This is prolly a stupid question, but here it is anyway. Is it bad for your trans if you skip gears, i.e. going from 3rd - 5th, 3rd - 6th, etc. I do this once in a while when I am driving like a granny. I have done that with all my cars and never had a problem. I always thought it was OK, is it?
Recently my friend was riding with me and he said he's always heard that messes up the synchros when you skip gears. When he drives he will accelerate to 3rd then put the clutch in and go thru the rest of the gears ending in 6th. Is this better or worse?

 

It will not hurt the transmission synchros. The only thing I'd be careful about is shifting into a gear too high that it causes the engine to detonate or ping.

 

I agree with corvette... the acura manual and techs say not to skip shift but if u do it right nothing bad happens..... another thing to watch for is when u skip into the next gear up like 1st to 3rd or 3rd to 5th the engine shakes like hell if u dont do it right....try to keep that to a minimum as well breaking mounts isnt fun.... i learned that the first month i had the car.

 

I don't know why you would want 2 do that...but its your thing...the only thing I try to avoid is going under 2.2k RPM whatever the gear you're in, PERIOD.(execpt 1 lol) I found that under 2k = NO TORK, no POWER and the engine is strugling as shit.

*The only time I skip gear is when I DOWN shift and Im on Neutral for a while, I know my GEAR/SPEED/RPM perfectly now so its not a problem for me.

 

oh i started skipping a lil more... just recently only because 1st to 2nd just feels like abuse i always goes below 2500 when i shift so if i rev high 3-5k range) in 1st ill jump right to third so theres no jerk on the mounts and its up to speed

 

No, this is not a wise move and here is why. When you upshift normally, you get used to when you shift should occur which is reflected in the smooth transition to the next higher gear. A good part of this is the timed meshing of the synchronizers so that they work is minimized. When people skip shift, they frequently do not wait for the RPMs to fall back to where they are supposed to be for the chosen gear because they want to get the drive train connected for needed power and control. This means they actually apply a bit of force to the shifter to get the transmission to accept the shift into the skipped higher gear. What they are really doing is applying pressure and force, over and above that which would normally be applied to the synchronizers to make them match the gear speeds for the shift. This will prematurely wear those synchronizers.

Hope this helps.

 

From Acura's Jan 06 service advisory to dealers


"Skip Shifting Is Brutal on
synchronizers
Gear ratios in 6-speed manual trannies are spaced
close together so you can keep the engine speed
in its optimum range for max power and
acceleration. Shifting to the next higher or lower
gear in a close-ratio tranny causes small changes
in engine speed.
Shifting a close-ratio tranny through its gears by
the numbers puts a very small load on the
synchronizers since they only have to make small
changes to the speed of the mainshaft and the
clutch disc.
Some drivers, though, like to skip shift so they
don’t have to work the clutch pedal and shift lever
as much. They like to accelerate in 1st gear, then
pop it into 3rd gear, then into 5th or 6th. Skip
shifting, though, is really brutal on synchronizers;
it puts a higher demand on them than they were
designed to take. Skip shifting can cause
premature synchronizer wear that can cause the
gears to grind when you shift up or down.
If you’ve got a vehicle in your shop for repeated
damage to the synchronizers, go for a test-drive
with your service client to see if he or she is guilty
of skip shifting. Skip shifting can be an expensive
habit to break. Any repairs due to skip shifting
may be reviewed and debited by your DPSM."

 

thanks for all the input guys! i will no longer skip shift. i totally forgot the TL had the engine speed matcher. thanks again!

 

??

I suspect you might be referring to the tendency of the engine to "wait" at a given RPM as engine speed falls, in anticipation of your shift to the next higher gear. Frankly, I would bet most people don't even concern themselves with this at all and just quickly learn to time their clutch release relative the the gear into which they've shifted.

I don't see on this thread where any reference was made to this "feature", and I would recommend you not get used to this as it could become a habit and be somewhat detrimental to the operation of this, or other manual transmission vehicles.

 

plus do a search, there are plenty of threads on this subject

 

ok no more of that

 

i do skip shift from time to time but not that often. this tranny seems a lil too weird and weak (fragile) IMO. does anyone else feel the same?

 

The manual transmission is fine. There have been some members who have reported problems when shifting into 3rd gear, but draining and refilling with GM SFM fluid has seemed to be the best fix. Personally, I have never experienced any shifting problems with mine, so I am not in a position to describe this anomaly. But I did do the GM SFM drain and fill 2 1/2 years ago anyway.

With FWD manual cars, the shifter operates the transmission through the use of cables. With a RWD (where the transmission is directly attached to the engine via the bell housing), the linkage is much more solid and robust since it is either bolted to the side of the transmission and uses rods/shafts, or is top loaded into the transmission (Mustangs from the mid-80s using the Borg Warner T5). FWD cars therefore do not have the solid feel, and strength, in the shifter which is more commonplace in a RWD car (assuming a decent shifter mechanism).

But our manual transmissions are fine and up to the task of the engine. Remember, the TL has a rather small V6, at 196 CID for the non-TL-S version, and it is certainly no torque monster.

 

Skip shifting shouldn't put any higher load on the synchros than a normal shift, *assuming* you wait to engage your gear of choice until the revs are matched. I suspect lots of people don't wait, which does result in a lot of clash. E.g. You're in 3rd at 45, decide to skip to 6th and cruise. Coming out of 3rd at that speed is ~3500ish(??), and 6th is going to be about 1500. If you yank down into 6th while the engine is still hanging at 2800rpm, yes, you'll probably have trouble down the road. If you wait, and drop the shifter in as the engine drops under 2000, no worries. Remember, all the gears spin all the time, so you just need to be speed matched to drop into the correct gear.

FWIW, GM's T56 (the six speed that's been around since '93 in Camaros and '97 in Vettes) had a skip shift solenoid that forced a 1st to 4th shift under light throttle conditions (fuel economy). Mind you, these trannies are a bit more stout than our 6spds, but if it were that brutal, they wouldn't have included it.

What? Uh, no. You do know that the auto cars will lock the torque converter in 5th at 1400rpm or so, right? There are times when low RPM is wrong, and there are times when higher RPMs are just wasting fuel. My car has no issue cruising in 6th at 45mph- I just don't try to push it up a hill like that.

 

I know nobody mentioned it, but it reminded me that I read about some sort of engine speed matcher on the 6MT. I searched for the thread, but couldn't find it. I was just saying, I never thought of my skip shifting affecting that.
Thanks again for all the input guys!

 

Correct and well done.