padle shift?

Prob. a dumb Question Anybody know if there is a Paddle shift kit for 3rd Gen?

 

From the number of Tundra owner's who 'dare' to use the Sequential Shifter, I doubt it would pay anyone to offer it.

 

I thought it would be more convenient to have at Fingertips

 

My Camry has it, I used it once to see if it works, that was it.

 

You're right but only for the VERY few Tundra owner's, who'll ever use the feature. I certainly would, I haven't driven my truck in "D" for several years. Wait till the 10 speed transmission is offered in the 2022 Tundra. I can't imagine how many- "my Tundra shifts too much" posts there will be! Read a rumor about a six speed standard transmission being offered too.If nothing else, it'll be a great Anti-Theft Device!

 

Paddle shift first appeared on high performance cars. Paddle shifters allowed you keep both hands on the steering wheel while running through gears on curvy tracks, without any loss of attention using one hand to fiddle with the shifter handle. Since the Tundra is more of a straight line racer, I'm thinking a supercharger probably should be your first priority.

I think the first paddle shifters were actually on manual gearboxes that shifted automatically (Porsche? BMW?). Then they started putting paddle shift on automatic transmissions which was a much easier and intuitive application. The feature on an automatic transmission is also like kissing your sister compared to running through the torque curve shifts with a manual transmission.

Tundra has the Sequential Shifter, which really limits the highest gear the transmission will shift to. Of course, you can select a low gear and blip the shift handle to "shift" through the range like a manual transmission, but what's the point? Why not let the transmission do the same job better?

 

If you've ever driven on a hilly,curvy 30-35 mph road in D,while paying attention, you'd see the tach react and feel the constant shifting on an unlocked torque converter. Choosing the correct gear that prevents this needless shifting, is one reason the Sequential Shifter is there.

 

It also sounds badass if you have exhaust when you get it up to about 4-5K and let of the gas and cruise.

 

Since I live in the "Texas Hill Country", I first became aware of the constant shifting on the drive home after delivery. I discovered I can place the Sequential Shifter in 4th and that eliminates excessive shifting into and between overdrive gears on hills at highway speeds. But...that also raises engine rpm overall and decreases fuel efficiency. I decided to quit thinking about it and let the transmission do it's thing in "D".

By selecting the top gear to be shifted into, the Sequential Shifter permits the driver to limit the highest gear to keep the engine high in the power band for the speed the truck is traveling. For example, when slogging through mud or snow at low speed, you want rpm up and the transmission staying in a lower gear. Depending on how fast you're going, 2nd or 3rd might be a good choice.