Proper Manual Shifting
03-24-2008, 08:20 AM
#1
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Posts: 295
Proper Manual Shifting
So after numerous attempts of driving my 93 Maxima SE, I have come to the realization that I could use some more information at what RPMs are the best to shift so as to get the best performance/mileage without burning up the clutch and fly wheel. Anyone have any ideas?
03-24-2008, 08:25 AM
#2
i usually shift at about 3k-3.5k to conserve gas, and drive at between 1k and 2.5k when i can. if im coming up on a hill, i usually shift so its at about 4-4.5k. Seems to do pretty good for gas.
as for performance, if you start hitting the rev limiter, bring the shifting down a few hundred RPMs.
as for performance, if you start hitting the rev limiter, bring the shifting down a few hundred RPMs.
03-24-2008, 09:43 AM
#5
2nd and 5th!!!!!! that's crazy. He would be bogging the engine so bad that gas would be wasted (have to more gas to push those long gears) AND it would be hard on the engine. Maybe he just didn't have gears 1,3, and 4, haha.
03-24-2008, 12:14 PM
#7
So after numerous attempts of driving my 93 Maxima SE, I have come to the realization that I could use some more information at what RPMs are the best to shift so as to get the best performance/mileage without burning up the clutch and fly wheel. Anyone have any ideas?
Performance, there's no real power above 5500rpm.
If you want your clutch to last then you DON'T want to drop the clutch and spin your tires or needlessly slip the clutch at a light or on a hill. You want to ease into the clutch, just a very little clutch spin at launch to keep from jarring the clutch and then feel the shifts from then on. They should be as short and succinct as possible without dumping. My Max has 160K on the original clutch and NO ONE accuses me of driving easily or slow.
03-24-2008, 12:41 PM
#8
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03-24-2008, 07:09 PM
#9
Under 3K shifts for gas mileage, cruise as low as you can with out bogging. Bogging cost fuel. Higher RPMs cost fuel.
Performance, there's no real power above 5500rpm.
If you want your clutch to last then you DON'T want to drop the clutch and spin your tires or needlessly slip the clutch at a light or on a hill. You want to ease into the clutch, just a very little clutch spin at launch to keep from jarring the clutch and then feel the shifts from then on. They should be as short and succinct as possible without dumping. My Max has 160K on the original clutch and NO ONE accuses me of driving easily or slow.
Performance, there's no real power above 5500rpm.
If you want your clutch to last then you DON'T want to drop the clutch and spin your tires or needlessly slip the clutch at a light or on a hill. You want to ease into the clutch, just a very little clutch spin at launch to keep from jarring the clutch and then feel the shifts from then on. They should be as short and succinct as possible without dumping. My Max has 160K on the original clutch and NO ONE accuses me of driving easily or slow.
Wow 160k on original clutch. Congrats. I drove my friends 2001 max with 50k miles and his clutch already needed to replacing. It was pretty mushy and grinded a lot. He was so cheap he just sold the car.
03-24-2008, 07:26 PM
#10
wow you guys are rev-happy! my VG5 really doesn't seem to bog all that much in the lower revs. I drive gently but I do use the 1500rpm range as my floor, and don't really top 3000 very often. Sometimes i shift out of 1st at 3500 but usually i do the 1-2 at 2700ish. Dunno if it's my driving style, or my car, but my engine just seems to like to spin at lazy rpms. And yes it lugs occasionally, but if it does i just baby the throttle or downshift then. Especially climbing a hill w/ speed bumps... leaving it in 2nd sometimes it'll get to a pretty low rpm like 900 or even 700 but it's like.. i'mma make a big huge mess if i try to downshift to 1st unless i let it slow even further, so sometimes i'll just baby it up until it tops 1200 and slowly add throttle so it won't growl at me. But the absolute minimum RPM i'll use in 4th and 5th is 1500, and about 1200 in 3rd is as low as i'll go.
as for clutch usage.. I try to launch at 1500 b/c my clutch is too wonky to do any lower for a normal get-up-to-speed launch but i launch around 1000rpm in a parking lot if i can manage it. Most of my 2-3 and higher shifts are too smooth to notice, and that's not an exaggeration in the slightest, though 5th fights me sometimes depending how my clutch is behaving (i've got overpressurization issues in my clutch hydraulics). And my clutch chatters on launches so i'm replacing it in 3 weeks.
I know i'mma get a few of you saying "zomg you're killing your engine!".
as for clutch usage.. I try to launch at 1500 b/c my clutch is too wonky to do any lower for a normal get-up-to-speed launch but i launch around 1000rpm in a parking lot if i can manage it. Most of my 2-3 and higher shifts are too smooth to notice, and that's not an exaggeration in the slightest, though 5th fights me sometimes depending how my clutch is behaving (i've got overpressurization issues in my clutch hydraulics). And my clutch chatters on launches so i'm replacing it in 3 weeks.
I know i'mma get a few of you saying "zomg you're killing your engine!".
Last edited by CapedCadaver; 03-24-2008 at 07:35 PM.
03-25-2008, 01:54 AM
#11
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03-25-2008, 04:24 AM
#12
well the fluid came from a bottle i bought new during the tranny swap so i assumed the fluid was real brake fluid, yaknow? it mostly is b/c it still feels like a 'dry liquid' like alcohol and stuff. I'm going to get synthetic fluid, use an air compressor to blow ALL the old fluid out, and start over with new.
03-25-2008, 04:53 AM
#13
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: EU Scandinavia
Posts: 4,323
Look, youre my hero = I was teasing... The fluid is the only entity changing volume when temp varies, so such a problem has to be there. Its your problem - not your fault... Wrong (moist) storage in a shop - or too old batch - may be behind bad stuff.
