jckolnturn

iTrader: (1)

wouldn't it be smarter to learn how to downshift instead of just driving around at 60 in 3rd?

Murry

The buzzing or whining noise you hear from the back of the car while under load is the differential. It is always there to some degree, maybe you can't hear it but, it is there. My Z whines in almost every gear. Don't worry its normal. If the gears were starved for lubrication or patterned incorrectly they would have grenaded the casing by now. I have had the fortune of watching more than one small block equipped wheelin' rig detonate due to improper gear set-up.

If you think the Z is loud check out some of those old dump trucks (from the late 50's or early 60's I THINK) that employ spur cut gears in the synchro-less tranny. They sound like they have jet engines.

-Murry

Slexis200

ya i figured this might be normal, i just was curious what it was. It was sort of an anoying sound on a long drive at 85 or so..... Anyway, maybe ill speed up and not use 6th under 50 i mean i dont always, i was just saying sometimes when i want some good mielage...... Ive seen people never use 5th or 6th, but they get a new tank of gas every other day! Anyways, thanks for all the input guys..... anymore would be welcome too....

DriveI65

First, I have not heard noises from the rear or the front since the sound from the radio masks it all.

It's been interesting reading the different opinions on speed in which gear. My opinion differs in that I watch the rpm instead. I consider anything under 2K to be loading/lugging the engine and over 4K to be playtime, not for normal driving. Gas mileage is consistantly 24-25mpg. I do like downshifting to accelerate past problem drivers and this pattern enables me to get into the high torque range as needed.

Just my humble opinion.

PrototypeRacer

In the 911 i used to drive, even for just around town you didn't want it to drop below 2600 at all. I don't see why it would be too much different for the Z. But anything over 3200 for just cruising seems excessive.

So 6th is overdrive in the Z right? Would you ever use 6th while topping your car out or does 5th have more speed?

cluofi

5th redlines at 150, so i guess 6th would be needed for that extra few mph if you were really intent of flying

my thoughts exactly, but people should drive their car how ever they want, they bought it.

TereP

LOL... you misconstrue... What I basically said was that the proper cruising gear is one gear higher than max acceleration gear for any given speed. Good cruising rpm in the Z is 3,500 +/- a couple hundred. Yep, if I want to hit it and git it, I downshift one gear and I'm gone. Now let's take a downshift in the context of defensive driving -- that's about one second of wasted time. I've had this happen twice in the recent few years when a minivan pulled right out at me (once in the Z and once in another MT car) -- quick blip of the throttle and I'm out of the way (I don't have to be in max acceleration gear to do that, and there's no time to downshift). Now, if I'm in 6th at 40, can I do that? Nope, and my car gets a big minivan bite. If you want to debate the gas mileage issue, no problem; get your engine good and carboned up, and your Z will then drink gas like no tomorrow as well as being the dog of all dogs in performance. I'm advocating driving the Z correctly, and 6th at 40 surely ain't correctly. 3rd at 40 (one higher than max acceleration gear) is the correct gear; 4th at 60 (one gear higher that max acceleration gear) is the correct gear. Been doing gears for more than 40 years (including no synchros), so it's somewhat possible that I do have a small clue about how to do it right.

TereP

Your number is pretty much on the money in regard to top speed driving. Because 6th is really an overdrive, you'd really only use it in everyday driving if you're sustained cruising out on the open highway at 75-80+ (you've got your cruise control turned on). Once you get into any kind of traffic, 6th is probably not much of a player in the picture.

TereP

On the money! I've driven an old White dump truck of a slightly earlier vintage (no synchos). You describe the sound correctly. Took a lot of practice to get the double clutching just right so you didn't grind a pound of gears every time you shifted! Lol... that old thing was a hoot to drive -- I was a youngster at the time, so I was easily amused...

Boomer

Josh, I know you are getting your lumps here, but please don't lug your engine at 60mph in 6th gear. The correct gear for cruising at 60 is 4th. You can drop into 3rd for good acceleration to pass or avoid obstacles and not have to hear your differential whining.

Also, 6th is an overdrive to use to cruise at 80-100mph on rural interstates or lightly traveled 2 lanes. I've never owned a 6 speed manual, only many 4 or 5 speeds. To be safe in traffic, never use your overdrive to pass another vehicle, 5th is even problematical because your acceration is still mild when you put your foot to the floor. The most useful gear,IMO, is 3rd. You can accelerate quickly from 40 in 3rd, or drop to 2nd if you really want maximum accereration.

I don't even have a MT Z, but I use the manual mode, and 3rd gear, in my 5AT almost as much as I did in my manuals because it is so useful from 40-60mph. You don't get so many shifts as you would in full automatic and if you're under 4000rpm, your gas mileage isn't really effected too much at all. This is a sports car, drive it like one and you will be rewarded with the almost instant response you can get from it and you won't be lugging your engine. Have fun and drive it hard on a regular basis to maintain its edge, and yours.

NOZ4U

Whewwww....

It's so sexy when women talk about cars. Especiallay sports cars. This is assuming that you are a female TereP....This is what I gather from your sig.

jckolnturn

iTrader: (1)

read the owners manual

the source of your knowledge is?

the gearing in the 5AT is broader than the 6MT so you can use the 3 gear in more situations. This being said it's your car and your gas drive like you want.

