Double clutching and taking your time to shift should prevent that
I used to be able to trick shift my Cobalt, god help me as I can’t do it anymore after driving other sticks.
Not worth living dangerously anymore
Do you short-shift your manual transmission vehicle?
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I used to be able to trick shift my Cobalt, god help me as I can’t do it anymore after driving other sticks.
Not worth living dangerously anymore
I skip 5th on our Honda regularly.
But there's a certain coastal highway where I find it's the perfect ratio for corner carving at highway speeds.
On the BMW, all 5 gears are utilized.
But there's a certain coastal highway where I find it's the perfect ratio for corner carving at highway speeds.
On the BMW, all 5 gears are utilized.
Good point. Terminology gets easily mixed up. Short-shift no, skip-shift, yes.
Very true! That was my mistake, using both terms. Definitely DON'T lug your engines, folks!
Manual transmissions have smaller gaps between the ratios as you go up the gears so any concerns about skipping gears wearing the synchros is much less of an issue going 4th to 6th than it would be 1st to 3rd, not that I imagine anyone shifts 1st to 3rd.
I will do 4th to 6th when the circumstances make it appropriate.
I will do 4th to 6th when the circumstances make it appropriate.
I almost always skip 5th in my Accord unless I'm on a hill in expressway traffic that slowed down. I'll take 2nd and 3rd higher merging onto highway and then will be traffic speed so right to 6th. The way it's geared 4th works well around town at the traffic speeds 40-50mph, On those drives it might get 1-2-4 frequently.
My Sonata was 5MT and 4th would get skipped often the same way based on gearing.
No lugging, Italian tune-up let the VTEC do it's thing. It has a purpose in life and needs to be fulfilled to be happy.
My Sonata was 5MT and 4th would get skipped often the same way based on gearing.
No lugging, Italian tune-up let the VTEC do it's thing. It has a purpose in life and needs to be fulfilled to be happy.
No, my poor Trooper needs every gear.
Had a Ford Festiva that if the head wind was over 40 mph I had a hard time getting around semis out on the interstate.
You beat me to it. My 94 C4 used to do this but I installed the skip shift kit to eliminate it probably in the first 10k miles of ownership lol - still that way today. Got tired of having to accelerate harder to allow regular shifts.
You can do this with a powerful V8 as the power band is broad.
My small cam Cummins wasn't like that. 1700-2100. Anything less and it bogged and smoked. With the 2 sticks every gear was a 300 rpm drop.
I skip 5th in my Mazda all the time.
My Scion is geared so low I’m usually in 5th at anything above 30 mph. My four speed auto xB runs 400 rpm slower at 70 mph than my five speed manual, but still gets worse gas mileage. Go figure. The manual runs 3000 rpm at 70 in 5th gear. I really only need 1-3-5 in it.
My Scion is geared so low I’m usually in 5th at anything above 30 mph. My four speed auto xB runs 400 rpm slower at 70 mph than my five speed manual, but still gets worse gas mileage. Go figure. The manual runs 3000 rpm at 70 in 5th gear. I really only need 1-3-5 in it.
A manual transmission is a mechanical device. Generally, it doesn't know what gear you came from, or which gear you are going to.
As long as you drive sympathetically and don't lug the engine, grind the gears, or overly slip the clutch the car won't care.
Efficiently use the engine's power band/torque curve and the engine/transmission will be fine.
Yes, I skip gears... all the time, and have skipped gears, in dozens of cars, for more than 40 years. No problems.
As long as you drive sympathetically and don't lug the engine, grind the gears, or overly slip the clutch the car won't care.
Efficiently use the engine's power band/torque curve and the engine/transmission will be fine.
Yes, I skip gears... all the time, and have skipped gears, in dozens of cars, for more than 40 years. No problems.
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The risk is that there is a bigger speed mismatch that the synchros have to deal with to get into the higher gear, which will likely cause more wear to the higher gear synchros. If you shift a little more slowly there will be more time for them to easily match speeds.
That being said, I frequently do 1-3-6 or 1-2-4-6 if I am not concerned with ultimate acceleration. In regular non-highway driving it isn't uncommon for me to just do 1-3, or 1-3-4 and stay there. 4th is useable from ~25 to ~120mph. My 5th gear is like brand new. It only gets used for top speed runs. For spirited driving I'll stay between 2 and 3 the whole time, letting it sit on the rev limiter instead of upshifting and then downshifting 4 seconds later.
After 220K miles of this, my 6th gear synchros complain if I try to shift into it too fast.
I don't skip, but I do 'row'.
Say I'm in 4th, I clutch in, move the shifter into 5th, and then with clutch still in go into 6th and let out the clutch.
My understanding is that this is better for the synchros, and at least on my car I find that by the time I let the clutch out the revs are pretty well matched, where as if I just skipped 5th entirely they wouldn't be.
Say I'm in 4th, I clutch in, move the shifter into 5th, and then with clutch still in go into 6th and let out the clutch.
My understanding is that this is better for the synchros, and at least on my car I find that by the time I let the clutch out the revs are pretty well matched, where as if I just skipped 5th entirely they wouldn't be.
I usually skip 5th gear in the Honda. The car has plenty of torque and I'm just not in that much of a hurry.
I frequently use its 5th gear for passing on 2 lane highways. Lots of acceleration combined with plenty of top speed if required.
I never short shifted the BMW.
My sister usually skipped 2nd gear on 3 speed transmissions. Not a pretty situation. Revving in low to be followed by lugging in high.
I frequently use its 5th gear for passing on 2 lane highways. Lots of acceleration combined with plenty of top speed if required.
I never short shifted the BMW.
My sister usually skipped 2nd gear on 3 speed transmissions. Not a pretty situation. Revving in low to be followed by lugging in high.
The Legend has a close ratio transmission. I'll skip 2nd when I need to get thru the gears quickly. The 2nd gear syncho is worn. Third sometimes needs the gear shift "wiggle" to get in (worn linkage). Heck, the transmission as a whole needs to be rebuilt.
