Just a bunch of questions. I've been driving my first manual transmission for about a week now - and I love it. My new 2002 Camaro SS M6.

Here they are -


1) Is it 'bad' to be in say 6th gear, costing at 45mph, a bit above idle? When it's a bit lower, I hear what sounds like grinding in the back - I just want to conserve gas =) Alot of people say "Just keep it in 5th then" - but, why? Is it 'bad'? Will it do any damage? Of course I do realize I wont be able to accelerate faster than a Civic in 6th, but - the point is just to save gas =)

2) Say I'm driving along at 60-65mph, and I'm about to race someone. Would the 'correct' or 'recommended' thing be to push the clutch in all the way, throw it in third, and FLOOR it as I let go of the clutch? Would third give me the most acceleration at that point, and am I doing it right? I did it last night, and I -think- I heard the rear tires squeal there a bit - Was that something else, or was that my imagination? I'm still in awe of the power of this car over my 2001 Cavalier that I raced around :P I do realize that ideally I would have already been in third before I punched it (Forseeing the competition)...

Alot of these questions sound dumb - but I dont want to kill my car =)

Last question - starting off.

I was playing with it... Revved it up to 3k, Green light, Pop the clutch all the way out and floor it at the same time - felt like a big bang in my rear end there =) Did I do something wrong? How else are you supposed to 'start'?

Thanks!

Any suggestions QUITE welcome!

You guys kick ***!



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-2002 Red Camaro SS
Chesapeake, Virginia
http://www.HeadRushPerformance.Com

 

in responce to the first question, the reason you should leave it in 5th is because 6th is to high of a gear to be in at 45 mph you are makeing the engine work harder cause it is struggling to turn the gear. as for the second question i couldnt really answer it cause i have an auto now but in my 95 with the 6 banger and the 5 speed i would just hit the gas right as the clutch would be released.

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98 Z28, Onyx Black, A4, t-tops, other than the free mods, a random tech cat back, and a whisper lid, it is stock

 

Desolate_Flux,
Answers IMHO.
1. The noise you hear is probably the drive
line rocking from loaded to unloaded (car
driving engine to engine driving car). This
will cause some noise. I would pick the lower
gear, accelerating from that rpm will eat up
any fuel you saved at cruise.

2. I like to make sure the clutch is engaged
before I give it WOT. It's a little less
stressful on the driveline. I know some guys
will call me a wimp over this one, but I like
the rear, trans & clutch to stay in one piece

As for the 3000 rpm dump, the noise you heard
was the shock you gave the driveline. In my
opinion that will just smoke the tires &/or
damage something. When I launch my car I like
to let the clutch out a little bit to take up
the slack in the driveline. This helps stop
shocking the system. I launch at about 2000
rpm and have run 2.04 sec 60' time (I know
not great but not bad on street tires)

Sorry for being so long winded.

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1998 Z-28 Conv. stock for now.
M6, Leather, SS Chrome wheels w/ F-1's

 

Zdriven is right.

Just to add to the freeway race from a roll. If your in 6th and the tach is laying at 1500-1700 rpm and your cuising at freeway speeds and you want to down shift to third for a race or just to do it. Remember this third gear is numerically higher than 6th. (1.30 to .50) SO 1500 rpm in 6th is like 3500 rpm in 3rd. So while pressing in the clutch give the car gas to make up the extra rpm dfference. This will align the syncros and make the down shift easier on the engine and driveline than just jamming the gear into third then accelerating.

 

if your doing 60 and downshift to 3rd, your going to hit the limiter. and the goal you should have in your mind when driving a manual is to minimize the shock/force on the clutch.

 

whobetter is wrong you will not hit the rev limiter shifting to 3rd at 60 mph. 3rd gear is good up to about 90 mph befor you hit the rev limiter. When down shifting in any gear you should match revs before taking your foot off the clutch. If you don't you will cause your car to burn more oil. When down shifting from 6th to 3rd and don't match revs your drivetrain forces your engine to speed up. this is unnatural. In that split second there is a vacum in the piston that allows oil to get past the piston rings and into the cumbustion chamber. I think that most people that have oil burning problems are not downshifting correctly. That is basically the longwinded answer to #2 ALWAYS MATCH REVS.

