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so, i've been driving this so called "5 speed" transmission for a little over a month now, and i'm just about as proficient as i need to be. (just gotta work on the hill starts, but thats another thread) Anyway, since i learned pretty much 40% by coaching and 60% by myself, there are a few fuzzy points of which i'm not exactly sure. here, shift points. So far i've basically adopted this strategy (here accelerating to 40mph): start in first gear, accelerate to ~30mph or 4.5-5k rpm, then clutch, rev match, go to second, take it to 40mph, then clutch, rev match a little and jump to 4th gear. I only double clutch when decelerating.
(FYI my tach has a redline of 6.5k rpm [peak hp at 5.9k] and a shift light that goes at ~2.75k rpm. I have been told that the shift light is set for maximum fuel efficiency.) Anyway, is this a solid strategy? Will this cause my transmission and/or clutch and/or sunroof to spontaneously combust? Also up for consideration is sounding like an idiot in traffic-- I hate (for example) idiots in F-bodies that rev their v8's to redline in the middle of town. Oh yeah if it tickles your pickle, feel free to post your shift points.

Depends, is this for daily driving or racing?

It really depends on the car, my gears are very close and the engine has very good low end. So I end up shifting at 2000rpm, it drops to 1500, then I do it all again. If you can find a manual for your car, it should have some recommended shift points. For me, even when I drive anyone elses car, I keep the engine spinning pretty slow to save gas. Just shift as low as you can , you will know that you shifted too low if you can feel the engine shake. Some engines dont like it when you shift them too low.

This post has been edited by Jabberwocky on Nov 6 2004, 11:02 PM

yeah this is for daily driving.

basically what i was trying to say is that i shift fairly high while accelerating, but while driving at a constant speed I keep it at a low rpm.
my engine being a 4 cylinder, it has a rather poor low end, and if I find myself at too low a speed for traffic in too high a gear (ie 40 mph at 4th gear at 2k rpm as my shift lights say), it takes an inordinate amount of time to get to speed.
its just that my power band is so far away from my fuel-efficient range and its confusing me

For daily driving shift as low as you can get away with, when racing shift at redline typicly even if its above your peak power, youll be that much higher in your power band after you shift, this is just a general rule theres probably a "perfect" shift point for each car, but unless your dragging for every 10th- 100th of a second you can, wouldnt worry about it much.

As for this acceleration when your busy just cruising, just down shift plain and simple then gun it. Go watch episode 7 of 4th stage when bunta gets on his ass, hes cruising in 5th and goes striaght to 3rd. You just need a rough understanding that

-at this speed, this gear would be at xxxx rpms- and go from there which gear below would be better-

And youll be fine when you need to accelerate fast once you got the general idea of where everything is according to gear/speed.

Added: Jabberwocky was pretty right on, ive only gotten that "engien shaking" when i was first learning how to get into first, basicly the revs are going too low for your current speed and thats the engine trying to stall.

This post has been edited by sidewaysgts on Nov 6 2004, 11:24 PM

thanks. think i pretty much got it now.

edit:

yeah i learned what that meant during my first hour behind the wheel

This post has been edited by Fritobandito on Nov 6 2004, 11:27 PM

yea...if you're in 4th and at like 2k rpm and need the power...just downshift to 2nd(I dunno if you guys skip gears when downshifting when rpms are low, but I do), and the rpms will shoot up to around 4k+ and you'll have more than enough power to take off. and I have a close gear ratio too and can get away from 4th@2000rpm - 2nd w/o a problem.

generally I shift just before my torque band for daily driving(3000rpm). gives me better MPG and I still have the power to accelerate at an even pace(meaning my rpms won't drop so low that it's hard to accel)

When I drive my friends integra, I shift at 2000 still, no prob. Some engines are just smoother. I dunno how to describe it. It drives like a geo metro when you shift that low, but you save gas.

Tell me about it, i was letting my friend (sideways starion) drive my 86 one day as we picked my litter sister up, we were going through the school zones in 5th gear... going like 15-20mph... He had it floored but needless to say we couldnt break the speed limit. It was just above shuttering point by like 700 rpms (on an engine that easily revs to 7000+ rpms, thats not a lot) Good times.

As for you perry i often do the same thing, i could easily be in 2nd gear at the speed im going but ill be in 3rd or even 4th.

Anyways man good luck and keep practicing

dude 700 rpms isn't even my idle speed...

hahahah SERIOUSLY!!!!

lowest I've tried to actually drive around at was like 1200rpm in 4th gear....but then I went to 2nd cause I was sick of how far that damn snail I was racing got ahead.

no no not -at- 700, we were like 700 rpms above the shuttering point ya know... my idle speed is around 1000, around 8-900 after its warm, and up like 1500-1700 if its cold.

But ya its kind of odd to be floored in 5th and going nowhere fast, as the retard with one roller blade on and an ice cream cone passes you.. man that was cruel even for me..

This post has been edited by sidewaysgts on Nov 7 2004, 02:31 AM

ahhaha okay, you scared me.


anybody skip gears when they're econo driving?

ie drive to 4k in 2nd gear and shift to 4th and roll around at 2k

Only time I skip gears during econo driving is if I'm making a sharp turn at a light or something and I accidentally slow down too much.

My shift points are as followed:

Standard Take Offs: 2500-3000rpms
Take Offs with a little more kick: 4000-4500rpms
Full Drag: 7000-7500rpms

I don't like skipping gears when upshifting, maybe i'll go from 3rd to 5th depending on the siauation

All cars, all engines, all trannys are different. One shift point on a car wont necessarily work on another car. On my Supra I shift at 2.5-3k RPM for regular driving..that gives me ample torque and power to scoot around town. But on my Integ, I would shift in the 3-4k RPM range. Argh gas prices are ridiculous down here.

Yeah. From my experience, having driven mostly imports all my life, that in an NA car, you can get away with low shift points and move around. In Turbo cars, I like to move either on the edge of boost, or less than 5psi into boost, just so I can accelerate when I want. Once you hit the speed you need, though, just throw it into a higher gear and leave it until you need it again.

I double clutch if the rpms are low. like if im stuck between 3rd and 4th gear. To high for 3rd and to low to really be in 4th.

Like someone said earlyer. It all depends on your car. After a while you will learn what your car feels like and will shift acording ot that and not the tactometer. My past 2 cars didnt even have one and i had to learn everything by sound and feel. I dont even know what my RPM's are when i shift.

Fritobandito, do you not like your third gear??

Anyways. for daily driving I always drive below boost. Boost = gas wasteage, overheating, excessive speed, etc. Turbo spools approx. around 3500rpm, so below that in every gear is good. I never skip gears. My lower synchro is shot, so 2nd and 4th scratch. Gotta import a new SR tranny, or rebuild with KA internals (which would shorten? my 5th gear). Meh.

im all into the 944 so i recomend imo from 2.5-4k. also have u checked out that 968 trans i told u about?

Hmm, now that i think about it i upshift everytime at 3000, unless im having "fun" then its just passed 7000 usually.

ha. if I'm pushing it, then yes, i skip 3rd. second takes me easily to the bottom of 4th if I don't mind the engine making a little noise. oh yeah no turbo so I don't often shift under boost

actually that's about right in first gear; 3.5-4k is where the shift light hits there. 2.5-3k is good for 2nd and up it seems.