Shift light on an AT7?
 

I was wondering if it was practical to activate the shift light (or add an accessory shift light) to a AT7 Z?

why would you need a shift light, when its an automatic :ugh2:

duh....maybe he wants it when he is in manual mode.........

I give this thread three more replies before we've got a flame war.

Op, it is probably possible but more trouble than it is worth. Why do you feel you need one?

I'd put a shift lite if needed AT or MT, doesn't matter.

Maybe the ECU needs to see when to shift..ioono...mega fail thread.

It's actually not a mega fail thread. The M-mode of the 7AT has the same issues with being aware of your RPMs and shift timing that a manual does. If anything it's a little harder, because it's harder to get a feel for the shift delay. In a manual the shift delay is all on you (working the gear lever and clutch), but on the 7AT you click a paddleshifter and the delay happens afterward (ECU, TCM, 7AT doing their jobs).

With any kind of power mods, and especially if you're FI and/or use bigger gears in the rear, the top end of 1st and 2nd fly by really quickly. The 1-2 shift at full throttle basically requires you to be psychic and click the button ~1K RPM before the shift happens :).

Well, if a shift light is installed in an automatic transmission vehicle, it'll be the first of it's kind.

^^has never been to a drag strip

does the auto not come with one??? the manual transmission does.

I don't understand your reference.

...exactly...

enlighten me please

All the fast guys run autos. Certain classes require "manual" shifting action, ie paddles. All of these guys have shift lights. It's not new.
I've seen a lot of guys autocross with them on autos as well.

I'll take your word on it. I didn't know that auto trannys had shift lights since it's an auto.

So far my (admittedly limited) experience with Auto-X is that you don't need to shift much. On the rare straight where you might top out the gear you're in, it's often simpler and more efficient to just bump the rev limiter for a second or two before you have to brake again anyways.

But in general, TongMan, you have to remember our auto has a manual shift option, and it's a pretty good and functional one. Unlike some of the poorly-implemented "manual mode" on some cars, ours really does give you good manual control and almost always stays in the selected gear until told otherwise (the exception is, it will auto-downshift for you if the revs drop way down close to idle in your current gear. But in any performance setting this is a non-issue, as you have no reason to let the revs get that low).

Well! I didn't mean to pull the chain of the MT6 folks nor was I trying to start a debate as to which tranny is better. So let me try this one more time.

I would like to know if it is economically possible to add a shift light to an AT7 (I know, I know it's Satan's Tranny but I've got one and I want to make the best of it). On those occasions when I'm feeling sporty I find it difficult, at best, to watch the tach and the road (especially in the corners) at the same time. A nice, bright, properly located shift light is, for me, the best way to determine your shift point when you are in a hurry. Accordingly I would be most appreciative of any assistance that anyone might be able to offer that would allow me to achieve that goal.

I did a quick search Summit racing and the shift lights that I saw seemed appropriate for single ignition coil engines not multi coil applications like the Z.

Actually it may be possible. maybe someone can come up with a chip to hijack the ECU. because I know in the 335i, you can get a JB4 chip and it allows you to hijack everything from gauges to turning signals. Example being.. your gas gauge turns into your boost gauge, turning signals will both light up(inside only) and act as a shift indicator and other neat little things..

I only know this because I know two friends who own a 335i. And thinking about selling my 7AT for one..

That's an interesting idea too bad we couldn't make the volt meter an oil pressure gauge!

I did find the Raptor Shift Light from raptorperformance.com which supposedly can be tied into a fuel injector wire as a trigger and then programmed for single cylinder operation. Might work.

I have a 2011 with the 7AT and it already has a shift light. Was it new for 2011? Or did it come with the Sport package.

My 2009 7AT w/ Sport doesn't have one. Can you set the shift light RPM via the the little left side display? Where does it light up at?

OK.... question here to the 7AT guys from a 6MT guy...

instead of worrying about having to up-shift manually and timing with the delay etc.... why not just let the auto trans upshift itself? they dont actually shift any faster in "manual" mode anyway do they? Will someone manually shifting the 370z 7AT actually run down the 1/4 any quicker than the guy just in plain auto mode? i would figure not, and probably slower because hes not going to be able to time it as well.

i mean really, what are you trying to do? no offense, i mean i can understand downshifting the auto manually while coming into a turn or something... but when trying to full throttle accelerate.. what advantage is there to shifting it yourself?

Where is the shift light located on a 2011 370z with 7AT?

It's a valid question for drag racing, I guess. But to be honest, if my primary concern was drag racing, I wouldn't have bought a 370 (or a V6 car in general heh). There are probably some fine points to be debated even for straight line acceleration on a standing 1/4. For example, if you got too much wheelspin in first gear in regular D-mode, it might shift to second too early instead of allowing you to play the throttle and get it hooked up before shifting. Of course if you burned all of first gear you're screwed anyways, so meh. Technically there are some minor differences in how fully our torque convertor locks up and at which RPMs (between D-mode and M-mode), but they're minor. Also the car won't pick the same shift point you would. You might raise your rev limiter and be shifting higher than it would choose, or if you have a particularly flat torque curve you might even be shifting back at 7K.

But mostly people who are doing anything serious in a 370Z aren't drag racing, so yeah, we do want to control both the down- and up- shift to keep the revs in the right range, which a full-auto can never do correctly without driver input.