 

45 in 6th is probably the lowest I would go in 6th.. I do coast 50 in 6th, on flat level roads with just me in the car.. When I'm in "gas saving mode" i cruise around 1250 rpm's on level roads in all gears..

with stock 3.42's in the back, going into 3rd is more or less perfect... maybe unless you can do a 2-3 shift in a blink.

downshifting from 6th to 3rd, I'd double clutch.. It's a bit slower, but you save some slight wear and tear on your syncro's. But then again, tahts what syncro's are for so its debatable how much your really helping. (something about input shafts, stuff lining up when you do this) You could feel it working too, cause the stick practically gets sucked into 3rd.

Push the clutch pedal in, throw it in neutral, let go of the clutch, match revs with the gas, push in the clutch, throw it in 3rd, and go.. As I engage 3rd, I balance the gas so I smoothly go into 3rd while rolling onto the gas... I guess flooring and dropping it into 3rd would probably be best if you don't spin too much, but thats wear I can live without.

 

Double clutching? Thought that was just Fast and the Furious talk.


Can you explain that? How does that differ from normal letting go of the gas, pushing clutch, shifting, slowly accelerating as you slowly let go of the clutch?



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-2002 Red Camaro SS
Chesapeake, Virginia
http://www.HeadRushPerformance.Com

 

He explained it in his post:

Push the clutch pedal in, throw it in neutral, let go of the clutch, match revs with the gas, push in the clutch, throw it in 3rd, and go.. As I engage 3rd, I balance the gas so I smoothly go into 3rd while rolling onto the gas... I guess flooring and dropping it into 3rd would probably be best if you don't spin too much, but thats wear I can live without.

That is the definition of double cluching. In previous years cars did not have syncros so you had to double cluch whenever you down shifted. I don't know that it has any advantage with todays transmissions. Just match revs before taking your foot of the clutch.

 

I think know the "grinding" you hear in 6th at 45. In mine it's more of a rattly growl. It's actually the engine. The only time I run 6th at 45 is when I am only going to be going 45. It isn't made to use during ANY acceleration. There just isn't enough oomph there. It's just to save fuel. Otherwise known as "oeverdrive". When I am in "gas saver mode" I upshift every time the tach hits 1500. Once I reach the final cruisin speed it goes into 6th. Even if I'm only going 45-50. Florida roads are flat. It's more or less coasting with a little help.

As for downshifting to 3rd at 60... Be easy letting the clutch out. Try to match revs so that the car doesn't jerk back or forward when it engages. At 60 miles an hour you don't want to loose traction from the rear tires. That could quite easily result in a very unhappy experience for yourself, the car and the guard rail.

Congrats on the new SS. I hope you enjoy it as much as my wife enjoys mine. :groan:

 

I never go below 50 in sixth and at 60 miles per hour you should down shift to 2nd gear when racing. 2nd gear is good to 72 mph and 3rd is good till 99. 5th gear and 6th gear are both overdrive. and you should definatley double clutch, these cars have way too much torque to just throw it in gear and punch it.

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01 M6 STRIPPED BLACK Z28 (ONLY OPTION WAS THE REAR DEFOGGER)

KN FIPK installed 02-06-02

 

No.

Math 101.... rpm can be calculated from the gear ratios. At 60mph, you will be near 1,350 in 6th gear (depends on how accurate your tach is, and the specifics of your tires and inflation pressure). Downshifting will net you:

5th (0.74) - 2,000
4th (1.00) - 2,700
3rd (1.30) - 3,510
2nd (1.78) - 4,810
1st (2.66) - bent pushrods. The rev limiter doesn't do anything for you when you downshift into the wrong gear.... .

Fred

 

I just don't get what is meant by matching the revs??


> Push the clutch pedal in, throw it in neutral, let go of the clutch, match revs with the gas, push in the clutch, throw it in 3rd, and go..

 

Match the revs is this.

Suppose you're in Third, and you downshift to second. WHat happens is you feel the jerk of the engine slowing down the car, and you see the RPM's spike up because the transmissionis driving the engine's RPM's up.

What you do is before you engage in the lower gear, you rev the RPMs higher, to MATCH or come close to where they would have 'spiked to' so that the only difference you have is the louder noise of the lower gear - no jerking, and nothing bad for the engine.

Correct me if I'm wrong =)

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-2002 Red Camaro SS
Chesapeake, Virginia
http://www.HeadRushPerformance.Com

 

I took my Z out for a spin on the freeway this morning an experimented around. Once I was out there the matching revs thing became apparent.

I've noticed that unless you match the revz spot on you get a bit of a grinding noise going into 3rd from 6th when double clutching. Otherwise it almost sucks into 3rd gear without a sound.

I have one question though. The time it takes to match revs double clutching I probably could have down-shifted to 3rd while keeping the revs up much faster. How fast can everyone else do this?