Boomer

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jckolnturn
[B]read the owners manual

I've read it. Most owners manuals tell you drive like this: lst to 2nd shift at 10 mph, 2nd to 3rd at 17 mph, and so on. Why do it in a high powered sports car? I'm not kidding, why?

the source of your knowledge is?

My first new car was a 1965 Triumph TR4 W/4 spd and I've been driving MTs for 43 years. The Z is my first AT I've ever owned as my personal car. If the Z hadn't come out w/a 5AT with a manual mode, I would be driving an 2003 RSX-S, after rejecting M3, 330iC, Corvette, etal. I've driven 3,4 and 5 speed MTs most of my 58 years. A 6 speed is nothing more than an extra gear that is an overdrive. BTW, the C5 Corvette 6 speed has 2 overdrive gears, 5th(.75:1) and 6th(.50:1), did you know that?

I drove my first 5 speed in 1968, my Fiat 124 Spyder. My last car was a commuter 97 Accord EX w/5 spd, nice but too slow compared to my previous car, a 1991 MR2 Turbo I owned and drove as my business car for 7 years and 128,000 miles which I traded w/the original Turbo intact and I was still redlining it everyday I owned it.



the gearing in the 5AT is broader than the 6MT so you can use the 3 gear in more situations. This being said it's your car and your gas drive like you want.

2nd gear in the 6MT will get you to 61mph, 3rd gear will take you to 88mph. Drive on the highway at 60mph in 6th gear and your engine is turning 2150rpm. I wouldn't want to try to accelerate out of trouble at that RPM, would you, mr. jack 'o lantern? I don't like being quoted in intentionally rude posts. If all your posts are of this nature, you will find yourself outside the domain. This a privately owned site and you can post so long as you obey the rules posted at the beginning of each thread.

Yellow flag= warning, red flag=you are out. Yes, anyone can drive like they want, as long as they obey the traffic laws. However, if someone drives like a rolling chicane, they could easily get an 18 wheeler up their butts. Capiche? Do you understand what we are trying to demonstrate to Josh?

jckolnturn

iTrader: (1)

Boomer don't be so defensive and don't threaten me with cards because my opinion is different with yours, capiche? Before you go spewing off at the mouth about how other people should drive their MT cars and you don't have one maybe you could state your experiences, like i asked, so we all know where you are coming from, capiche? I think your advice to someone unfamiliar with driving manuals to crusie at 60 in the third gear is wrong, capiche? that's my opinion if you don't like, too bad, capiche? If someone were to be zipping around in a high traffic area then that's something different, but that's not what you said, capiche?

It's really sad how some people can turn a forum into their personal soapbox.

Boomer

There's a big difference between an honest difference of opinion and a 3rd party deliberately using someone's quotes to demean them and you should know it. If you are unaware that you were being rude, OK, no harm, no foul.

You asked what my experience was and I told you, the fact that I am not driving a manual now doesn't negate my years of driving them.

Finally, a newbie at driving MTs usually needs all the help they can get, I certainly did when I was starting out and I wasn't being rude about it nor attempting to put someone down, only trying to impart information. I would prefer that Josh not get himself hurt or killed because his driving style could be detrimental to his health in certain traffic situations.

As for being on a soapbox, yes, I am guilty of doing that from time to time and your comment is noted.

wren57

iTrader: (34)

Um, I dunno wtf you guys are on, cruising at 60mph in third gear... enjoy spending money on gas or just like to needlessly strain the engine? Racing in third at 60 or accelerating hard, yes, but cruising for a 200mile road trip on the interstate in third is retarded, simply put. I normally put my Z in 6th above 45mph when I don't plan on accelerating, just holding speed... I get about 21mpg in the city with only 1300 miles on my car because of this

jckolnturn

iTrader: (1)

Boomer i'm in NY and we don't even have roads where cruising at the speeds you're talking about being nescessary for 6th. If you tried here you would end up dead or in jail, it's still a 55mph speed limit. You could drive around at 70 and be ok most of the time but we also have traffic like you wouldn't believe and you would start getting some stares rolling along in the bumper to bumper crowd at 50-55 growling in third. Maybe this will help you to see where i'm coming from.

P.S. do you miss your triumph?

Boomer

****! Sorry, I totally forgot about the NE still under the 55 limit. You're right, our perspective out here is 360 degrees from your situation. I would like to propose a compromise though. 5TH gear in 50-60mph is direct 1:1 and would have a very small gas penalty and may give you a little better sense of control. Try it, if you don't like it, forget it.

Yeah , I miss my TR4, but I value my wife's life even more. She was smashed headon by a 59 Ford Galaxy in 1968, I got to the emergency room and a doc was sewing the skin above her eyebrows back together where her skull was exposed. She looked like she had been hit by shrapnel. Her first words were, I've ruined the car. I said screw the car, your life is what matters. About a week later, when she was better and out of the hospital, I looked at it and was thankful she wasn't killed. We both loved that car Boomer

TereP

LOL... Happy to get your motor running darlin'...

TereP

I think if you go back and read the thread carefully, no one said to cruise in 3rd at 60. I know my comment was that 3rd at 60 was max acceleration gear, and cruising gear (in typical traffic) would be one gear higher; i.e., 4th. The discussion didn't have a whole lot to do with open highway.