# Dumb shifting questions



## Lapres_3 (Mar 2, 2007)

I have never had a car with this kind of power before, so i seem to have developed some bad habits in the past 8 months. Now I always drive stick, i have had several cars, and none have ever had transmission or clutch problems...
I have gotten into a bad habbit of making my own shift patterns, like 1,3,5,6 1,4,6, 1,2,6 2,6 (notice i dont use 5th much). Im thinking that im killing my 6th gear syncro, not because im ramming it in 6th every time i get there, but because i sit there and wait while the tranny comes up to speed[not clunking or mashing gears] and sliding it in. 
should i punch myself in the face next time i catch myself doing this, tranny rebuilds are ugly, i know, but with this much power, the other gears are just, well, dead weight :willy: .


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## Tacmedic (Feb 24, 2006)

*It shouldn't hurt the transmission...*

...as long as you are not lugging the engine, it shouldn't hurt anything. That motor puts out so much torque, you don't need all six gears. I skip a few here and there also.


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## snide (Dec 28, 2004)

Tacmedic said:


> ...as long as you are not lugging the engine, it shouldn't hurt anything. That motor puts out so much torque, you don't need all six gears. I skip a few here and there also.


You could just use 5th and be done with it.


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## 6QTS11OZ (Mar 27, 2005)

snide said:


> You could just use 5th and be done with it.


Exactly! Why do you have a problem with using 5th? If anything I use 6th gear the least solely based on what speed I'm going. Honestly that's the only logical reason I can think of for not using 5th as well. But I don't think that you're hurting the trans. I've accidently taken off in 3rd before with no problem. Of course that's with over 565 lb. ft. of torque at the crank though.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

*Your 5th and 6th gears are your overdrive gears. 
The recommended shift speeds are as follows:
1-2...16mph
2-3...22mph
3-4..30mph
4-5...40mph
5-6...50mph
I don't necessarily adhere to this as I am sure many do not. I rely on my ear and the feel of the car. This car has such low end torque, you could do away with some gears and still achieve desired results. 
My normal shift patterns are 1-3-5-6. Rarely do I use 2nd or 4th. For in town driving or constant stop and go driving you will never use 5th and 6th gears. Your car will not be harmed in anyway not following the 1-6 shift pattern.
There is no bad habit of shift pattern as long as you are not shifting too soon from low to higher gears. You do not want the car bogging down say going from 1-4 @10mph. I get into 6th as soon as I can providing I am at a speed 6th can handle without diminished power. I often am in 6th at 40mph. Thing is you don't want to mash the pedal, if you feed it gas and shift before minimum shift points the car will bog on you. 

The only damage you could do is forcing the gear shifter into 2nd when you are locked out and are forced to go from 1-4. Caution from 1-2 is the only thing to worry about if you are shifting before 19-20mph or your engine temp is above 169*. Other than that I wouldn't worry. 

As long as you are tacking at higher rpm's when shifting you will be fine. 

Leave your face alone.  *


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## Lapres_3 (Mar 2, 2007)

> Leave your face alone.





My problem is sometimes i like to wind it up in 1st and 2nd, now im doing about 55 in a 50, do i row through the rest of the gears, or just dump it in 6th? 
The underlying reason for all of this is the stupid speed limits are way to low :rofl:. If i shift anywhere above 3k, im speeding by 3rd gear, what do i do with the 2nd half of the gearbox? Anyhow, thanks for the responses, and this is no exaggeration but im almost positive my M6 GTO has more acceleration in 3rd than my 00 neon does in 1st... I have had to seriously adjust my Right foot


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Lapres_3 said:


> My problem is sometimes i like to wind it up in 1st and 2nd, now im doing about 55 in a 50, do i row through the rest of the gears, or just dump it in 6th?
> The underlying reason for all of this is the stupid speed limits are way to low :rofl:. If i shift anywhere above 3k, im speeding by 3rd gear, what do i do with the 2nd half of the gearbox? Anyhow, thanks for the responses, and this is no exaggeration but im almost positive my M6 GTO has more acceleration in 3rd than my 00 neon does in 1st... I have had to seriously adjust my Right foot


*
Let me ask did you follow the recommenced break in procedures with the engine when you got it? 

There is a rev limiter preventing you from over doing it on the up shifting, but NOT on the down shifting. Down shifting from say upper speed about 70-80 mph or so to 2nd gear, well, you may be getting out picking parts of the internal guts off the roadway. My dealer just replaced a motor in an 05' because of that. Whatever you do be real careful down shifting from 6th at high speeds to 4th and hitting 2nd by mistake. I've seen results of hitting the wrong gear down shifting, not pretty.

