

Not really a fan of winter, but, interested in the first snow fall to see how I can push
this car. Rear wheel drive is always fun....until the heavy snow falls come, then, it's less.

well as far as RWD cars go, it isnt as bad as most. proper tires are important (sounds like you already have that taken care of), a bit of weight in the rear also helps. deep snow doesn't really happen, the car drives extremely well, but starting from a stop can be ridiculous.

What ? Beiber's a Canuck ? Damn, not proud to be one now. LOL

now you see what I'm talking about... lol

I do have the first gen, it's a 2000. I'm sure there is something on this somewhere on the forum,
on how to do the transmission mod, I'll start digging.

its not so much in the trans as it is in the rear differential (center part of axles). basically pulling one parts out and replacing it with a part from a different car. if you're not really mechanically inclined, you will need a mechanic as it does have to be done with some precision. but it really is a fairly easy job to get done. and it can be done for fairly cheap by buying new parts or really cheap if you know what to look for in junk yards...

there definitely is a couple of good threads on it with plenty of info

 

[1LoudLS]

Canada sucks! There that's my opinion

why don't you tell us how you really feel

 

[Jack Flash]

Thanks 1loud, I appreciate the helpful hand.

This is why I love Americans so much. Classy, and always willing to help.:yourock:

 

[LSV8FAN]

Many years ago I parked on the only spot on a busy parking lot and the spot was a sheet of ice. I also rolled off the pavement with the front wheels, so when it came time to back-up, the front wheels would have to go over a hump. With the AdvanceTrac on, both rear wheels would not even turn when pressing on the accelerator because neither of them had traction. Once I pressed the button to turn AdvanceTrac off, I was able to rock the car back and forth until the front wheels cleared the hump and the car backed-up from the ice. With studded tires I don't think traction will be an issue and AdvanceTrac will straighten out the car when it senses it starts a spin on a slippery surface. Actually, my experience has been much better control with rear wheel drive with AdvanceTrac than with standard front wheel drive cars without any assists. Previous front wheel drive cars I owned, the front end would pull to the right due to torque steer when starting from a stop on a slippery surface. Rear wheel drive cars without any assist would also tend to pull to one or the other side, but with the LS's AdvanceTrac all that pulling to a side is eliminated.

 

[1LoudLS]

This is why I love Americans so much. Classy, and always willing to help.:yourock:

wait a minute, are we talking about my America? :shifty:

 

[RigsLS]

why don't you tell us how you really feel

Don't I always?

which remind me, must renew ad for marriage or adoption into a nice USA family. Preferably Georgia or further south. Any place where english isn't becoming a secondary language would do.

 

[1LoudLS]

Any place where english isn't becoming a secondary language would do.

Careful, you don't want to go too much further then... Lol

 

[RigsLS]

... I see you are a long time member and a respected one at that ...

The lies, I can't take it any more LOL.

... you run through la belle province ...

Crap, you are located there, I was just around that part last night, backhauling through Wakefield QC back to Ottawa.

I'm about 35min west of the Nations Capital, "embedded" out in the country farm lands.