What RPM do you shift at?

phelan · 12-15-2009, 12:19 PM

i'm in socal with a bright red japanese sports car, aftermarket exhaust + hfcs...

haven't been caught / pulled over yet!

import111 · 12-15-2009, 12:35 PM

I shift at 4k when the car is warming up or there is traffic in the way. I shift at 7500 when ever there is room or when I am at the track.

gumpy · 12-15-2009, 03:44 PM

For normal driving to the office i shift at 2-3k depending on if i'm shifting on an up hill or down hill.

on the weekend I'll shift at 4k... I'm still in the break-in period... =)

shadow2k · 12-15-2009, 07:50 PM

4k under normal circumstances. I've tried shifting both higher and lower. Shifting below 3k is babying the car too much for my taste, there's no power there compared to higher revs. May as well be driving my beater. Higher than 5k, and you get a lot of vibration/noise that I'd like to avoid for normal, everyday driving.

I don't really look at the speedo/tach, I've just come to "feel" like that 4k mark is generally the sweet spot for my standard driving, and seems the most natural to me.

davidyan · 12-15-2009, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK370Z

Nicely DONE

.

He told me that he CAN give me a ticket but he's going to let me go for this time (in my mind I'm saying, "WTF did I really do??). He did give me a $54 ticket (non moving violation) and a warning.

That's actually not bad at all... In California, you can get cited for something called "exhibition of speed" which is a misdameanor charge. I got this a couple years back but the court lost the paperwork and I was off the hook.

FricFrac · 12-16-2009, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red370

damn, yall shift too high, im tryin to save gas here, I usually upshift at 2500 during normal driving conditions, if I shifted at 4k every time, i'd get 12mpg, no way buddy.

Bogging the engine down is not good for it. Its a Sports car.... get a Mustang if you want to shift a 2.5K....

coaster · 12-16-2009, 02:37 AM

After the break-in period, I've been shifting at around 4k rpm.

Red370 · 12-16-2009, 08:15 AM

Ok, im seeing alot of people saying they're shifting at 4-4.5k to stay in the "power band", why is that necessary when the speed limit is 25-35mph? I dont care if you say im babying my car or not, it makes ZERO sense to me commuting to and from work and trying to "stay in the power band", i dont need to. And to those that ask me, "well why did you buy the car if you dont plan to drive it", gas here is $3.15 a gallon for 91 Octane, sorry im not a "baller" like some of you, but I appreciate getting decent gas mileage when I can, dont get me wrong, I like to drive in a spirited fashion from time to time, but I also dont unnecessarily haul a$$ everywhere just because I drive a sports car.

semtex · 12-16-2009, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red370

Ok, im seeing alot of people saying they're shifting at 4-4.5k to stay in the "power band", why is that necessary when the speed limit is 25-35mph? I dont care if you say im babying my car or not, it makes ZERO sense to me commuting to and from work and trying to "stay in the power band", i dont need to. And to those that ask me, "well why did you buy the car if you dont plan to drive it", gas here is $3.15 a gallon for 91 Octane, sorry im not a "baller" like some of you, but I appreciate getting decent gas mileage when I can, dont get me wrong, I like to drive in a spirited fashion from time to time, but I also dont unnecessarily haul a$$ everywhere just because I drive a sports car.

Has it occurred to you that we're all from different regions of the country, and speed limits vary depending on where you live? I live off of a 4 lane highway with a 50mph speed limit, thank you very much. And the Interstate is less than a mile from my house, with a 70mph speed limit. Also, shifting in the powerband doesn't automatically mean you're hauling a$$. It depends on how you get there. If you're mashing your foot to the floor, then yeah, you're hauling a$$ -- and that's true regardless of whether you're shifting at 3k or redlining it at 7.5k. When I accelerate in normal driving, I typically don't depress the gas pedal any more than around 40%. It takes me a few seconds to get up to 4.5k. I'm not hauling a$$. I just like to maintain the responsiveness of the engine that results from shifting in the powerband as I make my way up way past 35mph. Sorry if the speed limit in your area is so low, but don't go assuming that everyone drives on the same roads that you do every day.

370Zsteve · 12-16-2009, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by semtex

Has it occurred to you that we're all from different regions of the country, and speed limits vary depending on where you live? I live off of a 4 lane highway with a 50mph speed limit, thank you very much. And the Interstate is less than a mile from my house, with a 70mph speed limit. Also, shifting in the powerband doesn't automatically mean you're hauling a$$. It depends on how you get there. If you're mashing your foot to the floor, then yeah, you're hauling a$$ -- and that's true regardless of whether you're shifting at 3k or redlining it at 7.5k. When I accelerate in normal driving, I typically don't depress the gas pedal any more than around 40%. It takes me a few seconds to get up to 4.5k. I'm not hauling a$$. I just like to maintain the responsiveness of the engine that results from shifting in the powerband as I make my way up way past 35mph. Sorry if the speed limit in your area is so low, but don't go assuming that everyone drives on the same roads that you do every day.

And wtf anyway...if I was gonna shift at the same rpm all the time I would have bought an automatic. The only time I really watch the tach for a shift point is 1st and 2nd gear so that I can shift at 3500 or so which I find the smoothest, least jerky range for normal driving.

