Obsol3te

I was just wondering when I should shift at. I've been reading on other threads of people saying they're shifting at like 6k+. I usually shift around 3k, should i be going up higher? And would it be the same if I pulled up to someone at the light and took off? Or shouldi go around 6k+ rpms too, for only racing.</P>


My car specs are pretty much as follows: it has a "BIGGER" cam(not sure what just know its bigger, didn't ask the previous owner), 4.11 gears, T5 Tranny, CAI, i THINK an H pipe (if thats what it looks like underneath then i guess thats it),245/45zr17 tires, and everything else is just the plain ole 302.</P>


I had just purchased this car last late/early September/October can't remember which(not like it matters but still) and it's my FIRST stick shift too. Pretty much got it down, andI can kind of shift fast. Although second to third is still kinda tricky for me. But like I said I was just curious because of all these other posts.</P>


Thanks, for looking atleast.</P><edited><editID>Obsol3te</editID><editDate>37998.784537037</editDate></edited>

whitelightning

Sounds like you still have alot to learn in driving a stick! You shift at 3k? IS that when your just driving or when your racing? For normal driving it depends on your driving style, but for racing you need to shift when the rpm's are higher, at 3k you haven't even hit your peak horsepower yet.

Obsol3te

yea i know i got more to learn</P>


but normal driving i shift at 3k, when SHOULD i shift then? or do i need a dyno test to find out?</P>


but if thats the case could some1 just give me an estimate?</P>

whitelightning

3k should be fine for normal driving, there really is no definate answer that why you have a stick so you decide when to shift. A dyno!?!?, not to tell you when to shift!! A dyno is to gauge how much horsepower a car is putting to the ground, torque also. Dynos are also used to fine tune high horsepower cars also.

Obsol3te

hehe i have no idea, i thought they gave you a graph when you hit the peak power for that gear or something. so wouldnt THAT tell you when to switch?</P>

whitelightning

It's not for that, it will give you a graph but it's a horepower graph so you can see how much horsepower and torque you are getting throughout the rpm range it's really not to tell you when to shift for normal everyday driving!! Who taught you how to drive a stick? It sounds like you need to learn exactly what is happening and why, that will give you a better understanding of what you are actually doing when you shift gears and why you shift at different rpm's in different situations!!

Obsol3te

i taught myself, had a 4 wheeler before hand so it was pretty easy to just apply that to a car.

stangnoob

When you drive normal you wanna save your gas(At least i do) so just drive the car "normal"- By normal i mean at probably around 3k rpms, anything else is just not practical.</P>


If your racing you wanna grind out each gear until its siezes to give out as much horsepower as the next gear up can; or else we'd be in first all day. But don't get it too high up in the rpms b/c it may not be practical, and it will slow you down.</P>

Obsol3te

so how high should i go when racing?</P>


</P><edited><editID>Obsol3te</editID><editDate>37998.915474537</editDate></edited>

Quik

that depends on how your car is pulling up top. no one can tell you this unless they drive your car for you. everycar is different. sorry but youll have to figure this one out on yourself. if you cant figure this out yet then dont worry about racing. get the feel for the car before you destroy it by racing it and doing s**t wrong cause someone said to do this.and if anyone tells you how to actually drive your ride without actually driving your ride then they are fullof s**t.<edited><editID>ohsoquik02</editID><editDate>37999.0161689815</editDate></edited>