Does anyone skip gears on upshifts if you're just cruising?
Am I correct in thinking this minimizes clutch wear and possibly maximizes fuel economy?

 

Well thats what I'm hoping when I do this. If I'm not in a hurry I go 1-3-5. I have no proof this helps though.

 

yeah alot of people do this, cause they don't want to shift as much. just rev a little higher to compensate. the gear ratios are close enough to keep the car accelerating smoothly. or some people also do 2-4-6 because 1st gear is too tall while if you start at second its slower but you can get to 30mph easy.

 

i've never heard of this before. it sounds outrageous. it doesn't sound like it's good for the engine. if there's one thing i can't stand, it's people who drive manuals and doing so with low RPMs. i have a few friends who do that, and i can't stand it. when i'm with them either i drive my car or i get out and drive their car for them.

 

I don't do the 1-3-5 shift. When I am getting onto the freeway, I often accelerate up to 60 MPH in 2nd, then put in the clutch and let the RPM's drop then slide it into 5th. And, mischa, my RPM's are still over 2000 when I put it into 5th and I am no longer accelerating so there is no problem.

 

I think the amount of clutch wear that may, or may not, be saved is small. The clutch seems very robust to me, as long as you do not abuse it (slipping excessivly on hills or riding it) you should be fine for many miles.

You paid for 6 gears, enjoy them!

Don

 

Should have gotten the AT.

No clutching, no shifting, no cramped leg in traffic, no skip shifting...

Yeah, not as fun as MT, but most of my driving is on straight roads where as less than 5% of my total time will be going through some twisties.

 

I've got a question on downshifting -

my salesman said when slowing down to downshift through all gears - will prevent problems with trans.

 

I always down shift but it is to save on brake wear, the motor slows the car down saving the brake pads. I haven't heard that downshifting helps the transmission perform better.

 

Question for daviddww:
Can you elaborate on your freeway entrance technique.
What is the thinking in letting the rpm drop to 2000 before shifting into 5th?

 

Nope, I run through all the gears. If you are skipping gears during normal driving you are not taking advantage of the car's gearing - you have to rev gears 1-3-5 higher than you would if you shifted - this will end up hurting economy. You're also missing out on a lot of the fun too.

Don't worry about clutch wear. With a normal driving style you should get over 100K miles out of your clutch.

 

On the freeway I frequently skip fith. You can skip any gear you want up or down shifting as long as the engine is not over reved, it is totally harmless. Certaintly, you don't want the engine to lug, but if your upshifting at around 3500 it should be just fine to skip one gear. Some cars with large amounts of torque (ZR6) will do it for you.

 

Years ago someone put this issue into perspective:
Brake pads are cheaper than transmissions.

Downshift while stopping for practise, for fun, or to hear the burble of the (minimal in this car) exhaust over-run. Don't do it to "save" your tranny - it just ain't true!

 

don't downshift to slow down. i use to do this on my first car to save brake wear. it works but is not worth it. your brake pads are cheap, the tranny is alot more loot. just brake and then shift into the gear most suited for the speed your car is at. you can downshift into the gear you know you'll need, like on a 90 degree turn i brake, clutch(hold down) then shift into second and hit the apex release the cluth and take off. the actual amount that the engine can slow down a car is so minimal compared to the brakes its not really helping you.

 

If you really want to save on clutch life and transmission life, rev-match as much as you can and slip the clutch as little as possible. Anticipate what revs the car is going to be in for the gear you want to go to and then either blip the throttle (for downshifting) or let the revs wind-down (for upshifting) before letting go of the clutch. To do this smoothly in turns requires heel-toe action (which may be impossible for the TL unless you get some racing pedals).

 

It's been years since I drove a stick, but that's what I use to do - brake, downshift into 2nd.

 

Here is a good article about skipping, heel-toe etc. for race and street car.

http://koniaris.com/auto/blip/

 

heh, I'm always in the correct gear before I enter

 

I have heard 'rumblings" about gear skipping causing extra synchro wear. It sort of makes sense, gut if you asked me to post the source, I couldn't.

 

Extra synchro wear occurs if you do not match the revs. If you have right rev matching and kipp gears I do not think why it would wear the synchros. Any expert comments anybody?

 

I don't do it (1-3-5) because this thing actually has long-enough legs to go through all the gears w/o getting annoying.

 

If you drive a MT you should use the engine to help you stop. Downshifting is a good thing and it will prolong the life and ware on the car as long as you do it correctly.

