ok i had my 5spd max for two weeks now. i got the hang of it, but i just wanted to know what is the best rpm speed you guys launch at(for 1/4 mile times) and at what rpm do you guys shift?

 

I launch at around 1800 rpm and slip the clutch just a bit to avoid wheel spin. Before my VI I would make these shifts; 1 - 2 at 6500 (redline), 2 - 3 at 6200 and finish in third. Now with the VI I intend to make all my shifts just prior to the fuel cut at 6500.

 

I know nothing about launching , for I do not race. I do shift my baby at :
1st to 2nd gear @ 2500-3000 RPMs and approximately 25-35 mph.
2nd to 3rd gear @ 3500-4000 RPMs and approximately 45-55 mph.
3rd to 4th gear @ approx. 4500;65-75 mph.
4th to 5th gear @ about , 5000 RPMs;85-infinity!
Now, I am not too experienced also , so maybe someone will be able to explain a bit more in depth. I usually shift when the RPMs for each gear is accelerated smoothly, so in this way , when I shift to the next gear , I would be running the gear at the appropriate RPM. This also allows the car to pull smoothly and not bogs down when I go to the next gear.
I will advise that you do a search, how to drive a manual tranny,because someone made a link to a site that gives instruction on how to drive an M5 BMW. The application remains the same for most manual tranny. Thanks for reading . Please for those who have more insight , kindly donate your knowledge. Please correct me if I am wrong in anyway . Thanks again. Goodluck.

 

the best(1/4) for our cars is between 2500 and 3000 depending on mods and tires. you want to get a good amount of Torque but not too much wheel spin(none would be best). Then like Toolrocks said.

 

when just driving around town I will skip 4th gear...does anyone else do that? the vq has enough torque to use 5th at lower rpm and that would save gas, correct?

 

I was told that you should still run the stick through the gears even if you don't engage the gear to keep the synchros aligned. I do it sometimes like you said but I put it into 4th(keep the clutch in) and then move it to 5th.

 

2500rpm is good - will peel out, but you'll get traction fast

 

i think double clutching would do the job of speeding up the synchros as well...

about launching....im not the greatest...i was launching at 750rpm and burned out through first...but the track seemed slippery.
i think about 1500rpm and slipping the clutch would be good.
shift points would be close to redline, further up in the gears, shift a little earlier, cause our cars choke without VI.

 

I did a lot of 0-60 runs with my G-tech... best times were launching at ~3000 RPM (cone intake was the only mod back then). For 1-2 I was shifting around 6000-6200. Best time I ever got was 6.8.

As far as driving around town, usually shift under 3000, when I want to get up to freeway speeds quickly, I'll usually wind out 2nd gear and skip 3rd.

 

I got 6.1sec 0-60mph several times on Gtech. I have a Warpspeed Y and Jim Wolf Pop Charger. I launched at about 2600 I believe, feathering the clutch and my wheels would stop spinning before i hit about 4500 rpm... so basically you dont want to spin long but you want to aggresively engage first gear.

side note: i dont know if i trust gtech entirely

 

I was always launching at 2600, spin but then it will catch but i have 235\45\17 so i think that might make a difference...

 

For racing, i found that lauching around 1500rpm provided the best launch with slight cluth slippage. I tried the 2500rpm, but just baked my tires completely through 1st and into 2nd gear, damn All-season. Also, you people that are launching higher, what type of rubber are you running? Actual Performance rubber (i.e. Yokos, Kumho, etc) or all season??

Around town, i usually do somewhere between 2500-3500, sometimes 4K rpm shifts. And i didnt know that you shouldnt skip 4th gear, i do it all the time, but i will stop. Ive only had the car for 2weeks so nothing major is probably gonna go wrong because of it, hopefully.

 

I launch at 2600 and spin..but not for long. I have goodrich g force t\a kdws...i love the tires...but I didnt know that it wasnt good to skip 4th gear either...that seems so wierd that they make it like that...the gear ratio so closer..you would have thought they would have made a bigger 5th gear for highway mileage...but what do i know...oh yeah and can anybody explain the syncro thing to me...what and where in the car is it? engine or tranny?....

 

99maxima5sp: Yeah, 225/50/16 Potenza RE730s get me going pretty well at about 3000 RPM. On all-seasons that wouldn't work so much.

skeet: Synchros are in the trans. They "synchronize" (speed up or slow down) the gear that you are shifting into with the input shaft speed so that the gear doesn't grind when it's engaged. I think there's a pretty good demonstration of the process on www.howstuffworks.com.

 

When you guys launch, do you let off the clutch as fast as you can (dropping the clutch) or do you gradually let it down? I've tried gradually letting off the clutch, and my car just bounces, almost dies, then takes off. What is everyone's experiences with this? It seems that dropping the clutch is the only way to go if your racing?

Also, if I drop the clutch at 2600rpm, I spin almost throughout first on my 17x8's. I've dropped it at 3 grand a few times and roast my tires. I'll never do it again though becuase it's murder on the clutch. (and I think i've already murdered mine)

 

When I drive my 5spd, I go from 1st, to 2nd, then to 5th unless Im racing someone. It shouldnt hurt the gears if you do it like this.

 

I do that all the time. I make sure im to 30mph before I put it in 5th. I like to keep my RPM's as low as possible, but sometimes I think all the damn shifting I do wastes more gas then the low rpms!