on the manual... I cant remember the last time I used 5th gear.... I just go from 4th to 6th. most often I go from 3rd to 6th, and atleast twice a day I go from 2nd to 6th.....

the Z just has so much power, you want to get there in 2nd, which is capable of hitting 62mph, yet at 38 you are more than able to run in 6th.... which means if you rev to about 4grand in 2nd, you are doing 38mph.

is this bad? it seems like Im saving the clutch 3 extra shifts, and of course I let the revs drop down to where they need to be before letting the clutch back out. I dont powershift into 6th.

 

I don't think you'll actualy hurt anything as long as you keep the RPMs where they need to be and you don't bog the engine. Some high powered cars have a built in shift skip feature (an EPA fuel economy thing) that senses whether or not you are accelerating aggressively, and if not, bumps you to 4th when you try to shift from first to second.

 

On the freeway, when traffic is heavy & I’m only going 55-65mph, I keep in 5th so that I have responsiveness for quick maneuvers. Typically, I only use 6th above 65 or if traffic is light.

-Mike

 

I only use 6th after passing 90.

 

there are alot of 50 and 55 mph roads around here so I use fifth quite a bit on these.

 

I skip using 1st gear quite a bit, and depending on the speed limit, traffic etc, I usually end up skipping at least one other gear before reaching 6th.

 

see I always use first, cause using second just seems torturous on the clutch. well it doesnt seem, it is. so I start in first, quickly shift to second. I dont like first just cause its so jerky, when you gas it, it lurches foward, and let off and it brakes hard. so I prefer second. but I wouldnt ever try to start in second from a stop.

 

How many revs are you turning in 5th at 55-65? I would probably be in 4th, although the Z seems to pull like a freight train in 4th on my 5AT. I was not prepared for the midrange torque of this car. It feels like a small block V8, except better and more effortless in any gear.

 

You are sacrificing serious torque by skipping gears. At say 50-60 MPH the RPMs are too low to go strait into 6th. I dont think it will hurt anything, but you will be missing power.

 

I think these actually encourage drivers to accellerate agressively. It would **** me off if I was just driving along and could not hit the gear I want.... but I digress.

Steve

 

well I go directly to 6th because Im not accelerating any furthur, where I live mainly the limits are about 35-45, sometimes lower. so once Im out of second, im not going any faster, if anything I sit and coast cause Im now over the limit.

Im aware I lose the power tho, I just dont need it. and the manual itself says your actually reccomended to shift to 6th at 38mph. thats probably how those crack smokers managed to get 20/26fuel economy.

 

i hit 5th gear everyweek

 

6th gear is a over drive gear for highway use at highway speeds. I dont understand why they said 38MPH?

Personally if I am not accelerating any further and I'm in 3rd or 4th gear I just leave it there until I need to down shift (2K RPM or a little above) or place it in neutral when stopping. If you are in 6th gear going that slow, you should be close to a stall?

 

I always just shift through all the gears and have not really thought about skipping any. Maybe I will try this next time. JP00SS on this forum had skip-shift on his camaro, but he bought a harness that would override this. It was annoying as hell to not be able to go into 2nd.

 

I don't go into 6th at 38, but I will at 45. There is so much AMAZING low end torgue on this car, that anything over 1500 RPMs and the engine doesn't labor. Nevertheless, I like to stay above 2K, with maybe dipping down into 1800. But there is no way this car will labor -- let alone stall -- with anything over 1500.

 

I love 5th gear!

It gives you just the right rev band at highway speeds. In 4th you are running to high and don't have a usable range.

This is what downshifting is about. Go to 4th when you need it!

 

You guys have 6 gears?

 

your not serious are you? you must be new to the car world, or drive an auto.

yes the Z manual has 6 gears. most new cars do, the S2000 has had it since its release in 2000 I think. and exotics have had it for a long time as well. theyve just managed to make a tranny with 6 gears lighter than 5. for some reason they felt an extra gear was better then just decreasing the weight.

 

I don't remember (haven't driven the Z in a couple days), but I'm guessing around 3K. I'll double check tomorrow..

-Mike