Because 1st gear on the 7AT goes by so fast at full throttle (it's actually even lower geared than the 6MT's first gear, even after the different final drives are taken into account), I have used D-mode for the 1-2 shift from a standing start before. The idea is start in D, floor it, let it shift to 2nd for you, and then flip back over to the paddles to take over and continue driving (e.g. the starting line of an SCCA course).

You can really only do that reliably at a standing start though. Once you're into a course and shifting on your own, there's never really a good time when it would make sense to move back to D, even temporarily. If you did and you were at any less than full throttle, the car would take over with "regular commuter traffic" shifting rules and drop you into too high of a gear for whatever you're doing, and then it gets to be a pain in the *** to switch back and get it back to the gear you should be in.

wstar is correct. First and second fly by in the 7AT so a shift light would be a real aid.

To clarify I'm not talking about drag racing, I am talking about road, auto-x and track applications where the traffic and corners preclude staring at the tach to time your next shift.

Again, I'm not trying to pick a fight with the 6MT folks but it bears pointing out that the 7AT in the Z is not your father's Powerglide. The 7AT provides some interesting challenges and some interesting opportunities and I'm trying to make the most of what it has to offer. Why did I buy it? because it rev-matches better and shifts faster than I can and when the pinched nerve in my lower back is acting up operating a clutch becomes a real problem. So it is what it is.

For most AutoX, you won't need to shift. I've only ever run one course that required changing more than that 1-2 shift at the start.


For everything else, my thought would be to go by feel. I don't use the shift light in my 6mt. I know when I need to change gears, and I do it. It shouldn't take much practice to be at that point.

The light is right below where it says "RPM". I am not sure if it is adjustable.

So I finally found it listed in the owners manual...page 295.

Attachment 32609

On the manuals it is adjusted through the DIC pod on the left, I imagine it would be the same for the auto's that have this feature. It starts flashing a few hundred RPM before the set point and then goes solid. 1st gear goes by so fast in the auto that it might not be a useful indicator.

when im under full throttle in my AT, the trans shifts WAY faster in manual mode. My 7AT will go from 1st to 2nd faster than I could shift it was a manual. Barking the rear tires, under full throttle, in manual mode is not unusual. There is a slight, 1/2 second delay from the time I hit the paddle till the shift. Its the same at higher
gears on the highway, the upshifts are very quick in manual mode.

My brother in-law has an 05 Vette with paddle shifters. I drove it when he first got it. He explained the paddle shifters are more for holding it in gears around corners, not really for fast upshifts. The Z trans is different. He drove mine and couldnt believe how fast it changes gears in manual mode.

This isnt a manny vs. auto thread, but for you MT guys out there that havent driven the paddle shifters yet, I highly suggest you try them out. It may not be what you want for your own Z but I think you will be impressed with the 7AT performance.

Hey Guard Dog, if Pro Shop has a factory light on his 11 7at it must be available through Nissan parts dept. There are no significant changes in the 370 since inception to my knowledge so it must be driven off of something already on the car or easily adapted with an update? I would check with your dealer tomorrow. I could see where it would be nice on a twisty mountain road when you are engine braking and accelerating. I got an AT because I live in a city full of traffic jambs and pumping a clutch to move 10 feet at a time gets old fast. From my experience, the 7AT in manual mode is about as close to a MT as you can get. It is a very responsive transmission. Good luck.

Given that all cars have the same dash (auto or manual) then the light is there, it is just a matter of whether or not the ECU turns it on.

I agree that it sounds like a software issue.

At the moment I'm trending toward an aftermarket light (if available) because they are easily adjustable and can be located where it best suits my needs. Unfortunately I'm not sure that I've found any yet that will work on our car.

I can understand that the MT6 guys don't seem to understand why we want this stuff. After all, the AT7 is a bit of an odd beast; ultra short first and second gears, paddle shifters, full manual control of up shifts, near full control of downshifts, an early-lock up torque converter plus full automatic operation that holds the tranny in a lower gear during hard cornering, you kind of need to spend some time with the AT7 to get an understanding of exactly what it has to offer. When shopping for my Z I only drove the AT7 so I could buy an MT6 with a clear conscience. I ended up with the AT7 even though it cost more. My last two personal cars were both MT6's, a hardcore SLP equipped 99 Camaro SS and an 04 GTO. I was surprised as anyone when I went for the AT7 in my Z.

F1, most sports prototypes including Audi and Peugeot, AMG MB's and the GTR all use automatics. I have had MT's all my life and got my first sports car with an AT when I bought a used SL55 AMG a few years ago. I wouldn't even consider a manual again.

If you are into drag racing I would look at a multi-stage shift light, this way you can program a lower RPM for the first light to account for shift delay. Something like the Auto-Meter level 2 would work.

The guys at A&M have a nice one on their race car but I think it is part of their race computer telemetry system.

I see a few guys on track with this one - pricy.
Racepak Data Systems - Professional Motorsports Data Acquisition Systems

my shift light on my 7AT is just und the word "REV" on the tach and is adjustable from like 6000 rpm to redline. I have mine set at like 6500 i think.

So two 2011 guys are reporting the rev light works on the 7AT. Either they fixed it in software in the later models, or the other option is that since I never knew it was there, I've just never paid attention to look for it and mine in fact works, which would be a neat surprise. I'll have to dig in the info center and see if there's even a setting for it, will report back later today :)

Let us know how it goes. If it's not there maybe it could be installed with a update

From doing a bit of experimenting at the drag strip, I have seen that it is a bit faster in manual mode than in D mode.

Did you really compare your automatic with a converter to the racing transmission in F1 cars?