Does driving the 2012 r-spec in sports mode damage the 8 spd trans?

[wspann]

There are days when I drive the vehicle for fun, rather than transportation. I like sports mode to hold higher RPMs, accelerate quicker, and especially to slow the vehicle w/o braking. For the true mechanics or otherwise experienced, does this damage the tranny? It seems to me that it would stress it far more than the normal and incredibly overdriven low RPM range of the r-spec.

Also, I've read about software updates for the trans. Is that a real thing?

Just curious.

 

[balfor]

All things being equal, a shift occurring under a high load will cause more wear than a shift occurring under a small load. Now that said, there are a number of strategies automakers take to reduce the shift stress and one of them is backing off the throttle electronically as the shift occurs. You can sometimes feel this as the engine may seem to slightly hesitate or at least not increase RPM as the shift occurs. Once the shift is done the engine computer will reapply power.

Also, the rest of the drivetrain is stressed under hard acceleration, the gears in the trans (yes automatics still have gearsets) and u-joints and rear differential are stressed. They are made to take it, so it is very difficult to assign a life reduction value to a particular driving habit. For example, the rear diff might last 400k miles under "granny" driving but 200k miles under hard driving. There is a big life reduction for the hard driver, but they still get 200k out of the diff in this example and that is probably good enough for most people as the rest of the car won't be worth much at that point.

In my opinion, the car will wear out eventually no matter what so if you enjoy a certain driving style keep it up. You will likely wear things out more quickly, but it may not matter as you get to drive how you want and you will still likely see an acceptable drive train life.

 

[Mark_888]

In my opinion, the car will wear out eventually no matter what so if you enjoy a certain driving style keep it up. You will likely wear things out more quickly, but it may not matter as you get to drive how you want and you will still likely see an acceptable drive train life.

On the other hand, people who buy a used Genesis that is no longer (or within a short amount of time) will have the transmission covered under warranty, are the least likely to be able to afford a new $10,000 transmission (parts and labor). But if it still under warranty, then that is a different story.

 

[dougmcp]

The harder you push any car, the harder it is on components but anything within reason shouldn't cause problems. You bought an R-spec for it's sportabilty and fun factor so use it how you please knowing that higher maintenance may be an additional cost of ownership. The transmission in sport mode will automatically shift up at redline if you forget and will follow you down as the speed decreases so blowing it up shouldn't be a concern but longevity will be affected if it is driven like that very often.