Hard to say w/o driving the car and seeing where the revs are at a particular speed in a particular gear. In the Z at 60mph you can probably downshift for a quick 3rd gear and then right to 4th. The key is blip the throttle on the downshift to match the revs so you don't get that lurch.

 

I think Matthew's correct with 3rd...but not for long, like he pointed out. If I recall from Automobile mag's write-up, 3rd gear maxes out at 88 mph. With the broad torque band of this engine though, even dropping down to 4th would probably give you a good surge.

 

you will be cruising in 6th. I would downshift to 5th most of the time (there will be plenty of torque), 4th for extreme situations and 3rd if you want to beat your engine to crap and make sure it does not last more than 100,000 miles. I am assuming you would do this 6th to 3rd downshift often when I say this.

 

TCBZ brings up a good point about the amount of TQ the car will have. In addition, the 5 to 4 shift is much quicker physically than a 5 to 3.

As far as bliping the throttle....
Lets say you are in 4th gear at 2.5K rpms and want to drop to third. Try and judge how many rmps your current speed will equate to in 3rd, maybe 3.5K or 4K. Depress the clutch, hit the gas pedal to get the engine speed up to 3.5K rpms while you are moving the shifter into third and then engage the clutch, then get on the gas again.

 

5th plenty of torque? only if your racing a yugo on the highway. otherwise you will need to bring it to 3rd. 3rd will take you to 88mph. then comes 4th.

I disagree with your statement of having the engine die at 100k miles just by driving it hard. I have redlined numerous cars everyday, multiple times a day for years. They did not ever have engine problems.
An engines enemy is heat, and friction. So long as you are in the rpm range set by the manufacturer, the car hasnt been raped by installing a 20psi turbo, and your car is well maintained, then you will be ok.

 

I had a 911 that really was fond of 60mph 3rd gear downshifts - I expect the z is about the same

 

I agree that you must match revs when you downshift; ideally you want to match the engine's torque peak as you go down to a lower gear. The torque peak for the engine is 4800 rpm and the redline is 6600. That's only a window of 1800 rpm, so I would probably downshift to 4th and floor it. The main thing is to avoid overevving the engine, so learn where the torque peaks are in each gear and match them as close as you can when downshifting. An earlier post said 3rd would go to 88 mph; if you downshift from 5th to 3rd you will probably exceed the torque peak and your upshift from 3rd to 4th may have to be done very quickly after your downshift, you could lose time on the other guy with an extra shift(maybe if you can shift like Mario Andretti you'll be ok). I would try downshifting to 4th first and 3rd next to see what you prefer.

You mentioned you have never driven a 6spd before; I am assuming you have driven a 5spd, right? I've never driven a 6spd before, so how hard could it be? 6th gear is an overdrive for those long boring flat sections of road where you want to save gas. From all the tests I've read, you can accelerate from almost any gear in the Z because it is so torquey. I ordered the 5AT so I won't be driving a 6spd, unless VQ has a bad case of brain fade and lets me drive his Track model. Nah, not likely.

Boomer--have fun.
BR/FR/AT

 

Remember Double Clutching is all but obsolete w/ today's street clutches. So don't worry about it.

 

5th.

in my car i go to 4th if i want some power on the highway, but i have a 5speed.

 

You don't need to double-clutch that's what synchros are for.

Somebody's been watching too much fast and the furious.

 

I would not use 6th under 60-65mph, you are practically coasting in 6th at those spds and I can't remember the gearing on the 6spd. An example, the C5 vette's 6th gear is .5 to 1; its 5th gear is about .75 to 1 and 4th is direct, 1 to 1. I would not use 6th for anything but freeway travel, even though testers have said 6th in a vette is a useful gear because the V8 has so much torque. Top speed in the normal vette is achieved in 5th, not 6th.

The Z is similar with its 6 spd but has less torque, obviously. 6th in the Z would only be used for travel. I can't imagine it being useful for anything else. With 6 gears, the Z has lower gearing in 1st to 3rd for added acceleration, 0-60 and in the 1/4 mile.

Boomer
BR/FR/AT

 

What the heck do we have all those gears for? Why not go from 1st to 6th?

 

So you are saying one should reline their engine everytime you pass someone on the highway?

Gee aren't you the hot racer.

In 4th gear at 60 the engine will be turning well above 3,000 RPM (my spreadsheet for this calc is at home)... I think PLENTY of torque is avaiable in this case. Even in 5th. Unless of course you are RACING.