is it ok to shift into 2nd gear while going 60+mph?
 

is it ok to shift into 2nd gear while going 60+mph?

just curious as to what gear would be optimal..... for instance, if someone pulls next to you, do you down shift to second or third while going 60+ mph, or even when you need to accelerate FASTER while going 60mph to avoid impending harm........

anyone with particular experience?

ALSO, I AM NOT CONDONING any street race..........it is just of curiosity......

You should try N (Neutral) for any kind of street racing. It's not as cool as you may think (also it's not allowed here ;))

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But to answer you question, 2nd gear is optimum if you need to accelerate quickly to catch a yellow light or whatever :tup:.

haha honestly. Not to bash or say anything. Is this your first car?
is this your first manual car?

nope, this is not my first car and definitely not my first manual........ had s2k, two 300zx, rx7 TT, etc.....

also, i am NOT condoning any street-race, but i was just curious while driving on a highway.........

Smart man ;). We can keep the thread open then :tup:

yes, I would probably downshift to 3rd first for a somewhat quick acceleration. 2nd gear might be a little too high (may put you somewhere in 6K RPM with only 1500 more to go)

I worked out a (ruff estimate) table for you, so you know the rpm to speed in each gear.

I based it on the sports tire with manual:

http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/a...Pics/table.png

Thanks XAN! Judging by the chart, DEF 3rd gear! :tup:

3rd is definitely the lowest gear i'll go while going 60+ to pick up some passing speed, and usually when i'm cruising, I gotta double throttle blip to get to about 4-4.5k before I let the clutch out, throttle response on these things suck a$$.

can't our cars hit 100khp/62mph in 2nd gear?

My Nismo (should be same as base) redlines in 2nd gear right at 62 mph.

Xan did indicate it was a rough estimate. Thanks for the chart!


My personal experiences, while catching a light or needing to get out of a hairy situation on the highway, I'll drop into 3rd if I'm below 60. Otherwise, I'll use 4th. You just gotta play with it and see what you're comfortable with. Same as up-shifting, really.

:icon18:

There are many reasons why it's only an estimate.
Some reasons are that how the tire deforms, which is influenced by another 100 things. So I used a general rule. The gear ratio's and final drive I used might not be excact, I just got them of the inet. And so on, at the same time if your accelerating up to red line, than quickly shift, there could be some inertia that accelerates the car while you already pushed the clutch. And how many people would keep a car at red line steady state second gear to see their speed. :-)

Anyways moral is the only way to truly know is using the fun way, the excel sheet way is just an indication. :tup:

You have little room to accelerate from 60mph by downshifting to 2nd, and then be forced to shift to 3rd. Precious time lost compared to simply shifting to 3rd and punching it.

As in NONE (usable anyway)