Around town I usually skip 3rd gear entirely. I shift into 4th at about 22 mph putting it at 1100 rpm. This is only during light acceleration of course. I'm not hurting the engine doing this am I?

'96 Maxima SE 5MT w/ 142k

 

When I'm accelerating on a 2 lane highway and I'm not in a big hurry, I'll usually get rolling in first, accelerate to around 30 in 2nd, then shift into fourth until I hit around 50, then shift into fifth.

Around town in slower traffic I take off in 2nd and shift into third when I get moving. I don't go into fourth until at least 30. This is a little over 1500 rpms.

I might be a little nervous about applying any throttle at 1100 rpm, but if any engine can take it the VQ30 can.

 

I never skip 3rd. You must go pretty fast in 2nd to skip 3rd without hurting the engine. Only gear I skip is 4th.

 

street driving- 1st, 2nd 4th.
highway-1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th.

 

Yeah, I'm not talking about brisk acceleration here, just creeping along and slowly building speed. There is no vibration or sound in 4th going 20 mph.

 

As long as you're not trying to go WOT at low RPMs lugging the engine like that, you'll be fine.

Even then, the chances of damage are slim.

 

i usually just short shift my car 1-4th, never going over 2000rpms

 

Where does the damage normally occur?^

 

Main and thrust bearings, IIRC. You've got very high load, low RPM (so low oil pressure), which leads to accelerated wear.

 

Isn't taking off in 2nd bad? or am i missing something.

 

no it doesnt hurt your it to much...it might wear ot your clutch a bit faster because your riding it more, but other than that it wouldnt have any ill affects on your car

 

A little more wear on the clutch (and an odd feeling that the shifter isn't in the right position), that's about it.

 

If I remember correctly, from reading an article a while back about engines thats its a good idea to keep the RPMS above 1500 RPMS for all types of reasons. I usually skip 3rd and try to never lug my engine below 1500. It was about oil pump and rmps, that made a lot of sence.

-matt

 

but what are the benefits?

 

One less shift. Less chance of wheelspin if you're in a low traction situation.

Really though, 1st is geared such that you need to shift basically right after you get moving. Try to accelerate too quickly, you spin tires. Any sudden decel, and you're thrown forward by engine braking.

 

So all your friends don't go on and on and on about you buying a manual when automatics are so much easier and smoother. It is very difficult to shift out of first as smoothly as an automatic. Starting in second they have no idea unless they see you shifting. If I start in first people know I have a stick, if I start in second they have no idea. Keeps you from revving too high on a cold engine too as it is even harder to shift smoothly from first in the cold.

 

Over 1500? I don't know about that... I've driven automatic vehicles that shift at 1200 rpm down to 900 (my cousin's Sequoia). I could understand if I had a Prelude, GS-R, etc with no lowend power but my Maxima seems happy as long as I'm over 1,000 RPM.

 

It had something to do with the trans as well. Cant lug a manual trans

 

I skip 4th almost all the time. 3rd I only skip when I get on the gas a little more than the normal amount in 2nd, if I take the RPM up high enough to go directly to 5th from second.

 

This is the same thing I do. I usually skip fourth unless I am in a hurry. And if I take second up to over 50 then I usually just go straight to 5th unless I am racing.

 

I don't use 3rd at all in town, usually. I also have a tendency to leave the car in 2nd for all speeds in town if traffic is slow and I'm on the phone or something and don't want to be bothered to shift, but that's only if traffic is below 20 MPH.

 

No. Just take care when you put it into gear not to drop the clutch hard.

Dave

 

yeah i will sometimes skip 3rd and ill go right into 2nd for anything thats not a dead stop.

 

The only time I usually skip gears is if I accelerate up to the speed limit quickly and then level off. Then I will skip 3rd or 4th depending on how fast I'm going. Other than that I use all the gears.

My old Trans Am had a skip shift feature built into the transmission. If you drove slowly in first gear from a stop, a solenoid would pop out forcing you to shift directly into fourth. This was very annoying when you got a slow start and then tried to pass a car. Luckily it was easily disabled by wiring a resistor into the plug on the trans.

 

i dont skip any gears unless im really thinking about it. its like second nature just to go in order for me.

 

Just like the Vette. Hate that crap.

 

Skip-shifting yourself is one thing, but when the transmission forces you to that is ANNOYING.

 

Rowing through all five gears just to get up to 35 is annoying. It's a different story if I'm driving a little quicker or on a windy country road.

 

If you're accelerating from a stop to 30 or 35 MPH to drive on a slower street, it makes perfect sense to skip 3rd. By the time you're at 3000 in 2nd you're ready to shift and very close to your cruising speed so you don't need the power of 3rd gear.

Also, 3rd gear in 4th gens and 5th gens tends to be the most common "problem gear", and even on good trannies it's sometimes hard to get into 3rd, so I like to skip it when possible.

 

1st-2nd @2k RPM
2nd-3rd @2k RPM
3rd-5th @2k RPM

I usually skip 4th. The speeds I drive daily to school are 40mph and 50mph. City driving
so I never go over 2k rpm to try and save gas. I barely go highway except on weekends.
With this I usually get around 350+ miles per fill up.

 

My 78yo mother used to shift 1-2-5. We got her an automatic. Solved the problem completely.