stay in 3rd. Why would anybody shift into 4th when we can rev all the way to 7200............oh nevermind

Err, really goes on a car by car basis. Some stock guys have had better results shifting to 4th while others have had better results leaving it in 3rd. I've looked at this in CarTest before and the difference for a stock max is less than like 0.01s. As you add mods though and accelerate harder, you'll have no choice but to shift to 4th unless you have an MEVI.

00-01 guys just leave it in 3rd with all the top-end.

yeah, i used to leave it in 3rd, but now with spray, i have to shift to 4th...

cant wait to see what i will put down when i head back to the track with my new clutch and a 75shot...


Eric

id shift into 4th but that would mean i would be running well over 100 in the quarter.

your poll is biased towards 5spd owners shame on you

I Chose The Last One.........

definatly go with 3rd here i can stay in 3rd and trap at like 120!! well, could trap at 120... with a few minor mods i suppose. love those autotrannies!

I always shift to 4rth @6k rpm. I get the best results that way. I just got back from the track and my best time was a 14.788 @93. I just can't stand my lack of power above 6k especially in 3rd gear.
-Paul

Humm... When I go to the track I leave it in third, or I shift into 4th. I get a faster trap if I shift into 4th, but crappier time. If I leave it in 3rd, I get a good time, but my trap speed sucks.

I tried sort shifting to 4th my first time out, but it offered no advantage

According to my dyno with the USIM, my car's ideal shift point on the 3-4 was at ~5900rpms or ~6100rpms indicated on the tach. With my car, shifting to 4th netted me a consistent drop .1 in ET and a gain of ~1.3mph in MPH. I can shift the 3-4 much quicker than my 2-3.

Now I have the MEVI and just hold on to 3rd the whole way. According to the shift points I calculated from Requin6's dyno of the MEVI/JWT, the 3-4 shift should occur around 6800rpms. It doesn't really matter though because I'm crossing the finish line at indicated 6700rpms in 3rd.


Dave

Dave, Sprint and I have had a long discussion on this in the past.

When my car was NA I ALWAYS found that I got better times holding 3rd to the redline. For awhile I didn't need 4th.

Once I started running 14.5's I found that I had to shift into 4th gear, but I still would hold 3rd to the redline before doing so.

Now that I'm boosted with a MEVI, I hold every gear to the redline for the best results.

with a 6spd trans i believe you have to shift into 4th....atleast i do.....i hit the fuel shut off in 3rd about 150 foot before the traps......like to be able to keep it into 3rd,im sure the extra shift into 4th is costing me about a tenth or more in the 1/4

i shift into 4th when third seems to sound like she is giving up ! it appears to be another 15 yards before the trap maybe more or less.

4th is giving the chariot better times !

hows the car frosty ? she doing okay ? 9000 rpm's in second at what 104 mph ? what is going on ? glad you got through that one ok ..lol

2 weeks ago Neal told me to stay in 3rd. Testing on the hwy and my dyno chart say I should shift to 4th. I wish I had more runs last time to find out. I'm lost on what to do.

I seem to do better when I stay in fourth with ypipe and intake. I haven't gone out to the track with mevi and the jwt yet. Hopefully soon.

I found with mods now, 4th gives me the best times as well

I usually redline third right at 90 (my trap speed) while crossing the finish line. I think that once I get the Y pipe, I will need to shift into fourth.

Pretty much what I found too. Stock, 3rd was OK. It doesn't take long to shift to 4th. After mods, the power curve is better after the shift. The higher speeds sooner make the shift worth it, IMHO of course.

With the 22" slicks and spray I have to shift into 5th. Every other (1/4 mi) scenario has to go into 4th.

5th I did not think 22" tires and a high trap would cause that. Wow.

Yep, when you're running tires that are nearly 4" shorter than stock it makes a huge difference. Technically he is going from a 3.8 gear with the 26" tires up to a 4.6 gear with the 22" slicks. That's some seriously deep gearing and torque multiplication.


Dave

With the USDM and y-pipe/b-pipe/JWT cone I was running 14.6 and needed to shift into 4th (trapping close to 97mph).

Then I got the MEVI (and also clutch, flywheel and pulley) and was now in the borderline between 3rd and 4th, running 14.4 but found that shifting into 4th was optimal otherwise I'd be bouncing off the rev limiter 60' before the finish line! I guess that means I did have a sizeable midrange loss that the top end didn't totally compensate for (the clutch, pulley and flywheel compensated for the losses)

With the JWT ECU which I am still waiting for, I really hope to stay in 3rd and save some shift time and still traip higher. I think theoretically with the JWT set at 7200RPM, that will take us to 101mph at redline?

with the 7200 rev limiter we are good in 3rd till 104mph. There will be no reason to shift into 3rd. You should be able to see high 98-99mph traps on cold day with the VI and JWT ECU. I would imagine you could run in the 14.1x's with just the addition of the ECU. Once you get the JWT ECU try using a couple gallons of race gas as well.

if i were trapping above 100 id be hitting 4th. this sounds like a 4th gen biased thread. lol

Where is the option for shifting into 5th?

I need 7200rpm limit, that extra 500rpm would be nice!!

lol showoff! What's your latest track time/trap Hal?

I think all the 2k2 and 2k3 guys have to shift into 4th...

I know I do.

-vq

6 speeds only go like 85 in 3rd so you have to shift to 4th. I missed 4th once and ran a 15.4 at 83!!!coasting thru.

1st About 43mph
2nd ... 60
3rd ... 90
4th ... 120
5th ... 155
6th ... 200-212???

You guys beat out the theoretical max. on a 4th gen 5-spd, in your 5th gear alone! Unless we go with a lower final drive ratio (which I'm not even sure we CAN get the parts for) we're limited to about that at the top of 5th.

Have any of you 6-spd guys really close to maxxed out 6th?! I'm sure the 3.5 even with the weight can pull pretty hard up there!

I can't tell if you're joking or not, but 6th gear on the 5th gen is purely an overdrive. Topspeed is achieved in 5th unless the 5th gen. It takes a ton of extra power to increase a car's topspeed by even 5mph. The 200+mph topspeed for 6th is theoretical. Same goes for the LS1 6 speed F-Body and Corvette. Their 6th gear technically could go to ~230mph, but these cars are drag limited to 158-160mph (F-Body) and 175-177mph (Vette) which is nearly the top of 5th gear in these cars. The Z06 is geared limited to ~170mph. If you were to max the Z06 in 5th (170mph) and shift to 6th, the topspeed falls to ~165mph. 6th gear simply does have the gearing to push through the air.


Dave

has anyone with a 3.5 & auto started with the car in drive (3) and left it there, if so how did you do?

As Dave B mentioned, the 6th gear Vmax is theoretical. Most 2k2s are drag limited to 145-150 with little to no bolt ons. However I think one or two guys have hit 157mph in 5th on the dyno.
My previous best is 149mph according to the speedo with the correct diameter tires. I have shifted to 6th at over 140mph before and the car won't accelerate because the gearing is too tall. It would take a substantial power increase to effectively use 6th for top speed.

My bad Dave... I assumed that the 5th gens could max out 6th gear because the 4th gen can max out 5th gear (I've had it at 5900RPM in 5th and still climbing... I will never do it again unless it is on a dyno). But the 5th gear of the gen 4 is geared quite high... I have never seen a 5th gen in 6th to make that determination nor do I know their gear ratios...

Thanks for clarifying.