DarthV8

this being my first post I would like to start by saying hello to everyone and thank everyone for the wealth of information I have gathered from this site!

I have a manual 07 GT, with a few bolt ons CAI, BBK TB, X-pipe and Bama tuned. Before this car I had very little experience with manual trannys. My question is pretty much what are peoples feelings as to the best shifting techniques to balance out the longevity of the tranny and maximize performance in DD situations. What are things should i avoid doing? I feel that I am reaching that point where shifting is becoming muscle memory, but want to make sure I'm not forming harmful habits. Thanks!

Nuke

When nobody is causing you to have a bug up your butt, shift at about 2000 RPM or less. When some dickwad sets you off, bounce off redline.

Blacksmoke

Yup he summed it up.

But you also don't want to shift TOO low RPM either.
Around 2k RPM is good.

Also...to help the life of the clutch. Don't ride it.

Oh another thing...downshifting is not healthy for the car.
ESPECIALLY at mid-high RPMs.
Putting her in nuetral is alot better.

If you downshift every once in a while say for example
some guy lines up next to you wanting to race...
It's ok... but do it smart and not harshly and don't do it often.

JDWalton

I try to RPM match my down shifts, but its not that big a deal, just prevents the lurch when you let the cluch out, but its a PITA to get used to.

Aside from that just dont put it in first unless your at a dead stop, thats the only point for that gear.

Also, I keep my RPM a little higher then most here, usualy upsift at 3 and down at 2 when DD, but thats mostly cause my cams dont do so hot below 2k.