How high to rev before shifting in each gear?
 

Hey guys, new 2014 Z owner and I have a question. As the title states, im wondering what RPM is ideal to shift at through each gear for daily driving and for having a bit of fun. The car is still under 100 miles, so ive been keeping it below 4k RPM. I set my shift light to flash at 3k and remain steady at 3500 RPM. Thats what ive been going with so far. I tried searching a couple different keywords, but came up with nothing. Sorry if this has already been asked. Thanks to anyone who can provide some help!

7,450 RPM is ideal.

I shift as the mood sees fit.

I can shift as low as 2k or as high as the redline.

Mood, it's all mood.

Normal driving though I shift about 2500 to 2800

:tup:

So you can essentially shift at any point up to the redline and there will be no damage done to the car? Still learning about manual transmissions and trying to wrap my head around everything. I normally shift out of first gear between 3-3500 RPM and at that point it starts to sound like the engine is starting to whine a little. But people are saying you can go even higher than that in first gear (5k+ RPM), so that is ok to do and wont damage anything?

Should i worry about what MPH im at when shifting through each gear or is it all about RPM? I assume there a max MPH for each gear that i should stay below?

The redline is there for a reason. In cars like ours you don't get into the meat of the power band until 5k+ RPM. That said, if you drive it hard all the time you should shorten your maintenance windows and things will wear out sooner.

Just don't money shift to a lower gear that's not designed to handle that speed. In other words, don't shift into 2nd when your speed is beyond 62 MPH.

I think you should first learn what RPM means & what it does to the pistons/rings & all moving engine parts. Then get some cool sounding mufflers & enjoy yourself for the rest of your engine's life, which should be apx. 25k miles.

Daily putt-puttin' around I shift 3500-4000.

I don't remember what I have the shift light set at, though I still need to perfect the shift at redline as to it not bouncing off rev limiter (haven't bounced it yet, but I think I can still shift a little bit later).

I don't take it to redline very much though.

I dont plan on driving it like i stole it all the time. But everyone likes to open it up once in a while. So can you, or anyone else, give me a rough estimate of max MPH for each gear (ie. what NOT to go over, if such numbers exist). I dont plan on coming close to those ranges, i just want to know for informations sake.

The reason all of these questions sound so noobish is because my first manual was a 94 Civic and it did NOT have a tachometer, so i had to base everything off of mph and engine sound. So im now trying to wrap my head around RPM being the main gauge of when to shift. So, sorry for the simplistic questions, but i am learning.

I like to keep it in 1st so I don't wear out my clutch with all those shifts.

Why not? :iagree:

It's in the owner's manual.

I did see those numbers in the manual, they are:

1st to 2nd - 15mph
2nd to 3rd - 25 mph
3rd to 4th - 40 mph
4th to 5th - 45 mph
5th to 6th - 50 mph

But i couldnt wrap my head around the point of having to shift in 5mph increments (4-->5-->6). That just seems to make 4th and 5th gear pretty worhtless imo. Im not trying to argue, just explaining my thought process.

For daily driving, I usually shift in the 2500-3000 range. However, after driving sticks for 40 years, I am one who listens to the sound of the exhaust and use that as my shift points. As others have said, it all depends WHAT type of driving you are experiencing :driving: or :eekdance: that will determine where YOUR shifting will occur.

It takes a while, but before you know it, you will be shifting automatically without the use of shift lights, RPM's or other means.

I drive in 6th gear all the time so I don't have to shift

This is a guide probably written to achieve the best fuel economy for normal driving. Sometimes, I bypass 3rd , 4th or even 5th depending on the type of driving. Like I said in an earlier post, shifting habits will become second nature as you get more familiar with the transmission and your own driving style.

Drive it hard! Don't pussy it. Break it in right.

If you read the next paragraph it'll list the maximum speed for the first 3 gears 38, 63, and 91 MPH consecutively. It doesn't elaborate beyond that, but there are other resources out there.

The manual transmission in this car is not rocket science. What I tell people is that you'll be fine as long as the wheels are still moving while you're in gear. Plus, you'll know it when the engine wants to bog and die. As with any other car, there's a reason why the gauge has a redline indicator and fuel cutoff if you attempt to be in that region. Again, the owner's manual offers some suggestions.

After awhile it all becomes second nature.

Again, avoid the money shift.

That's smart!!! I had not considered that option. I'm going to give it a shot. :icon17:

I don't even look at the RPM gauge. I just listen to the sound.

Same, until I get up into the higher RPMs.

I shift at 3500-5000 based on mood when engine is warm and 2-2.5k when cold start.

