Skip Shift, a definition
06-30-2012, 09:05 AM
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Skip Shift, a definition
Hi there all!
I JUST bought my 1st S2000 YESTERDAY! woo hoo! I am part of the club!
Okay, I know you are not supposed to Skip Shift in a S2000, my question is what is the definition of Skip Shifting??? and does it only pertain to upshifting?
I understand the obvious:
accelerating up gears getting onto the freeway, pinning it thru 4th. and then just putting it in 6th. when at freeway speed.
but how about:
do you HAVE to have the clutch fully engaged in a gear to NOT be considered skip shifting? What if you just put the shift lever into the gear, dont let out the clutch and then go into the next gear? eg. you accelerate thru 3rd. gear quickly, clutch in, shift to 4th (BUT DONT pull the clutch out), then shift to 5th. and then let the clutch out. Is that skip shifting?
and decelerating:
if you are slowing down on an off ramp to a city street (going from 65mph to 40)... you're in 6th. gear and slowing down to a 3rd. or 4th. gear speed, do you have to go thru all the others first, before getting to the desired gear? and, if so, you you need to fully engage the clutch or just shift into and out of those gears?
and decelerating & accelerating:
getting off the freeway and coming to a stop light while staying in 6th. and just decelerating with brakes and then coming to a stop while putting in the clutch. But what if traffic starts moving before you get to the light and your doing 30mph and you go from 6th. to 3rd.? is that skip shifting?
I know this is a REALLY nit-picky question but I thought it was fun to explore peoples opinions...
Thanks for your help, advise and stories!
Glad to be part of the club, MAN I LOVE MY NEW CAR!
-Michael
I JUST bought my 1st S2000 YESTERDAY! woo hoo! I am part of the club!
Okay, I know you are not supposed to Skip Shift in a S2000, my question is what is the definition of Skip Shifting??? and does it only pertain to upshifting?
I understand the obvious:
accelerating up gears getting onto the freeway, pinning it thru 4th. and then just putting it in 6th. when at freeway speed.
but how about:
do you HAVE to have the clutch fully engaged in a gear to NOT be considered skip shifting? What if you just put the shift lever into the gear, dont let out the clutch and then go into the next gear? eg. you accelerate thru 3rd. gear quickly, clutch in, shift to 4th (BUT DONT pull the clutch out), then shift to 5th. and then let the clutch out. Is that skip shifting?
and decelerating:
if you are slowing down on an off ramp to a city street (going from 65mph to 40)... you're in 6th. gear and slowing down to a 3rd. or 4th. gear speed, do you have to go thru all the others first, before getting to the desired gear? and, if so, you you need to fully engage the clutch or just shift into and out of those gears?
and decelerating & accelerating:
getting off the freeway and coming to a stop light while staying in 6th. and just decelerating with brakes and then coming to a stop while putting in the clutch. But what if traffic starts moving before you get to the light and your doing 30mph and you go from 6th. to 3rd.? is that skip shifting?
I know this is a REALLY nit-picky question but I thought it was fun to explore peoples opinions...
Thanks for your help, advise and stories!
Glad to be part of the club, MAN I LOVE MY NEW CAR!
-Michael
07-01-2012, 08:20 PM
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As long as it isn't between extremes, there is no reason not to skip gears going up or down.
For example, going from first to sixth gear at 1,000 rpm (stalling the car) or sixth to first gear at 8,000 rpm (immediate bounce off the rev limiter and shock to the drivetrain to say the least) will cause you some obvious problems, but skipping from first to third or fifth to second should be fine.
Just be sure to not swing between extremes. You can get a feel for what the limits are by skipping only one gear at a time for practice. Bascially, you're just picking the right gear for the job at that time -- based on driving conditions and whether you need additional or less power. If there is any reason not to do this, it's news to me:
I skip gears on a daily basis on every manual transmission car I ever owned, and automatics are designed to skip gears as well -- depending on how aggressively the driver uses the throttle.
Welcome to the club, and hopefully this helps!
For example, going from first to sixth gear at 1,000 rpm (stalling the car) or sixth to first gear at 8,000 rpm (immediate bounce off the rev limiter and shock to the drivetrain to say the least) will cause you some obvious problems, but skipping from first to third or fifth to second should be fine.
Just be sure to not swing between extremes. You can get a feel for what the limits are by skipping only one gear at a time for practice. Bascially, you're just picking the right gear for the job at that time -- based on driving conditions and whether you need additional or less power. If there is any reason not to do this, it's news to me:
I skip gears on a daily basis on every manual transmission car I ever owned, and automatics are designed to skip gears as well -- depending on how aggressively the driver uses the throttle.
Welcome to the club, and hopefully this helps!
07-01-2012, 09:03 PM
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07-02-2012, 06:46 AM
#7
I damaged the 5th gear synchro in my '90 Integra by accellerating to redline in 2nd, then shifting straight to 5th. My brother did the same in his '95 BMW 325. Once the synhro is damaged, you will either have to rebuild the transmission, or live with a gear that grinds every time you don't match the revs perfectly.
Synchronizers are really just "brakes" on the gear shafts to reconcile differences in rotation speeds as the gear are engaged. Since a shift from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd requires more "braking" (greater difference in shaft speed), their synchros are designed for much more abuse. However, the synchrozers on the higher gears are NOT designed to handle a large difference in shaft speed. The synchronizers do their thing while the clutch is disengaged, so It doesn't matter whether you let the clutch out, or not. Don't skip gears...
Synchronizers are really just "brakes" on the gear shafts to reconcile differences in rotation speeds as the gear are engaged. Since a shift from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd requires more "braking" (greater difference in shaft speed), their synchros are designed for much more abuse. However, the synchrozers on the higher gears are NOT designed to handle a large difference in shaft speed. The synchronizers do their thing while the clutch is disengaged, so It doesn't matter whether you let the clutch out, or not. Don't skip gears...
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07-02-2012, 06:51 AM
#8
BTW, the rev matching that would be required to reduce stress on the synchronizers is NOT what most people think it is. Most people think of rev matching as simply reving the motor to the right RPM before letting out the clutcfh pedal, but that doesn't help the synchros at all. To rev match the transmission, you would need to shift into neutral, let out the clutch pedal, rev the engine to the right RPM for the next gear, push the clutch pedal down again, select the next gear, then let off the clutch pedal again. It's a very difficult thing to coordinate.
07-02-2012, 07:21 AM
#9
BTW, the rev matching that would be required to reduce stress on the synchronizers is NOT what most people think it is. Most people think of rev matching as simply reving the motor to the right RPM before letting out the clutcfh pedal, but that doesn't help the synchros at all. To rev match the transmission, you would need to shift into neutral, let out the clutch pedal, rev the engine to the right RPM for the next gear, push the clutch pedal down again, select the next gear, then let off the clutch pedal again. It's a very difficult thing to coordinate.
Also known as double clutching.
07-02-2012, 10:30 AM
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BTW, the rev matching that would be required to reduce stress on the synchronizers is NOT what most people think it is. Most people think of rev matching as simply reving the motor to the right RPM before letting out the clutcfh pedal, but that doesn't help the synchros at all. To rev match the transmission, you would need to shift into neutral, let out the clutch pedal, rev the engine to the right RPM for the next gear, push the clutch pedal down again, select the next gear, then let off the clutch pedal again. It's a very difficult thing to coordinate.