Can some of you help a noob out with shift points?

Evenflow · Nov 15, 2004

I just got a new 2004 Mustang GT manual. Its completely stock so far, and im learning to drive stick. I've had two classes so far and I took her to school this morning, it was a reasonably smooth ride, but sometimes between first and second gear I still buck her around, but I have pretty much mastered shifting almost. Anyways, heres the question does this sound right to you?

1st grear: 0-10, Then I shift to 2nd: 10-25, then to 3rd: 25-50? What comes after this, im alittle confused I haven't gotten that high up in speed yet.

I was also in alittle traffic, and lets say if I am in 3rd and I have to come to a pretty quick stop, I press the clutch in, along with the break then downshift from 3rd to 1st?

I was at school and the whole girls powderpuff team ran up to me, and complimented me on the new whip, thank God I didnt buck coming out first

Thanks folks

Edit:: and what happens if you go past the beginning of the Redline, is it bad for the car or what?

GTvert01 · Nov 15, 2004

You should be watching rpms, not mph, and never downshift from third to first,just clutch and brake and maybe go to second or just leave it in neutral.

Evenflow · Nov 15, 2004

So what RPM's should I shift at?

"just clutch and brake"

So, clutch break till I stop, shift from third to second, then second to first?

mikes2008gt · Nov 15, 2004

Just put it in neutral until you're stopped. You don't need to downshift when stopping. This can damage your clutch if your RPM's are too high and you downshift, especially down to 1st. Just put it in neutral and just brake. You don't even have to clutch once you've put it in neutral. Lift your foot off the clutch after putting it in neutral and just brake. Does this make sense to you?

40th GT · Nov 15, 2004

When you're coming to a stop just slip it in neutral, let the clutch out and and start braking. If you downshift to slow down, it'll put premature wear on the engine. Brake pads are cheaper than an engine replacement. Also, holding the clutch pedal in will put premature wear on the throwout bearing and you will have a sqeaky transmission.

Upshifting: For normal city driving, shift at around 2200-2500. When racing, take it up to 5500. It is not good to run the engine on the redline on a stock 4.6L. Besides, the rev limiter will kick in when you're too far into the redline.

def1eppard · Nov 15, 2004

I always thought it was bad to downshift when coming to a stop. Isn't that referred to as "engine braking"? Does it harm anything if lets say I'm in 4th gear and I am coming to a stop....I just push the clutch in all the way and roll up to my stop in 4th, then when I'm stopped I go to 1st (as opposed to putting it in neutral)?

This isn't my first manual car, I just wanna treat my car as nice as possible.

Evenflow · Nov 15, 2004

Ahh wow now im learning alot of stuff, I hope I didnt hurt the car.

"Just put it in neutral until you're stopped. You don't need to downshift when stopping. This can damage your clutch if your RPM's are too high and you downshift, especially down to 1st. Just put it in neutral and just brake. You don't even have to clutch once you've put it in neutral. Lift your foot off the clutch after putting it in neutral and just brake. Does this make sense to you?"

Are you saying from 3rd bring it to neutral, or from 3rd bring it to 2nd, then to 1st then to neutral?

And I should always shift at 2200-2500 even in first/second?

40th GT · Nov 15, 2004

Evenflow said:
Are you saying from 3rd bring it to neutral, or from 3rd bring it to 2nd, then to 1st then to neutral?

And I should always shift at 2200-2500 even in first/second?

I think he's saying bring it straight to neutral.

And yeah, you could go higher than 2500 in the 1-2 shift but try to keep it low if you want better gas mileage in the city.

Evenflow · Nov 15, 2004

Hmm bringing it to neutral from 3rd when slowing down doesn't seem like a smart idea for some reason, but then again im a noob at stick so I wouldn't know.

If you bring it from 3rd to neutral while slowing down it makes a noise and starts vibrating I thought.

40th, can you go step by step on how you do it?

So ideally your going to be shifting at 2300 rpms?

def1eppard · Nov 15, 2004

If you bring it from 3rd to neutral it shouldn't make any noise....your RPMs will simply drop down and your car will be at idle, simply rolling.

jmk97GT · Nov 15, 2004

Step by step:

You're cruising at about 35mph IN third gear and theres a stopsign and you want to stop.

