I was wondering? At what rpm do you shift when you start off in first gear? I'm just wondering because I am usually just shifting at 3500 rpms but I have been told it's better to shift at 2000 rpms in first gear. Thanks for any help.

 

Umm.. No. There's no "correct" shift point in any car. Now, if your engine is cold you might want to take it easy but shifting at 2000 rpm is gonna bog (and wear your clutch out a bit quicker from the probable slipping). If you're driving a Honda/Acura, you need to rev it up a bit more so that you can get out of your own way (torqueless wonders, no torque till you rev it). If you're looking for the best thing for your engine, shifting at anywhere between 35-60% of your redline will be easiest on the car. But PLEASE don't shift at 2000rpm. Rev that b!tch up!

 

dang tahts way too early to start shiftin at 2k rpm your car hardly goin to move and stuff. This is what i usually do i shift at every 4k rpm. Good luck.

 

Yeah thats what I thought. 2500 rpm is way too early...but I just wanted to make sure cause I'm new at driving stick.

 

I shift at 3000-3500 if I don't care how long it takes to get there..

 

but doesnt that waste gas? higher the rpms = more gas wasted?

 

If you're new to driving stick then you should shift at higher RPMS 1st-2nd around 4,000 or so...If you start shifting at 2500 and let the rpms drop too much it bogs down the engine too much - maybe even stalls it. I've been redlining it in first and second gear lately as the car is about to be taken off the street (as soon as my full coverage insurance policy is done I can pick up my "new" daily driver '98 Toyota Tacoma XC from the dealer...arrrgg the waiting - hopefully will get it before Wednesday as the Integra's inspection runs out then.)

Once you've been drivng stick for a while though you can do all sorts of neat things with it...like starting off without ever touching the gas pedal, rev-match downshifting, and the quick downshift to 1st at 5,000+ rpm when you're oming to stop at a light and it turns green a few seconds before you stop.

 

jus shift at a high enough rpm so when you go into the next gear, it will be above 1000rpm to avoid pinging. man jus shift whenever you want to.