Reading all the above posts confuses me. Do you people know your car's redline? I have a 2007 and mine is 7500 rpm redline.

 

some of us arent cool enough to have 07's

 

You are the man!

 

When in doubt, let Alberto show you how. Enjoy the following vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXVexQ2q554

 

You are nothing but the man Alberto!!!

 

wouldn't u need a dyno to know for sure? esp if you mod it out

 

I usually shift around 3-4k.

 

I thought the point was to shift at the peak of the horsepower curve because that is what is accelereting your car. So that would make the stock DE shiftpoint around 6200, right?

 

Yes peak horsepower is a consideration. But more important is where are you coming into the next gear? 3,000 RPM? 5,000 RPM? If you push the motor past peak horsepower, you can come into the next gear a bit higher.

1st gear is a bit unique. If traction is poor, I will often short shift 1st. No point sitting there with the tires spinning.

 

You'd still want to redline, because the engine will continue making that peak power for the next 300RPMs - there isn't a catastrophic drop in power.

 

Plus the mechanical advantage of the lower gear more than makes up for the drop in torque.

Plenty of good answers!

 

6,999 Rpm.

 

I was thinking 6,599

 

What about driving at high (above 5K) rpms for extended periods of time... As in going over mountains... Is that terrible for the car?

 

The highest point in Georgia is Brasstown Bald: elevation 4,784 feet. That's not a mountain. Its a hill.

 

If you shift at redline from 1st be prepared for the rear to spin. Feather the gas so you limit it. Daily driving i shift at like 2500-3000K

 

Any rpm below red line can be maintained non-stop for hours with no detrimental effect to the engine or any other part of the car. Below red line, anything goes! Aha!

mpg will suck, but the sound track will be sweet!

 

Aren't there situations where you'd want to shift around the peak in the torque curve, rather than the peak in the horsepower curve?

 

Better fuel economy when short shifting ?

That was an old technique used when cars had loads of torque and crappy low grip tires. They were traction limited. It is not the case anymore.

 

Daily driving I shift around 3.5K RPM, spirited driving I shift around 5K RPM, but I'm not racing and I'm not on the track. I'm not sure where my torque peaks but it feels like around 4.5K RPM?