Jakeman

Someone was telling me I shift too late. Do you?

J

yemenmocha

Leisurely commuting?
Spirited driving?
What?

Jakeman

I was thinking sort of everyday driving; not bumper to bumper; and not a driving event.

Hella-Buggin'

I like it no lower than 2000 and up to 4500. Really 3000-4500. Love the vroom.

That being said, if I'm pulling hard I'll take it over 6k without thinking twice. I start to feel the torque wain after that but when you shift you're right where you need to be for the next gear. Plus, I think a regular brief trip to the upper rpms is good for the engine. That's what it's made for.

Like I said this is under acceleration and not just hanging out in the upper rpms. There's no need for that.

Nugget

Where's the poll option for 8400rpm?

sin911

Street cruising: above 2,500 RPMs. Shift around 3,000-3,500 RPMs.

Track: Redline!

VGM911

I like to get it up to Warp 4, then upshift. Then repeat three or four more times.

Mike in CA

Your poll starts with the false assumption that PDK owners don't shift for themselves in manual mode. No user controlled clutch, but otherwise upshift points are almost as relevant as with a manual. HAL doesn't get to do much work when I drive.

As it did when I drove a manual, shifting at the right place is about tempo; higher shift points with more throttle and acceleration, lower shift points with less throttle and a more leisurely pace. I almost never shift below 3K in normal around town driving in manual mode with PDK and didn't when I was working the clutch myself either.

rijowysock

i have PDK, but doesnt mean i dont shift ;-)

i miss my old 325's tho.. PSM off on 325's and it puts all the power down when you tell it... doesnt pull back because it thinks you cant handle it..

Jakeman

Yeah, that's the thing with these polls; they're not objective and I am not a market researcher. My coworker has a 996 C2 Cabrio and he was telling me that I was letting it run too much past 3000 RPM. I told him that when I was test driving, the sales guy kept saying, keep it up to 4500. My pal thinks that's just BS so that the prospective buyer can get sold on the sexy motor sounds. Oh, he's a marketer so he thinks everyone is a liar. Can't fault him that. ;-). I figure the point of having a redline is so you can use the engine up to that point, right??

In any case, PDK gives you a lot of flexibility, as the system will shift for you unless you are really being diligent with it.

So, that was my totally arbitrary basis for making the poll: to show my pal that he's wrong.

utkinpol

after getting used to the car i do not let rpms lower than 3K. MPG is stabilized at 16 or so, and street upshifts are usually at 5K.

best powerband is from 4K to 6K rpm, so lugging car at 2K rpm is IMHO not worth it.

equiraptor

A poll from a bunch of amateurs (sorry, but we are mostly amateurs) is not the way to show your friend he's wrong. For all he knows, we were just caught up in the marketing, too! Rather than having him explain the marketing-related reasons for why the salesguy was telling you to shift at 4500rpm, have him explain to you the technical reasons for why one shouldn't let the revs get that high. If people "shouldn't" do it, then there should be some strong reasons. Ask him to explain the hows and whys behind his claims. If he doesn't understand what's actually going on in there, he doesn't really have the expertise (and thus authority) to tell someone else how they should treat their engine.

Then, let him ask you for technical reasons for why one should shift later, should one want. A later shift means more horsepower, which is fun. A later shift also means higher compression braking when you're off throttle, which causes the engine to be more sensitive to throttle inputs, which is also fun. Try to find dynos of your car and his, and compare your torque curves and where you shift. If I'm remembering my C2 engines correctly, neither of you are actually using the power band, which means you're both barely touching the power and excitement the engine has to offer.

Later shifts are fun because of power, compression braking, sounds, etc., etc. Shifting later does burn a bit more fuel, and it can cause a bit more engine wear, but the level of increased engine wear is so slight, it's not worth worrying about (unless, that is, you never change the oil, in which case, change the oil!). One should shift a the point that balances their desire for economy, fun, acceleration, vehicle behavior, etc. at that particular moment. If that's 3,000 rpm for your marketing friend, that's fine, but it being 4500, or 5000, or redline for you is fine, too.

Now, for an actual answer to your poll! In Nugget's car (GT3 RS - significant cam shift between 4,000 and 5,000 rpm), I'll try to keep the car under 4,000 rpm if I'm driving casually. If I touch the edge of that cam shift, the combination of power and engine noise tempts me to around 8,000rpm, and I quickly find myself doing things I should not on a busy Houston street. if I'm playing around, though, I'll take it to 7500, 8000 rpm (8400 rpm redline) regularly, and on track... "Dang rev limiter"

Mike in CA

No sweat. I didn't mean to be critical in my comments, just pointing out that even we PDK converts still pay attention to shift points.