delbomber

Damn I'm antsy waiting for my car to arrive. Should be here end of the week...until then I'm stuck with their loaner auto C240 =(

Anyway, my question is about optimal shift points for the 6-speed (duh)....To get this car to 60 (and beyond) at its quickest, at what RPMs should I shift? Is the power band simply the listed max torque range or does each gear have it's own optimal shift point? Anyone happen to know them?

I had driven a stick all my life until my G35 (simply because the 6-speed wasn't available at the time) and the three or four times I test drove the C230, the car was really lunging when downshifting to pass, say from from 6th gear at 60 or 70 mph to 4th through 80 or 90...does rev-matching in this car eliminate this assault on my passengers, or is smooth downshifiting something I will have to learn to live without? Obviously once I own the car I'll learn how to smooth her out, but I don't want to wait that long.

Any tips for smoothest upshifting during normal driving would help too.

Thanks!! Cheers.

Capt Nemo o2

Of course you have to rev match! I hate that feeling when I dont get the revs high enough before downshifting! For smooth shifting I find it best to treat it the same way I treat my TR... that is to hesitate a bit in neutral before upshifting. Although, you will find that hard to do 'cause its just so much fun to drive, especially in a car where the syncros are in perfect working order unlike my TR, but hey, it 39 years old and has 85,000 miles... For an old English car to only have that problem (err and the electronic overdrive not working and recently the headlights stopped, oh and the valve cover leaks but that ones a design flaw) is an amazing feat!

delbomber

Yeah, I guess it's just a matter of getting the feel for the right revs...pretty hard to do when i was trying to put it to its paces the first time I test-drove it...

Do you single- or double-clutch? I was never taught to double-clutch, not to say I can't or haven't done it, just that it's unnecessary as it only saves the synchros...and isn't that what they're there for, to make double-clutching unnecessary? Unless there is further damage being done by blipping the gas with the clutch fully depressed??

Capt Nemo o2

That is what the syncros are there for. But if you want to save them you can double clutch I guess... I usually dont though, in fact rarely do. Also you can make an argument that double clutching saves the clutch cause you're not reving the engine with the clutch engaged. One of the probelms with double clutching is it takes extra time, and also takes more time away from when you can brake since it is next to impossible to heel-toe this car. When Im exercising and entering a turn where I have to downshift more than one gear I threshold break, as long as there is no one behind me. Basically brake as hard as you can as late as you can without locking up then downshift. If done right it may only require a little blip of the throttle if that. As I was told by a driving instructor "Its much nicer to replace $500 brakes than a $20,000 transmission!" (This was on a track set-up Factory 5 Cobra)

r3v1ls

Well fastest way to sixty is pretty much turning esp off, reving the engine between 2k-3k depending on road type, dropping the clutch (u should get a lil tire chirp, not too much) and flooring it, then shift into 2nd right when it touches the red line, and so on :v . This car's pull is extremely good whenever it's over 3k rpm, i think that's when the supercharger is really working. If you wanna gest some boost while driving just downshift to get the rev's over 3k rpm and after that just gun it... i usually get plenty of pull if i do that cruising at 60. Last night i hit 100 in a few seconds from 75 just by downshiftin from 6th to 5th. Play around with it, the transmission is pretty simple, not too many tricks to get better times.

ctC230K

first, why would you downshift more than one gear at a time?? passing in 6th gear is easy, passing in 5th is no problem, passing in 4th is almost too high rpms for highway speed.
the reason it lunged is because you tried to shift too fast and the engine was not slowed down enough, orrrr you tired too hard to rev match and made the engine go too fast before you let the clutch out.

drive the car for 3000 miles then you will know when to shift and what it should feel like, until then you just need to drive and learn about the car.

Capt Nemo o2

Because when you are stuck behind someone in the left lane doing the speed limit (55mph) and you got some one in the lane next to you and you have to sneak between the two a downshift to 5th just doesnt cut it, you have to go to 4th to get the power. Afterall 4th redlines around 100mph. Also if you are doing some spirited driving, when you want to make a turn you might want to downshift from say 5th to 3rd using engine braking or from 5th to 2nd using threshold braking...

BTW If I was a cop I would be pulling people over and giving tickets left and right for doing the speed limit and below in the left lane, While they are not speeding, they are illgally driving in the left lane, which is for passing, which NY does not enforce nor post. If you want to do the speed limit you are supposed to be in the middle lane if there are three and in the right if there are two... Sorry... Just had to vent... yesterday comming home from school I gut stuck behind someone doing 50 in the left and a person doing 50 in the lane next to me and boxed me in...

mikefl52

Absolutely right.

Just listen to and watch the cars in formula racing and they use this exact technique. You should always be in the right gear and speed as you enter the turn, thereby controlling the car better as you go through the turn and enabling you to accelerate out of the turn. On many occasions this will require more than one down shift, especially with a 6 speed gearbox. In order to control the amount of engine braking you want you need to match the revs to the road speed you want.

Anyway shifting gears in response to road conditions and traffic is the fun of driving a manual gearbox.

In terms of clutch wear, resting your foot on the clutch pedal all the time, or even between shifts, causes many more problems than utilizing the gearbox by shifting.

delbomber

Precisely. 6th --> 5th is fine for casual passing, but there are times it just doesn't cut it...

I appreciate your input though, ct, I'm itching for it to get here so I can start driving a car instead of merely propelling one, and this is the only outlet I have until then!

Cheers.

ctC230K

ok i guess if you're going THAT slow, as in 55. idk about you but when i drive on the highway it's 75 minimum or else someone is getting rammed haha. so for me to shift from 5th to 3rd at 75 MPH i would hit redline and my whole pass screwed up cause the engine or fuel gets cut.

mick1

I have never tried it but I sometimes wonder if we could shift from 1st to 4th like the Corvette with CAGS to maximize gas mileage. may be not eh, because the Corvette engine is really huge.

ctC230K

i've started in 2nd then shifted to 5th at redline sometimes, I heard someone with an M5 saying they do that, it actually works great.

Capt Nemo o2

I dont know, with 1st being as short as it is? maybe 2nd to 4th or 5th.