No worries, glad to share.

For downshifting there's no real trick to it.

For urban driving though it's not really required to downshift manually. let it do its own job. Apart from the 40kmh mark where sometimes the box hestitates to decide between 2nd and 3rd while turning, it's usually pretty predictable. During cruising on straight roads, it's smart enough to avoid downshifting automatically from 4th to 3rd to keep revs low even if the speed drops to less than 50kmh unless it stays at sub-50 for very long periods. Anything slower than 30-35kmh it'll automatically downshift to 2nd and then to 1st once speedo drops below 20kmh. However like typical manual boxes if you downshift to 2nd (or even 1st) gear at higher speeds you will get engine braking.

If you're attacking corners at high speeds don't downshift to 2nd too early - it'll engine-brake it to less than 40kmh. Charge quickly towards the corner, brake hard just before you enter then drop to 2nd, once you finish the turn and step on it to exit quickly by keeping the revs high (3K rpm) before upshifting to 3rd again. Don't do it often though... safe, smooth driving is always our priority.

On the highway if you need a little speed boost just drop it to 3rd gear and you're ready to step on it. I personally find it's easier to speed from 110kmh to 140/150kmh than from 70/80 to 110kmh. Maybe it's because at the latter speeds the rpm is at a lowly 1.8-2K while once your speedo goes past 120kmh you'll be touching 2.8K and the engine comes alive past 3500rpm. Note that this is for 2.0L, 1.6L probably requires higher rpms for the aforementioned speeds.

Experiment often with your shiftronic. You'll soon realise that the box adapts to your driving style. If my right foot is lazy I can actually feel the sluggishness of the shifts. Of course, the cold weather here in Australia sometimes make the car feel sleepy too.

Anyway, just to share something: Anyone had "Reading Error" happening to their USB drives? Cera threw a tantrum today and refused to read any of my USBs... reformatted my USB and tried again, went back to normal... tantrum

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: May 3 2010, 08:57 PM

Waiting for K7 lol... I'm waiting for K5.

And yes, the manual does explain the proper ways of inserting/removing USBs; which I must sheepishly admit that I don't follow. Most of the time I just leave it in there and I'm sure many do.

I've tried 32, 33, 34PSIs... insignificant difference, if any at all.

The 1.6 is pulling something that weighs 1200kg ler... of course it will feel relatively underpowered.
Whether the 2.0 is powerful enough or not depends on which reference point you're basing it on. If you're used to driving kompressors/turbo charged cars or 6 even 8 cylinder pots of course the Forte's Theta will feel sluggish.

If you're comparing it to B segments which are generally 1.5Ls, the 2.0 will have more power towards higher revs although starting from a standstill it might not be able to outrace the lighter B segments.

22PSI? Tak boleh jalan lah bro..... recommended is 32PSI, most showrooms overpump it to 38 or even 40PSI for the tyres to look good.

Ask in a Forte thread... of course we will recommend you to buy a Forte ler... try asking in Lancer thread and see what the response is.

Anyway, some cons which I've posted before, with some slight updates:



The Lancer still costs quite a lot more compared to the Forte... the question is are you willing to be overcharged by the Japanese people?
Test drive both of them and see which one you like.

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: May 6 2010, 11:52 PM