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

I downshift, and disagree with some of the above statements... However for an inexperianced driver then what they are saying is correct.

You can shift at any time when your RPMs are above 2k. I try to shift at about 3k but when theres a lot of traffic and its stop light to stop light I'll go to 4 or even 5k for a while. The engine noise more or less tells you when to shift as well, and if you shift too soon, you'll know it. Good luck

oh and remember the higher RPM you shift at the worse gas mileage you get, I try to drive around town (speed limit 30-55) in 4th to conserve gas, but sometimes ya gotta cruise in 2nd or 3rd for power, or to impress with the exhaust

I cruise in 5th at like 40mph....saves alot of gas and how is this bad to be in 5th at like 1k rpm...going 35-40?


Also I always downshift to slow down...saves brake pads and how is this hurting your engine....this is what a standard is for so you don't have to use your brakes as much....as far as crusing at 4-5k rpms in the city...that could put alot of wear on your motor.

If you're letting it get up to 3, 4, 5 thousand RPMs during everyday normal driving, then you are gonna be getting some BAD gas mileage and putting extra wear on your engine that could be easily avoided. Sometimes I even shift at around 1800 RPMs. I don't think cruising in 5th at about 45-50 is bad unless you are going up a hill....then you're gonna bog the crap out of the car.

TrevX said:

I cruise in 5th at like 40mph....saves alot of gas and how is this bad to be in 5th at like 1k rpm...going 35-40?


Also I always downshift to slow down...saves brake pads and how is this hurting your engine....this is what a standard is for so you don't have to use your brakes as much....as far as crusing at 4-5k rpms in the city...that could put alot of wear on your motor.

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I know about the wear, but I dont mind, it shouldnt kill the engine until the cars paid off, at wich time its getting rebuilt and ported and all that good stuff.

As far as 5th under 2k I dont recomend it, not even down hill, thats personal opinion, but I have heard that theres a certain ammount of backpressure the clutch needs? I try not to pop 5th under 55, usually its 5th at 60+

Hey congrats on the 04.Anyways when taking off, try not to let the RPMs get over 1200RPM, until you let the clutch out ALL the way, because its not good to ride the clutch taking off.Okay and for good milage shift EVERY gear at 1700-1800 RPMs. No you shouldnt put it into the red zone very often, 5500-5600 is your best shift points anyways.Okay lets say your coming to a stop from 65 MPH, here is what I do most of the time...well what I should do all the time.(this first one is for a pretty quick stop and go)I slow down until 40 MPH then push in the clutch and push the shifter into neutral(sometimes I just leave the clutch pushed in), then when I get to around 15MPH I put the shifter into 2nd still with the clutch in, and then straight into 1st at around 7-8 MPH all the while keeping the clutch in.Then stop and take off.If your going to stay stopped for a while, like at a red light, then at 40 MPH push in the clutch, push the shifter into neutral and just let off of the clutch, until you need to take off again.And it will buck when you put in too much gas and let the clutch out too fast, try letting the clutch out slowly first and when the RPMs start to drop and the car starts to roll, push a little on the gas and try to hold around 700-800RPM until you have fully let out of the clutch(which does NOT take long...do not drag out this process, do it pretty quick.Should take around 1-1-1/2 seconds.Hope that helps.