Proper shift point / powerband for racing?

wdkwang

So it's starting to feel more natural driving stick now, as it's been a week in the Z and it's my first manual. A friend wanted to take a 70mph roll so I popped it in 4th and gunned it. Keep in mind I have my winter tires on and VDC on cause I'm too puhsey to drive without it right now. I immediately had ~2 car lengths on him but then he was able to stay with me in 5th before I let off. Needless to say we were both surprised I didn't tear him a new one being that hes in a RSX Type-S with some bolt ons. I'm guessing hes pushing around 200-215 at the crank.
For one, this goes to show I don't know the powerband on the Z, and VDC kills speed.

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ChrisSlicks

VDC doesn't kill speed. It kills power if activated due to loss of traction. In a straight on roll @ 70mph that isn't likely to happen. If it killed power you would know it as it would feel like someone lifted your foot off the gas.

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NCSUPACK09

#1 - I have to say that this forum does not condome street racing.

I dont know what bolt-ons he has, but being that the car has 205 hp stock, im guessing he has a little more than 215 at the crank (not that it really matters against a Z). Also, why are you dropping it into 4th at 70 mph? If you dropped it into 3rd he would have been a little dot in your rearview mirror. You need figure out which gears to select for your speed.

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tsolin01

I have a bad feeling about this thread lol

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spearfish25

He had winter tires on the car. VDC will activate during full throttle in 4th gear with winter tires. This could certainly have hurt the Z's acceleration.

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cfweber

without bothering to read the manual or research/look up the numbers

one can feel where the powerband is

I need to work on smooth acceleration

at a track day you would think you'd eat him up alive

kenchan

We should all slow down and drive safely.

Red__Zed

If you were doing a 70mph roll, wouldn't you want to be in 3rd? I've had my Z mostly on low speed roads, but I think 4th might be too tall for a 70mph pull.

spearfish25

At 70mph, the Z pulls much harder in 3rd than 4th. With winter tires though, VDC will activate in either of those gears. It's not until 5th gear that you can put the pedal flat and not get a VDC light flashing

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spinhead

Yeah as far as I can tell, torque is almost constant throughout the RPM range, so you should basically put the car into the lowest gear that isn't redlining at your current speed and keep it there to redline. At 70, that would be 3rd. And yeah I got winter tires on currently as well, and when I drop it into 3rd and gun it, vdc is on almost constantly, so it's sort of pointless to try.

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christian370z

LOL, drive under the speed limit and be even safer!

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ImportConvert

Those RSX-S's with K-Pro, gasket, etc. are pretty impressive. Guy I know who had one was trapping over 100mph in his off the spray.

As to what gear to be in, I used to just put my car in 4th (LS1, not a V6) and just floor it. Even from 60. Usually, the 911 or mustang or whatever I was racing would ease out on me by a car or so and I would reel it in and walk on by. It didn't seem to matter a whole lot unless the race was going to be over by 100mph or something. Of course, I don't know how you guys play your video games. That's how I played mine.

fairladyZ34

double clutch into 3rd then hold on lol

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wilsonp

Since torque is flat from about 2500RPM to redline, you really want to drop as low as possible assuming you will stay in gear longer than the next shift - at 70MPH you will be about 5300RPM in 3rd and can run up to about 95MPH before shifting (about 4.5 seconds), so definitely the right choice if you have the traction. (I'll assume you can shift faster than 4.5 seconds with the 6MT .)

Hmmm - need to figure out how to convert torque in gears to acceleration to compute time to estimate the difference more accurately.

I really need to post my Torque in Gears spreadsheets!

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ImportConvert

What the hell? Why would OP have to double-clutch his trans? If it's broken already, OP needs to fix his ride and not be out racing it.