ActiveMatic

[rage2021]

How many of you actually use this feature on the car? I've been driving my 3 for over a year now without giving it a thought...been using the activematic for the past couple days..fun! I guess its just different..dunnno..and I prefer it right now over manual cause no need for clutch so I can still rest my other leg =P

[Thrizzl3]

your talking about the tiptronic right?

[rage2021]

Yea, doesnt mazda call it activematic :P correct me if im wrong

[Thrizzl3]

lol you can call it whatever you want..i only use it on the highway when i need to pass cars..other than that im in auto

[rage2021]

haha yea i noticed that too, useful in highway to pass, but still fun :P

[Thrizzl3]

how often do you use it?

[rage2021]

yea i was gonna ask if it ok to use all the time or once awhile..just been using past couple days here n there

[Thrizzl3]

use it whenever you want..mostly on the highway is better

[-cj-]

I think "activematic" is the name that Mazda gives the learning automatic transmission. The manual mode is something else.

When I drive my wife's car I use it fairly often... But it sucks in the city, hard to keep it smooth without a clutch.

[omalak]

I hardly use it.. if ever lol

Secretly i wish i settled for a manual :blush

[rage2021]

Oh I guess manual is better then eh? I dont know I havnt learned it yet or tried lol. IN any case, do I need to let go of the gas when using the tiptronic or does it matter? Also, is 4 RPM ok when in 3rd gear? Will it mess up my engine at all? Thnx

[bunchi]

Oh I guess manual is better then eh? I dont know I havnt learned it yet or tried lol. IN any case, do I need to let go of the gas when using the tiptronic or does it matter? Also, is 4 RPM ok when in 3rd gear? Will it mess up my engine at all? Thnx

you don't have to let go of the gas when using the tiptronic. 4k rpm should be ok, although I won't do it all the time.

[Brammer]

I've driven manual and auto. The "sportmode" automatic is a good compromise. I find it handy for:
- merging on to the freeway, holding the car in 2nd or 3rd makes it easier to match speeds
- assisting the brakes once in a while
- "crawl" speed during rush hour on the 401, holding it in 2nd lets you keep pace without touching the brakes.
- starting from a stop on ice, starting off in 2nd makes the wheels less likely to spin.

[Soyabean]

You can use it all the time if you want. instead of having the tranny automatically shift for you, you shift yourself. When i drive my gfs car i like to use it in the winter especially when it snows hard. Its good to downshift vs braking in snow since you wont slide if your tires are still rolling. Yea it is kinda jerky cuz you have to clutch to put it into neutral and rev-match the rpm to the lower gear but meh.

Also, 4k at 3rd gear is ok. Try to not to have it sit there. Sometimes I rev it up to fairly high past that 4k when i drive but as long as it doesnt sit at the high rpm for long periods its ok. When i need to brake hard sometimes i shift into 3rd and my rpm is at like 5k so yea.....

[Hives]

I dun use it. Feels like an arcade video game.

[Mazda3X2]

My wife's 3 is a 2.3 auto. When I drive hers I find that it feels extremely numb. The transmission likes to up shift fairly early making the car a dog. Maybe it has learned her style of driving? I use the "manual mode" on hers for merging and holding a gear like someone said.

[rage2021]

Also, 4k at 3rd gear is ok. Try to not to have it sit there. Sometimes I rev it up to fairly high past that 4k when i drive but as long as it doesnt sit at the high rpm for long periods its ok. When i need to brake hard sometimes i shift into 3rd and my rpm is at like 5k so yea.....


How long is too long? Like is 5 secs ok at a time fine for 4k?

[Soyabean]

How long is too long? Like is 5 secs ok at a time fine for 4k?

Like if you drive more spiritedly for example, you would rev up to 6k (max) every gear until you got to the desired speed. But it shouldnt stay constant. But then again, i have tried this a couple times when doing 120km and needed to pass a car, i would downshift to 4th and the rpm would be like 4-5k? then i'd gas it to pass and shift back to 5th (i drive a manual though). This can last about 5 secs too. So i guess its ok in the end. But if you can, try not to have have it sit on high rpms (5k+). 4k wouldn't be considered high i dont think.

I just dont like the fact that the engine has to work so hard for long periods of time. Like imagine reving at 5k for a whole minute. You engine is actually revolving 5000 times a min. That might be pretty hard on the engine. Like maybe if you had a honda it'd be ok since their engines are made for high reving. But ours aren't since we have low-end torque so i dunno

Im sure there are lots more people here that are more knowledgeable than me

[rage2021]

Yea true that, thnx

[MAZDA Kitten]

Yea, doesnt mazda call it activematic :P correct me if im wrong

You're correct

Tiptronic is a Porsche/VAG thing...


Tiptronic is a registered trademark, and the word "Tiptronic" is owned by German (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany) sports car maker Porsche (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche), who licenses it for use by other manufacturers, such as Volkswagen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen), Audi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi), SEAT (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEAT) and Škoda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0koda_Auto), all part of Volkswagen AG. However, many people use the term (erroneously) to refer generically to any automatic torque converter transmission that incorporates a manual upshift / downshift feature. (BMW (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW)'s proprietary version of this system is called Steptronic.)

[mazda lover]

I've driven manual and auto. The "sportmode" automatic is a good compromise. I find it handy for:
- merging on to the freeway, holding the car in 2nd or 3rd makes it easier to match speeds
- assisting the brakes once in a while
- "crawl" speed during rush hour on the 401, holding it in 2nd lets you keep pace without touching the brakes.
- starting from a stop on ice, starting off in 2nd makes the wheels less likely to spin.


same here ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ we are on the same page..

[DumpInfo]

I barely even notice I have it there...I'm so used to cruising that I don't bother shifting gears. I can't be bothered with it I have tunes to listen to :bana2

[Fuman]

How long is too long? Like is 5 secs ok at a time fine for 4k?
relax.... you're not even near redline.
You can hold it at 4000 RPM until you run out of gas.

[liquidzyklon]

I've driven manual and auto. The "sportmode" automatic is a good compromise. I find it handy for:
- merging on to the freeway, holding the car in 2nd or 3rd makes it easier to match speeds
- assisting the brakes once in a while
- "crawl" speed during rush hour on the 401, holding it in 2nd lets you keep pace without touching the brakes.
- starting from a stop on ice, starting off in 2nd makes the wheels less likely to spin.That's pretty much most of the common reason people would use the Sports Shift. Also, once and a while to give the engine a workout. But I'll wait until I am done 1000km on my new car first.

[x_o_k_x]

Im pretty sure its still called tiptronic, since the company that made our transmission, shares same transmission with GTI, Jetta and Gulf with permission to tweak computer chip for each car for a better performance with a transmission...

Oh yeah reving to 4k rpm is ok, I do it to 7000rpm in 1st and 2nd gear when merging.

[TheMAN]

Yea, doesnt mazda call it activematic :P correct me if im wrong
that's what mazda calls it overseas as well as in the domestic market (Japan)... so it IS the official name for it