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  1. Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Posts
    101
    #1
    I read somewhere that the problem why mz3 is a little thirsty is that it shifts too slow into second gear.

    So, in order to minimize the time I spend on the 1st gear, Ive been trying to use the activematic mode.

    Here are my observations:

    1. It wont let me shift into the 3rd and 4th gear willy-nilly. I need to be at 20kms/hr to be able to shift to 3rd and 40kms/hr to be able to shift to 4th.

    2. However, I can shift to 2nd gear at once minimizing the time spent on the first gear. So what I do is let the car roll for a second, then I shift immediately to 2nd gear.

    - I can crawl on 2nd gear during stop and go traffic.

    3. When I am able to reach 3rd gear, I try not to downshift if I can help it. Sometimes I see the car doing 15kms/hr on 3rd gear

    - The car downshifts automatically if the speed is too low. i.e. It will go from 3rd to 1st gear. But then again, I lenghtened the time in 3rd gear instead of being in 2nd gear.

    Anyway:

    - Anyone here also using the activematic mode? Any tips?
    - Will it really save gas I wonder. :hope:

  2. Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    5,605
    #2
    Quote Originally Posted by jrebong0 View Post
    - Anyone here also using the activematic mode? Any tips?
    - Will it really save gas I wonder. :hope:
    It can work for you or against you. It will highly depend on how you choose your shift points for every situation. If you mis-shift for any reason, then probably you're using more gas than necessary. Activematic (aka sport mode, etc.) as the name implies, is best left for spirited driving. In most situations, having it in D will give you the best fuel economy for daily driving.

    I don't know how it is on Mazdas, but on Hondas, selecting D would allow the auto tranny to change its shift points on-the-fly depending on how aggressive you are with the accelerator pedal (among other things like engine load, current speed, road grade, etc). But generally, if you feather the gas pedal, the tranny up-shifts sooner to be as economical as possible. On the other hand, if you put it to the metal, the tranny delays the shifting to the next gear until you've used up most of the engine's power band per gear for a bit of aggressive driving. The latter gives you the best acceleration and the worst fuel economy.

  3. #3
    pwede, yan, depende talaga on how focused are you on your shifting.. the only good thing is, you dont have a clutch pedal to fiddle with.. just +/-..

    un lang from N--dadaan ka muna sa D the sa manual mode...i think mas makakatipid ka pag manual mode ang ginagamit mo--macocontrol mo which gear you should be.

  4. Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Posts
    101
    #4
    Iba pala tong activematic. I tried it to save gas, kaso ang sarap eh. I mean, during overtaking, I can downshift one, or even two gears down to get extra power, then boom! nasa unahan nako. Mas lalong bumilis ung pagdrive ko tuloy (Kaya malamang dito makakasave ng gas.. hehe)

    MZ3 talaga. I get it, I get it. This car is not about FC. This car is about handling, and overtaking, and that "Zoom2x" experience.

    Di nga, parang sporty na sporty ung pakiramdam. Twing O-overtake, bigla ishi-shift pababa.. Tas pag kapos pa, shift ulit pababa isa pa. Ung RPM asa 5,000 na bigla. Hekhekhekhek.. Totally sweet..

About Activematic mode