Can you explain the misshifts?

 

When pulling the paddle using the same force as I would with other paddle shift cars, porsche's and ferrari's, I expect it to shift. The MP4 required at least double the pull from your fingers to actuate the paddle shift. During hard acceleration and coming up on redline I would pull the paddle and bounce of redline as my pull of the paddle was not hard enough.

 

Oh dear... that's not a description of a misshift. That's just a matter of you as a driver getting used to a different interface and knowing how much force is required to achieve the desired action. I can understand if that extra force didn't appeal to you but the car was hardly malfunctioning by your description.

There's a reason why in the industry that paddle shifted transmissions have come to be known as "flappy paddles" and that isn't necessarily a glowing endorsement.

McLaren wanted a heavier and more solidly mechanical feel to the driver's interaction with their paddles, mimicking how they feel and function in a Formula One car. This also explains their decision to use a non-standard rocker solution with both paddles interconnected - one benefit of this, giving you the ability to execute either an upshift or downshift with the same hand.

It might interest you to know that they have softened the paddle tension and removed the pre-cog resistance in the more recent 12Cs built since the 25HP upgrade became available. You might want to try one again if that was your only complaint - especially the new version they will drop on us in a couple of weeks at Geneva.

>8^)
ER

 

Thanks for the explanation. I do want to try again. Didn't say it was the cars fault, I said it was the need for a much harder pull which caused my user error. And you are right that it would require me getting used to that, personally I would prefer a newer model where that isn't the case to begin with.
Are you saying the 13' models have this fix or not till the 14' models?

 

Mid to late 2012 would have been where the change to the paddle operation occurred, as I recall. You could ask about it on McLife and see what others have to say about the timing and the different experience. I assume you drove a much earlier car and I recall one interview where McLaren Automotive's then Director said they had 25 tension settings to choose from during initial development and had changed the cars to a softer setting. I drove an early car and I quite liked the more mechanical feel it had through the paddles - felt like you were really doing something.

>8^)
ER