The guy who normally shifts at 7500 rpm is exactly the reason I would never buy a used performance car.

semtex · 12-16-2009, 08:56 AM

I do want to say, however, if that speed limits in my area were as low as Red370's, I'd probably be shifting around 2500-3000 rpm as well, just like he does. Different road conditions call for different styles of driving.

zZSportZz · 12-16-2009, 09:05 AM

3500-4500

6spd · 12-16-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by semtex

I do want to say, however, if that speed limits in my area were as low as Red370's, I'd probably be shifting around 2500-3000 rpm as well, just like he does. Different road conditions call for different styles of driving.

qft

mick · 01-15-2010, 11:24 PM

the manual (page 5-19) says shift to 6th gear at 33 mph (53 kmph)

i followed the instruction and drove in the city in 6th gear and they were right, the engine ran fine.

armensti · 01-16-2010, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mick

the manual (page 5-19) says shift to 6th gear at 33 mph (53 kmph)

i followed the instruction and drove in the city in 6th gear and they were right, the engine ran fine.

huhh?? 6th gear at 33mph? i gotta check out the manual lol....

usually i let first gear go to 3.5k then second around 3k then sometimes i skip 3rd and go to 4th then 5th at 35-40mph or ill just rev high on 3rd and skip 4th and go to 5th. the speed limit here is 35mph so if i put it in 6th the car feels like its about to die and i feel like im choking the engine.

12-15-2009, 12:19 PM	#46 (permalink)
phelan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: CA Age: 38 Posts: 9,513 Drives: Scoobaroo Rep Power: 3406	i'm in socal with a bright red japanese sports car, aftermarket exhaust + hfcs... haven't been caught / pulled over yet! __________________ 凛 ('Rin') - 2009 Nissan 370Z With silence comes peace. With peace comes freedom. With freedom comes silence.

12-16-2009, 02:37 AM	#52 (permalink)
coaster Base Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Jose Posts: 249 Drives: 09 370z PW 6MT Rep Power: 16	After the break-in period, I've been shifting at around 4k rpm. __________________ Cars owned: DC2/AP1/NA2/FG2/Z33/Z34/R35

12-16-2009, 08:15 AM	#53 (permalink)
Red370 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kaiserslautern, Germany Posts: 4,391 Drives: your mom to church Rep Power: 295	Ok, im seeing alot of people saying they're shifting at 4-4.5k to stay in the "power band", why is that necessary when the speed limit is 25-35mph? I dont care if you say im babying my car or not, it makes ZERO sense to me commuting to and from work and trying to "stay in the power band", i dont need to. And to those that ask me, "well why did you buy the car if you dont plan to drive it", gas here is $3.15 a gallon for 91 Octane, sorry im not a "baller" like some of you, but I appreciate getting decent gas mileage when I can, dont get me wrong, I like to drive in a spirited fashion from time to time, but I also dont unnecessarily haul a$$ everywhere just because I drive a sports car. __________________ 2011 Mustang 5.0 \| 3.55's \| Lethal Performance off road H-Pipe \| Magnaflow Muffler Delete \| JLT CAI/Bama tuned 417whp/ 404 ft/lbs Last edited by Red370; 12-16-2009 at 08:19 AM.

12-16-2009, 08:56 AM	#56 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 53 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 32	I do want to say, however, if that speed limits in my area were as low as Red370's, I'd probably be shifting around 2500-3000 rpm as well, just like he does. Different road conditions call for different styles of driving. __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

12-16-2009, 09:05 AM	#57 (permalink)
zZSportZz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,095 Drives: 370z Blk on Blk 6MT Rep Power: 18	3500-4500 Homero likes this. __________________ --Rick

12-15-2009, 12:35 PM	#47 (permalink)
import111 Track Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tucson, AZ. Posts: 622 Drives: 09 Nissan 370Z Rep Power: 191	I shift at 4k when the car is warming up or there is traffic in the way. I shift at 7500 when ever there is room or when I am at the track.

12-15-2009, 03:44 PM	#48 (permalink)
gumpy Enthusiast Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sydney Posts: 449 Drives: 09 370z white manual Rep Power: 15	For normal driving to the office i shift at 2-3k depending on if i'm shifting on an up hill or down hill. on the weekend I'll shift at 4k... I'm still in the break-in period... =)

12-15-2009, 07:50 PM	#49 (permalink)
shadow2k Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Overland Park, Kansas Posts: 143 Drives: 09 PG 370z 6MT Rep Power: 15	4k under normal circumstances. I've tried shifting both higher and lower. Shifting below 3k is babying the car too much for my taste, there's no power there compared to higher revs. May as well be driving my beater. Higher than 5k, and you get a lot of vibration/noise that I'd like to avoid for normal, everyday driving. I don't really look at the speedo/tach, I've just come to "feel" like that 4k mark is generally the sweet spot for my standard driving, and seems the most natural to me.

01-15-2010, 11:24 PM	#59 (permalink)
mick Track Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: California Posts: 903 Drives: Used to drive a 370z Rep Power: 16	the manual (page 5-19) says shift to 6th gear at 33 mph (53 kmph) i followed the instruction and drove in the city in 6th gear and they were right, the engine ran fine.

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