Then there is the wiking-homey storage: my car age tends to have all kinds of emergency DIY-bottling ... causing life threatening situations. I wont
tell the facts, just never do as I do = mix up bottles = never.
Compressors commonly pump also oil in the air. That is poison to seals in brake fluid systems, small amounts can ruin em. I think flushing it once before fillup is enough...
Then there is the wiking-homey storage: my car age tends to have all kinds of emergency DIY-bottling ... causing life threatening situations. I wont
tell the facts, just never do as I do = mix up bottles = never.Compressors commonly pump also oil in the air. That is poison to seals in brake fluid systems, small amounts can ruin em. I think flushing it once before fillup is enough...
03-25-2008, 07:23 AM
#14
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Posts: 295
Thanks guys! That helps a lot.
While we are still sort of on the topic of shifting, I discovered that the bushings for the shifter are really mushy. Sometimes I can't even get it in first gear or reverse at times (yes, the clutch is in all the way). Other times when I am going to 4th gear, I have to move the shifter down and slightly right as opposed to directly downward. Reason being, it seems to want to go into 2nd and everyone knows what that does when you are around 45mph...
To cut to the chase, where could I pick up a good set of bushings? I would like to go with stock, but I was told by a DSM owner that he used skateboard bushings and they have done him well for a long time. Very different feel, but effective, so I was told. Opinions?
While we are still sort of on the topic of shifting, I discovered that the bushings for the shifter are really mushy. Sometimes I can't even get it in first gear or reverse at times (yes, the clutch is in all the way). Other times when I am going to 4th gear, I have to move the shifter down and slightly right as opposed to directly downward. Reason being, it seems to want to go into 2nd and everyone knows what that does when you are around 45mph...
To cut to the chase, where could I pick up a good set of bushings? I would like to go with stock, but I was told by a DSM owner that he used skateboard bushings and they have done him well for a long time. Very different feel, but effective, so I was told. Opinions?
03-25-2008, 04:10 PM
#15
Thanks guys! That helps a lot.
While we are still sort of on the topic of shifting, I discovered that the bushings for the shifter are really mushy. Sometimes I can't even get it in first gear or reverse at times (yes, the clutch is in all the way). Other times when I am going to 4th gear, I have to move the shifter down and slightly right as opposed to directly downward. Reason being, it seems to want to go into 2nd and everyone knows what that does when you are around 45mph...
To cut to the chase, where could I pick up a good set of bushings? I would like to go with stock, but I was told by a DSM owner that he used skateboard bushings and they have done him well for a long time. Very different feel, but effective, so I was told. Opinions?
While we are still sort of on the topic of shifting, I discovered that the bushings for the shifter are really mushy. Sometimes I can't even get it in first gear or reverse at times (yes, the clutch is in all the way). Other times when I am going to 4th gear, I have to move the shifter down and slightly right as opposed to directly downward. Reason being, it seems to want to go into 2nd and everyone knows what that does when you are around 45mph...
To cut to the chase, where could I pick up a good set of bushings? I would like to go with stock, but I was told by a DSM owner that he used skateboard bushings and they have done him well for a long time. Very different feel, but effective, so I was told. Opinions?
however if you are missing gates when trying to shift across them, then yeah, get those bushings fixed. my friend's car had NO front bushings and broken rear bushings when he bought it. depending how you pulled it, 3rd could look like 1st 3rd or 5th. it wobbled like neutral in every gear.
Last edited by CapedCadaver; 03-25-2008 at 04:12 PM.
03-25-2008, 04:13 PM
#16
Look, youre my hero = I was teasing... The fluid is the only entity changing volume when temp varies, so such a problem has to be there. Its your problem - not your fault... Wrong (moist) storage in a shop - or too old batch - may be behind bad stuff.
Then there is the wiking-homey storage: my car age tends to have all kinds of emergency DIY-bottling ... causing life threatening situations. I wont tell the facts, just never do as I do = mix up bottles = never.
Compressors commonly pump also oil in the air. That is poison to seals in brake fluid systems, small amounts can ruin em. I think flushing it once before fillup is enough...
Then there is the wiking-homey storage: my car age tends to have all kinds of emergency DIY-bottling ... causing life threatening situations. I wont
tell the facts, just never do as I do = mix up bottles = never.Compressors commonly pump also oil in the air. That is poison to seals in brake fluid systems, small amounts can ruin em. I think flushing it once before fillup is enough...
03-25-2008, 07:54 PM
#17
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Ohio
Posts: 37
Under 3K shifts for gas mileage, cruise as low as you can with out bogging. Bogging cost fuel. Higher RPMs cost fuel.
Performance, there's no real power above 5500rpm.
If you want your clutch to last then you DON'T want to drop the clutch and spin your tires or needlessly slip the clutch at a light or on a hill. You want to ease into the clutch, just a very little clutch spin at launch to keep from jarring the clutch and then feel the shifts from then on. They should be as short and succinct as possible without dumping. My Max has 160K on the original clutch and NO ONE accuses me of driving easily or slow.
Performance, there's no real power above 5500rpm.
If you want your clutch to last then you DON'T want to drop the clutch and spin your tires or needlessly slip the clutch at a light or on a hill. You want to ease into the clutch, just a very little clutch spin at launch to keep from jarring the clutch and then feel the shifts from then on. They should be as short and succinct as possible without dumping. My Max has 160K on the original clutch and NO ONE accuses me of driving easily or slow.
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