Hey guys. I just wanted your guys' opinions on shifting. I was watching this video randomly and this guy was skipping gears (i.e. going from 1-3 or starting from 2 and then shifting to either 3 or 4). Some possible positives from this is less gas use and less engine wear (less shifting/clutching?) maybe. Any opinions? I started to try it and I don't like my engine bogging sometimes when I skip 1 to 3, but I don't know. I do like how I don't have to shift as much when I'm lazy, but I dunno. Just wanted thoughts

 

there is no reason to shift from 1-3 or 2-4 unless you got a syncromesh issue.

In that case your gearbox is gone, so just shift normally.

 

I do this occasionally. If I'm pulling away from a traffic light, I may run 1st to 5K then go into 3rd if it looks like traffic is going to be in the 30mph range. The other time I'll do it frequently is getting on the highway. 3rd gear in my car (03 CL-S 6MT) will get me near 90mph. If I'm taking an onramp in 3rd, I'm likely to just blast 3rd gear to get up to high way speed then shift right into 6th (after letting the RPMS drop to the right range). In the latter example, if I've accelerated to 80mph in 3rd, I see no reason to shift to 4th, 5th, then 6th if I'm not planning or trying to accelerate any further, just push in the clutch and make a slow shift to 6th so the RPMs will have dropped down to the 2500-3000 range.

The reason you have 6 gears isn't because you need to use them all in order get up to speed, it's so you can get the car up to speed as quickly as possible.

 

if you don't shift like a pro, it can wear out your synchros faster. also, you're bogging your engine which is bad enough by itself. if you're going to shift 1st --> 3rd and skip 2nd, make sure you're going fast enough so that you don't end up at ~1200 RPM in 3rd gear.

also, i would think that most people go 1-2-4 or 1-2-3-6 when they skip gears, not 1-3. if you don't like shifting gears, perhaps you should have gone with an automatic...? this is one of the better manual gearboxes around, so why not enjoy it?

you want to start in 2nd gear? the only reason you would do that would be in a low traction situation (lots of snow, etc), but otherwise, that's unnecessary strain on both the clutch and the engine if you do it on a regular basis.

take care of your car!

 

It's generally safer to go through each gear without skipping.

 

Block changing (or missing a gear interval) is perfectly acceptable and isn't detrimental to the engine or drivetrain. Providing it's done correctly.

Missing a gear when changing up is generally pointless unless you've just accelerated heavily and want to level off at the attained speed. There's no way this will harm the engine unless you select a gear which causes the engine to dip below stall speed.

If you're braking and shedding speed fairly rapidly, block changing down is a safe and efficient way of the keeping engine speed aligned with road speed.

And if you're travelling at a specific speed and need to accelerate rapidly, then selecting a gear which is two or three ratios lower is perfectly acceptable. This is no different to the kickdown effect of an auto box.

There are no hard and fast rules with regard to manual transmissions. Just common sense and a degree of mechanical sympathy.

 

as the owner of numerous vehicles with manual transmission I do skip gears. I have never have had problems with the transmission or clutch going bad. Most of these vehicles went way over 100K miles. My 06 tsx now has almost 104K miles.

 

The part in bold is generally when I do it. Acura doesn't make a car that can't go from 35mph to 80mph with ease in 3rd gear. If you've reached cruising speed in 3rd, then shifting to 4th, then 5th, then 6th without accelerating any further is just pointless wear of the clutch.
Same here. 97 prelude that I took to 160K on the first clutch but it is currently around 180K with it's new owner still on the first clutch. My current is an 03 CL-S 6MT, 124K on the clock and the clutch is strong like bull.

 

Isn't this exactly why synchronizers were created in the first place? Or at least to take unnecessary amounts of stress off the gearbox from grinding, etc.?

 

 

The potential risk when missing gears isn't so much the stress placed upon the gearbox, it's the risk of placing the engine revs either side of the safe operating range. Changing down to 2nd from 6th at 80mph will over-rev the engine. And going from 2nd to 6th at 30mph will cause the engine to baulk. I know these are extremes but they're relatively easy mistakes to make if you have a short & narrow shift on your gearbox.

Additionally, the clutch is being used to synch the difference between gearbox and engine speeds, and that could ultimately lead to premature wear.

 

I must be doing it right then. Never had to replace a clutch on the numerous manual transmission vehicles I have owned or still own. When we sold our 1991 Mazda Mx-6 GT (bought new) it had the original engine, turbo, transmssion, clutch and ran excellent. The new owner had it repainted, and fixed the rips in the drivers seat. Nothing mechanically had to be done. They love it. When we sold it, it had almost 250K miles.

 

Going from 6th to 2nd at 80mph would be mistake no matter what, If you do it intentionally you deserve to have your gearbox spread across the highway. Shifting from 2nd to 6th at 30 mph wouldn't make sense either.

I think those who are advocating skip shifting aren't saying to do it randomly with no purpose like in the examples you provided. If you are in 2nd going 30mph, 3rd is really your only option as 30mph is a little slow to go into 4th. If you had taken 2nd up to 45mph, there is no reason you can't shift to 4th next if you looking for rapid acceleration at that point.

Even if you shift from 4th gear down into 3rd gear you are putting unnecessary stress on the clutch unless you properly rev match via the double clutch method. Matching road speed, gear speed, and engine speed is alway important to cut down on wear to the transmission and clutch and it can be done while skipping gears if you have a decent understanding of your gear ratios.

In the example I provided where you have accelerated to 80mph in 3rd while getting on the highway when (if) you do go directly to 6th, you need to allow the RPM's to drop to about 3000 RPM before letting the clutch out and engaging 6th gear as that is the speed the engine wants to be at to travel at 80mph in 6th gear. The clutch only gets premature wear if you don't do it right which is actually the same situation as shifting through the gears in the conventional pattern, if you aren't good at driving a manual transmission, you are causing premature wear of the clutch.

 

I totally agree.

I've been driving manual transmissions for over 30 years and I've always selected the appropriate gear rather than shifting sequentially. This often means missing one or more gears in either direction and, like nj2pa2nc, I've never experienced premature wear on anything. My examples are absolute extremes and serve only to show what damage could be done to the engine/transmission.

The original poster in this thread was asking if there's any point/detriment, in going from (for example) 1st to 3rd. The short answer is that, providing you apply a degree of common sense and have an understanding of how your car works, missing gears in either direction isn't going to harm your car in any way. It could actually reduce wear on the clutch and the clutch operating mechanism in as much as you're not changing gear so often.

However, if you're brutal and insensitive in your execution,then you could easily cause damage. But then that principle applies to the entire ethos of driving a car!

 

the ONLY time I use all gears is when I am trying to acheive max accelleration. Even then, I can go 90 in 4th gear and usually skip 5th anyway.

1st to 4th to 6th is very common.

Corvettes used to (some still may) do a 2nd gear lock out so it would force a 1st to 4th shift in certain situations.