1. Put the clutch in
2. Put the shift lever into the neutral position (between 1st and 2nd/3rd and 4th)
3. Let the clutch out
4. Now that you're just rolling without engine power, just use the brakes.
5. Once you are almost stopped (or completely stopped, your choice) put the clutch in.
6. Put the shift lever into first gear.

And you're good to go...no reason to downshift when its not needed.

Also for upshifting:

From first to second, I usually shift anywhere between 2000 and 3000 rpms (since your car is stock, its similar to mine, which is virtually stock). It just depends on how quick you want to get moving. From second to third and so on, I normally shift around or a little over 2000 if i'm just cruising. Heres the MPH I usually shift at, even though you should not be concerned with MPH, but RPMs

1st: 0-20
2nd: 20-35
3rd: 35-45
4th: 45-55
5th: 55/60 and up

These are speeds I would use if I were steadily increasing speed up to 55 or 60. Now if you're just cruising IN gear, you want to keep your RPMs around 1200-1800 depending on how much gas you want to save.
for instance:

around 25mph, I'm usually cruising in 3rd
35mph, 4th
45, 5th

Now, if you're doing what I do at those speeds, and you want to speed up, you'll notice you have absolutely no power. This is the only time you really want to downshift. Say you're going 25 in a neighborhood in 3rd gear and the speed limit goes up to 45. Just downshift into 2nd gear to get up to speed faster. Its really all your choice as to how you want to do this, but this is just what I do.

Hope all that helps

40th GT · Nov 15, 2004

When you're coming to a stop, it's better to put it in neutral and let the clutch out. And it's not just 3rd gear, it applies to all other gears.

Evenflow · Nov 15, 2004

^ you dont even need to put the clutch in if your in neutral and lets say at a red light, unless your in first right.

So I can go from 4th straight to neutral, and fifth straight to neutral without hurting the car?

If im going from 5th, do I need to bring it to 4th THEN neutral, or just straight 5th to neutral?

40th GT · Nov 15, 2004

Evenflow said:
^ you dont even need to put the clutch in if your in neutral and lets say at a red light, unless your in first right.

Yes. The point of putting it in neutral is so that you can leave the clutch out. That way it won't put premature wear on the throwout bearing.

jmk97GT · Nov 15, 2004

^^ I edited a bit of my above post if you want to re-read it.

Anyways, yes you can shift from ANY gear into neutral without hurting the car (just make sure the clutch is in when you shift or you'll hear/feel some grindage )

Evenflow · Nov 15, 2004

Thanks for the help guys, I just went out for a little neighborhood drive and to my surprise barely bucked the car once..meaning I learned how to drive stick in just about two days

Still brushing up my skills though. I also was shifting at about 2500 each time..I think I should have shifted out of first around 2000 though.

Also I was in 3rd gear going 50mph, and the tachometer read like 1.5, but you say to shift at around 2500 so 3rd gear really goes on for that long?

40th GT · Nov 15, 2004

Evenflow said:
Also I was in 3rd gear going 50mph, and the tachometer read like 1.5, but you say to shift at around 2500 so 3rd gear really goes on for that long?

Are you sure it wasn't in 5th gear?

jmk97GT · Nov 15, 2004

Aha! I think I found out that problem you were talking about.

When you go from 2nd to 3rd, you're actually going into 5th...thats why its making a wierd noise. Dont shift over to the right so far when you go into third.

a little under 1.5k rpms at 50mph = 5th gear.

Evenflow · Nov 15, 2004

Im pretty sure I was in third gear, and does it hurt the car if I was in fifth?

jmk97GT · Nov 15, 2004

Its not good on the trans to have it in 5th gear at that low of rpm, but i mean its not going to be bad if you've only done it a few times.

I'm POSITIVE you were NOT in 3rd gear. 1.5k rpms in third is like 35mph bud.

Just make sure you're in third next time

Can some of you help a noob out with shift points?

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