So in case you haven't noticed fourth does not have a lot of value in the Z. You can easliy shift from 3rd to fifth for cruising around town with smooth power delivery and no bogging. Anyone of the view that this might harm the car in any way? How?

It would seem that this skip a shift might improve fuel economy when you are in one of those "im just crusing moods" and opposed to the "I;m a f1 driver" grooves.

 

I personally am more likely to skip 5th.

but from what I was told, from a synchro stand point it is better if you shift into the gear but dont let the clutch out. just row through the gears untill your at the next gear you want to drive with then let the clutch out.

 

so you cruise around town in 6th?

man how many tickets do you have?

 

I think I revved to high and then let the clutch out in first because I heard this LOUD metal on metal clunk noise. What did I do?
Ha[ppened once to me with my borthers old C5. Went past red and then heard the CLUNK.

 

If you cant find em grind em!

 

I cruise around at anywhere from 35-40 mph in 6th. That's only if the road is level. Shift down to 5th going up hill, or 4th going really uphill. The manual says, shift into 6th at 33 mph when driving conservatively.

 

you mean you dont hit the redline in every gear till you hit 6th?

 

For cruising, I wouldn't want to hit redline in every gear before 6th. It is very inefficient, fuel economy-wise. And since it's my commuter, I'll be conservative most days. Highway 9, on the other hand. >

 

actually the manual says 38mph for 6th I believe.

but none the less, thats plenty for typical 45mph roads. sometimes Ill run 5th on them, sometimes 4th, but this is cruising, I get up to 45 in pretty quick time shift at 5 or 6grand.

 

Wow, somebody actually read the manual....
haha, just kidding, I always find those suggested shifting point on car manuals to be extremely low....

 

...crusing moods" and opposed to the "I;m a f1 driver" grooves...

Sorry for the jack, but Schumi won!!!! GO FERRARI!

that being said, I also skip gears sometimes. I don't see the harm.

 

Anyone know what that loud KNOCK noise my car made when I shifted past redline was?

 

That noicse you are hearing is the muffler bearing goes out of sync with the clutch bar.
It's ok, just shift at a even higher RPM and you won't hear the noise anymore.

 

Gear skipping is great in the city. I do a lot of 1-3-5-6 or 1-2-4-6 or, when feeling frisky, 1-2-6. There is plenty of torgue at 1,500 rpm for city driving and the constant shifting in traffic gets tiring. I also can pick up about 3 mpg (18-21) if I give it a little thought.
Alas, all too often while conserving gas I am overcome by the thrill of pegging it through the gears. At 2,000 miles, I am still learning how to drive this car. It can be lamb or lion.

 

I do that a lot too, usually 2-4-6 or 1-3-5. I read on the boards that it is easier on the synchros (or something to that effect) when you place the shifter into the skipped gear before proceeding to the destination gear... I do that although it prolongs the shift process (for me, better to be on the safe side ).

 

I think that's more applicable for downshifting but not 100% sure.

fyi, it's not good to lug your engine around at 1500 or 2000 rpm. steady state crusing's fine but downshift that bizatch to accelerate

 

I dont know if thats it. I went past redline before shifting and then CLUNK!?

 

Yeah I'll do the same... 1-3-5 getting lazy...