I go off sound too but I'd say mostly 3-3500. While driving in my bosses M3 I noticed he shifts around 5K-6K and engine sounds like its straining...all depends on the car I guess
lol

I probably downshift into lower gears when I maybe shouldn't, but it sounds so awesome when I do :D

Heres my take on this whole thing and it might shed some light.

Daily Driving I usually shift around 3k maybe slightly higher if im on an INCLINE or slightly lower on a DECLINE. If im saving gas im gonna wanna get out of 1-4th gear pretty quickly so ill shift under 2k. When im getting onto the highway freeway ect ect ill go to around 5k shifts until im in 6th gear then ill be cruising around 2-3k rpm in 6th gear which is approx. 50-65mph. Generally if you need MPH which you shouldnt really need heres what its gonna look like

1st- 0-10mph
2nd- 11-25
3rd- 26-40
4rth- 41-55
5th- 56-70
6th-70 - infinity and beyond.

5th gear can handle alot more and when you changing lanes your gonna dshift from 6th to 5th unless there are no cars your trying to pass. This is for NORMAL daily driving. For GAS SAVING your gonna wanna do five MPH increments as stated in the manual and for spirited driving your gonna want to hit 4.5-6.5k rpm between shifts EXPECT FOR FIRST GEAR, try to to redline in first gear. You might Blow your motor.

At redline! Duh!

does your thought process include driving on appropriate tires in winter in your cold state? :confused: just wondering.

I'll usually shift in the 3-4k range when just driving around.

This was very helpful. Thank you very much.

Minsu was a noob to a stick when he got his Z. It looks like he's gotten it down pretty well, so good advice to follow. :tiphat:

Since you're in the break in period, I'd keep the revs under 5K. Many different opinions on here about breaking in a car, but I feel better safe than sorry.

How high to rev before shifting in each gear?
 

Feel free to hit redline after its broken in. Anyone who tells you that there's any danger to the motor when you hit fuel cut is unclear about the purpose of the rev limiter. If 7500 rpm would hurt the motor in any way, Nissan would have set the rev limiter lower.

I broke my car in just like the manual called for. There's a lot of opinions out there on how to do it, and its damn near impossible to prove one is better than another.

^that's fine to do with the Z too, when you DD it, you don't need to redline it on every gear, why'd you need to look at the number when you can feel the car...?? :icon17:

Break in period is a myth. The cars seen redline plenty before it even left Japan.

I agree with this for the most part, remember why an engine needed to break it, to wear some parts in and at one time get all the left over bits of metal from poor machining, manufacturing is so much better now that I have only seen one locked up motor under 5k miles presumably from not breaking it in, it was a brand new Pontiac gran prix, a 1996. That said, there are many other moving parts in the trans and diff as well, so IMO(I did not buy mine new) I would drive it 1k easy change all the fluids and red line away..JMO. On topic I agree with others there is no perfect rpm, you will learn your car and engine and shift by sound, it will become second nature, not all situations are identical, we have hills everywhere, nothing it flat, which sometimes it requires more engine power to achieve the desired acceleration. I know when my car is going to hit red line without looking at the tach, you simply learn the car. Drive it and see what feels good, thats all.

To be honest, I hardly ever see the RPM during gear shifts. You could hear the engine and feel it when it's time to shift, especially if you have an after market exhaust. Pay attention to the surroundings is more important. :tup:

Driving easy, if there are some parts left needing to break in still, will hold them back from their potential. The GTR is practically raced before it leaves the factory. It sees redline, full redline shifts, brakes are glowing orange etc. bikes are also no different when they leave Japan. The 370 will not get this treatment. You need to do full 60 to 10 mph breaks over and over 6-7 times to bed them in, you need to flex the motor and swell the piston rings to get them to seat more, and you need to drain all fluids and refill. Cars fully done in under 200 miles. Leaving the fluids in for 1k is to long. The diff at least has a piss poor magnet to catch metal. My tranny didn't.

370Z is a rough car to shift with. It takes a long time to get used to. But I believe shifting between 2.2k~2.5k is ideal for daily driving because the gear locks in a lot more smoother and it's easier to control without much rocking back and forth. Shifting past 3k causes a lot of jerking/rocking motion with gears going in significantly rougher and forceful.

Well... i just feel the touqe. If the car feels slow in a gear and speed that am in, i just shift down. If the car feels too roughf i just shift up and if am racing thats a whole other story.:tiphat:

Same here. Don't understand shifting much lower. Sometimes 3,000, but any lower gets into a "bogging" range.

? Not my experience at all.