If you are at 50mph in 2nd gear you are pushing the engine. You can and should go right to 6th. If you are going to 3rd at 50mph your engine's rpm's are above the 3rd gear shift cycle. 

I would serious recommend not constantly going to 50MPH in 2nd gear though. Sometime down the line you don't know what will happen to the constant stress internally. It would be the equivalent to constant racing with no fine tuning and maintenance to internal parts. Although these motors are powerful they do have their limits. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. At the rate your are pushing the engine keep a CONSTANT eye on the oil level, and coolant levels. Your car may be drinking oil like a drunkin sailor drinks beer. You will go through lots of oil. Keep the shifting within the redline. But to answer your question if you are @50mph in 2nd go right to 6th. There is no need to follow the standard shift cycle.

BTW.... Your 06 GTO has more acceleration in reverse than your neon had in 1-5. *


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

Durring normal driving I always go 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th. This works well, and helps the gas milage. It's more habit than anything else.


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## snide (Dec 28, 2004)

In my Vette, I always run through the gears, sequentially. And I shift at 6200.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


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## MajorTom (Jun 30, 2007)

I agree with judge. If I find myself up to 45 or 50 mph in 2 or 3rd, I usually skip up to 5th, maybe sixth. Most of the time 5th because I do a lot of city driving and would prefer to have some acceleration in case traffic slows and stuff. Like most people have said, skipping up a few gears is fine as long as the engine stays above 1200 or so rpms.


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## GM4life (Mar 18, 2007)

Lapres_3 said:


> this is no exaggeration but im almost positive my M6 GTO has more acceleration in 3rd than my 00 neon does in 1st... I have had to seriously adjust my Right foot


I agree with you on that one my Goat has more acceleration on the highway in 6th than my 04 Lancer on the highway mashed to the floor.


PEARL JAM said:


> Durring normal driving I always go 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th. This works well, and helps the gas milage. It's more habit than anything else.


Same here. I usally shift around 3k each gear, the habit is so bad when I shift to 2nd sometimes just messing around I'm not as smooth the car jerks.


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## Lapres_3 (Mar 2, 2007)

> There is a rev limiter preventing you from over doing it on the up shifting, but NOT on the down shifting. Down shifting from say upper speed about 70-80 mph or so to 2nd gear, well, you may be getting out picking parts of the internal guts off the roadway. My dealer just replaced a motor in an 05' because of that. Whatever you do be real careful down shifting from 6th at high speeds to 4th and hitting 2nd by mistake. I've seen results of hitting the wrong gear down shifting, not pretty.


Not sure what your getting at, but no, i am not an aggressive down shifter, im not concerned about hitting the rev limiter compression braking... Thanks for the caution however.



> Let me ask did you follow the recommenced break in procedures with the engine when you got it?


Between what i read in the book and on the forums, i did.

You say that im


> above the 3rd gear shift cycle


 when shifting out of 2nd at 50mph, now i agree, thats moderately aggressive driving, but why should it really matter if im going to a taller gear. Be it 3rd or 6th? If anything the transmission really feels like it comes "alive" between 3.5k and 4.5k everything is much smoother its less notchy than it is at lower rpms. Im not hammering it in and out of gear, very gentle (high rpm) shifts.

Regardless, i appreciate the advice...


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Lapres_3 said:


> Not sure what your getting at, but no, i am not an aggressive down shifter, im not concerned about hitting the rev limiter compression braking... Thanks for the caution however.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


*
1. The rev limiter prevents you from damaging the engine by over revving, but not when it comes to down shifting. 

2. You are driving in 2nd gear at 55mph. I was cautioning about down shifting to too low a gear from upper mph's and possibly causing damage because there is no limiter on the down shift. I cited an example of someone who did this and destroyed their engine.

3. I was wondering if you did this from the git go and didn't break the engine in in accordance to GM for if you did, chances would have been your seals, rings etc may not have set right and because of that you could be harming it by improper new engine break in. Increased oil consumption could be happening and if you are running low oil this would increase your chances for catastrophic failure.

4. You asked if you should go right into 6th from 2nd gear @55mph. I said yes. Why not 3rd? Because @55mph going into 3rd you'd be down shifting. If you noticed the recommended shift cycle you'd be above the 3rd gear shift range. So going into 6th is the thing to do. Why down shift to 3rd when you are at 55mph other than to have that extra torque? Your car is guzzling gas by your drive habits. You asked for advise I gave it. *


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## WanaGTO (Sep 7, 2008)

how does bogging the engine hurt things?


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## hatred (Mar 24, 2009)

I shift at 2000-2200 rpms and always keep my rpms at 2000 when driving. Around the city my car averages 19.4 mpg still. Its all in how you drive and take care of things. Once in a while I do the 1-3-5 shift also.


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