When I get on the freeway, I find myself getting well over the speed limit while still in 4th. If I am just going to cruise with traffic, I'll jump to 6th for the gas economy. Since there is no more acceleration I need to get, upshifting to 5th doesn't seem to add anything. My question is does it hurt the transmission to skip 5th on the way up? Does it speed the wear on the synchro by skipping 5th?
I frequently skip shift if I am in no hurry i.e. 1st to 3rd to 6th or even 1st to 4th then 6th if I am going downhill. It is my opinion that you are saving the clutch with fewer shifts and get better gas mileage. That said, I am careful to match RPM's and I never "lug" the engine when accelerating in this manor...just alittle throttle and easy does it. As far as going form 4th to 6th, no problem. Of all of the gears, I use 5th the least.
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Last edited by M Macht; 12th October 2004 at 06:54.
Skip shifting doenst detract life from the tranny. Nothing to worry about at all. Heck, I used to start my old Triumph in 2nd and then skip shift to 4th. Less clutch engagements the less wear and tear there is on the throwout bearing, so there is some savings in a componet. Just make sure the RPM's are correct in whatever gear you want, and dont drag the RPM"s down with the clutch.
No problems. The car has so much torque that I often shift from 1st to 3rd when pulling away - much smoother than 1st into 2nd.
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Ashok
2002 E39 Carbonblack/Caramel M5 (best car I ever owned)
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Fourty years ago, most stick shift cars had a 3 speed manual. The extra gears in your tranny are there as a bonus...not to make shifting more laborous. There is no benefit or reason to row thru each gear in succession. You can skip whatever gears you want, so long as you don't lug the motor below 1200 RPM or so. I often use 1->3->5 or even 1->3->6. Some cars intentionally skip shift, if RPM's are high enough and throttle application is light. Many Corvettes jump from 1->4 when you're putzing around. A solenoid throws the shifter into the center gate when certain conditions are met. This improves efficiency.
In Corvettes, they actually do not have the option to engage all the gears in order, if they are not accellerating hard. All in the name of fuel economy, but no dowside to the tranny.
Mark
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That's something I do all the time without thinking about it.. 1st to 3rd.. 2nd to 4th. Sometimes I don't want too much jerkiness off a turn so I put it into 3rd, but every once in a while I do find myself on the wrong side of 1500 RPMs. I hope I haven't hurt the engine too much.
In Corvettes, they actually do not have the option to engage all the gears in order, if they are not accellerating hard. All in the name of fuel economy, but no dowside to the tranny.
Mark
Yeah same thing with my old Z28 - 1st to 4th skip shift at low rpms. Very annoying.
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