How Do You Sense Your Shift Points.

[Borci88]

Just thought I'd throw up a poll to see how everyone shifts whether it be during everyday cruising or on the track. I personally just use my ears and if I'm really going for it then ears + as soon as I JUST feel it stop pulling as hard is when I shift, that's generally anyway not always. What do you think the best sense is or whether technology/equipment is far better?

Edited June 5, 2011 by Borci88

[mad082]

everyday driving, it's usually around 2500 to 3000rpm, but it's more just done instinctively as what provides enough acceleration while still keeping both the rpm and the throttle percentage low to get good fuel economy.

in performance mode though, i use the redline as my guide. the car pulls hard to redline so there's no point changing earlier. if you go buy the "it's feeling like it's not pulling as hard" theory then you also need to pay close attention to whether it pulls as hard once you change gears, because sometimes even though the acceleration rate is slowing down, the acceleration is still faster than in the next gear.

[Peter89]

a mix of sound, timing and the feel of the car. It's not 100% though. Hit limiter jumping on a hwy the other day.

SRs tend to drop off a bit before redline so i tend to change a bit earlier, if going hard.

[.:: GimpS-R34 ::.]

I use the force

[ARTZ]

I use the force

damn u beat me to it

[BoyWhoCriedWolf]

Me too.

Id have to say, when it stops pulling, usually game over.

[boiracer]

general traffic 3500. then it varies depending on hills, slow cars, and how fast you wanna get around that slow car.

on the track. redline, the gearing i find is beautifully set in these cars, snapping the next gear at redline seems to pull the hardest into the next one and so on. (standard R33)

i find it doesnt really stop pulling before redline, if so only ever so slightly. But those few extra revs will get you higher into the peak rev range for the next gear.

[Miguelone]

It's just the vibe of the thing.

[mid life crisis]

when my ring starts to vibrate thru the seat it's time to change gears lol

[skins]

I use the .. Damnit!

[sinistaGTR]

I summon my jedi power of awesomeness....when this hits max awesomeness level....its time to shift

[iplen]

Too many factors... In my Pootrol, I change up at about 1500-4000, depending on how much noise I want to make, (speed is not a factor, cause it is leaisurely no matter what revs..) In the GTR, between 2000-8000, depending on a lot of factors

[warps]

I plot the torque curve, then calculate the tractive effort at 50RPM increments in each gear throughout the entire rev range. I then calculate the section of the curve that gives the biggest area under the curve for each gear change, which gives me the shift point for each gear. Then I program my shift light for the optimum gear change point for each gear

Not really. Actually the rev limiter does a pretty good job of telling me when to change

In the Rex somewhere around 6500. In the Hoonda, it's about 8500 (cutout at 8700) and in the Pathfinder about 2500-3000

[mad082]

Me too.

Id have to say, when it stops pulling, usually game over.

this applies to women too.....

[scathing]

Daily driving its the seat of the pants. It will depend on road gradient, the speed limit, traffic speed, etc.

On the track, in the lower gears I'll do it by feel/sound. In the higher gears I'll watch the tacho when I can hear the engine getting close to the cutout.

[boiracer]

general traffic 3500. then it varies depending on hills, slow cars, and how fast you wanna get around that slow car.

on the track. redline, the gearing i find is beautifully set in these cars, snapping the next gear at redline seems to pull the hardest into the next one and so on. (standard R33)

i find it doesnt really stop pulling before redline, if so only ever so slightly. But those few extra revs will get you higher into the peak rev range for the next gear.

thought about this on the next drive after posting....traffic sucks....no one does the speed limit...usually around 2000 as granny driving seems to be the only way most people drive these days ...

but in general keeping the boost gauge on the vacuum side of things makes for better fuel economy. so i make that work as best possible.

[HEKT1K]

Only ever play close attention to the tacho when on WOT.... just cruising around, 3-4 or so depending on conditions

[simpletool]

I tell usually by sound at lower gears and tacho at higher gears, and in practice (on the street) I always short shift before 5000rpm. I probably exceed 5000rpm about once per week at most (daily driving). Can't remember the last time I went past 6000rpm, on the street it just isn't required (theoretically it would be required for a drag race).

On the street in 1st and 2nd gear with any sort of corner I short shift to get into the next gear so I can ride the torque wave through and out of the corner. This means precise throttle modulation is less of a factor and it saves a gear change and means less wear(2nd has more power but can't usually put it all to the ground). Adding bumps into the equation in Sydney just makes it even more relevant.

Just cruising I change at the point the revs start at 2000rpm -2200rpm in the next gear....or what feels right.

Edited June 7, 2011 by simpletool

[Cassbo]

Only ever play close attention to the tacho when on WOT

This

Cruising around I just change gears. Not by noise, not exactly by feel... I just throw it to the next cog. Apparently I'm known to shift below 2000 rpm like this, especially in my Subie

[AngryRB]

shift for best economy most of the time , 2500rpm so it sounds like booooar boooarrr

after a while this can become boring and opportunities arise for some booarrrr rrr ashhhhhhhhhh du dudududu, and repeat lol