If you're downshifting and your RPMs jump high then you are wasting gas. If you only using your brakes to stop you're wasting your brakes.

Think of the way an automatic stops, it stays in it's gear to help the car slow down then downshifts. Balance my friends. Balance.

 

What exactly is rev-matching?
How do you know if you're doing it properly?

 

While upshifting hold down the clutch a little longer and RPMs will stabilize at exact pace for the next upshifting. Put the gear in next gear and release clutch and there is a seemless shifting! Though this happens for upshifting and not down shifting.

You will get used to how much RPM is needed at what speed for downshifting and you'll be fine.

 

Thanks, I'll try that!

 

Brake pads are cheaper than engine/transmission parts, and are designed for stopping the car. Engine/transmission parts are designed for making the car go. Race car drivers do not "downshift through the gears" approaching a corner...they use the brakes and while doing that select and engage the gear they will want exiting the corner. I am not denying that it is fun to downshift or go through all the gears, but as a practical matter skipping is fine and saves wear and tear. If you get to 50mph (and intend to cruise there) in whatever gear (2,3,4,or5) go directly to 6th.

 

I had a 1996 Pontiac Trans Am w/ 6MT. The transmission had a 1-4 shift skip from the factory for better fuel economy. If you did't rev up to a certain RPM in 1st gear, the the transmission would lockout 2 and make you shift into 4th. It was a pain, so I put in a shift skip eliminator, which disable it. If done properly, I don't think skipping gears will hurt.

 

Did it/do it OFTEN with my LS1 Z28....

That allows 1/4/6....

And you are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT in your thinking...

Just don't "lug" the engine...It if starts coughing and bucking then you need to drop down into a lower gear.

 

There's nothing "outrageous" about it at all.

GM LS1 / LS6 6 speed cars were DESIGNED to do that (via skip-shift, which effectively blocks out 2nd and 3rd when the driver starts from a dead stop, under light throttle, etc.)

 

Your salesman is an assclown.

That WEARS OUT both the clutch and the transmission.

Brake pads are cheaper than either of those items.

 

Brake pads are a LOT cheaper than clutches and transmissions...

Why do you choose to wear out the more expensive items while preserving the cheap ones?

 

Because, my friggin brake squeal sucks!

 

So you're going to wear out your brakes and clutch because of that?

 

I do a lot of 1-2-4-6
and some times 1-3-5-6, but always use the 6th gear if the rpm allows. This saves tremendous gas, the lower the rpm the more gas you will save (if torque and rpm are within normal range).

there is absolutly no extra wear on the gears if you balance the use of all of them. Also using the engine to break is a mistake, break pads and disk are a LOT CHEAPER than your gearbox, only in emergencies you should do that.

this practice used to be normal back in the days when breaks were of "Band" type and not sufficient to stop a heavy "metal" car, now the break technology has evolved enough that this practice is no longer necessary (unless you are in an big incline or an emergency)... Talked to many mechanics about this...

 

Well, it might be closer to 2500 at 60MPH. When I am in second going that speed it is almost redline, so I put in the clutch and let the RPM's drop down to match the speed of where it will be in 5th gear. This isn't every time of course, only when I feel the need for speed

 

I cruise around town in the highest gear too.

However, I always wondered whether the highest gear really saves gas around town.

I would think that the acceleration demands in city driving would require people to open the throttle way more in 6th than in 4th or 5th in many situations. Since throttle position is also a large factor in gas consumption, there must be some kind of cross-over point where even low rev's won't save gas for heavy footed people.

Therefore, the maxim that one should always use the highest gear possible to save gas may not be true in all cases.

 

For any given rate of acceleration (e.g. 1 MPH/sec), larger throttle openings (in higher gears) will yield BETTER mileage.

Why is that? Because an open throttle plate equates to less air flow restriction, which reduces engine pumping losses.

Remember, there is NO direct relationship between throttle position and the amount of fuel used; engine rpm is also a variable in that equation:

Example: You floor the car in 6th @ 50 MPH; the engine can only use so much of the air (and the fuel) that's available at that corresponding rpm, REGARDLESS of throttle plate position

Floor the car in 6th @ 100 MPH and the engine will use FAR more air (and fuel). That's because it's revving more @ the higher speed and is capable of ingesting more air (and fuel) per unit time.

So accelerating in higher gears yields superior fuel economy for TWO reasons:

1) Lower RPMs
2) Reduced engine pumping losses (which increase engine efficiency)