# SHIFTING AND RPMS



## SCOOTERSPECV (May 11, 2004)

I HAVE PROBABLY THE DUMBEST QUESTION ANYBODY HERE HAS HEARD! I have an 03 spec v with injen cai, borla exhaust, and nismo headers without the cat.. Now - when Im driving around town I am driving at about 3,000 rpms in 3rd gear (which is about 40 mph). Is it bad to drive with the rpms that high??? Also when I am shifting gears I shift at around 3-3500 rpms!! Is that ok also. In other words I am asking the Stupid question of how should I shift and what should the rpms be at while Im driving around town to be safe!!! Please dont think Im an ass, I just dont want to screw up the engine . I have 24k miles on it!!! Thank -you :cheers:


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

I normally shift at 4k and cruise around at ~2k, but I don't have an SE-R


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## SCOOTERSPECV (May 11, 2004)

COOL - THANK YOU FOR THE INFO :thumbup:


sr20dem0n said:


> I normally shift at 4k and cruise around at ~2k, but I don't have an SE-R


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## Arkguil (Oct 29, 2004)

It all depends on what you need to do. If I try to pass a car, I will more than likelly go as high as 5500 or even 6000 rpms before I shift to 3rd or 4th (Depending if I'm getting on the streets or highway entrance). The QG18DE engine gets his power at around 3500rpms. The rest of the time, I will cruise in 5th gear which reduce considerably the engine noise.

The only problem that can be caused with running your engine at high rpms is less money in your pocket due to high gas consumption. 

My 03 had 12000 Kilos on the counter and was running flawlessly. I am what you might call an agressive driver. More often than not, I will shift right before the redline (Wich is 6K).

3500rpms is not high at all. You would get problems if you where always cruising at 6000rpms.


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## SCOOTERSPECV (May 11, 2004)

Thank-you for the info - driving around town Im lucky if I can get out of third gear never mind 5th!!! - I appreciate the info1! :cheers:


Arkguil said:


> It all depends on what you need to do. If I try to pass a car, I will more than likelly go as high as 5500 or even 6000 rpms before I shift to 3rd or 4th (Depending if I'm getting on the streets or highway entrance). The QG18DE engine gets his power at around 3500rpms. The rest of the time, I will cruise in 5th gear which reduce considerably the engine noise.
> 
> The only problem that can be caused with running your engine at high rpms is less money in your pocket due to high gas consumption.
> 
> ...


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## 03RedSPecV (Oct 5, 2003)

I shift at about 4 as well. I tried shifting at 3 every gear for a while to save some gas, but it gets really boring haha. I usually cruise around 2-3 in medium traffic so if i have to do something i have enough torque to not need to downshift. The ser is too much fun to drive slow, i seriously have to try to not wind it past 3.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

SCOOTERSPECV said:


> I HAVE PROBABLY THE DUMBEST QUESTION ANYBODY HERE HAS HEARD! I have an 03 spec v with injen cai, borla exhaust, and nismo headers without the cat.. Now - when Im driving around town I am driving at about 3,000 rpms in 3rd gear (which is about 40 mph). Is it bad to drive with the rpms that high??? Also when I am shifting gears I shift at around 3-3500 rpms!! Is that ok also. In other words I am asking the Stupid question of how should I shift and what should the rpms be at while Im driving around town to be safe!!! Please dont think Im an ass, I just dont want to screw up the engine . I have 24k miles on it!!! Thank -you :cheers:


 I dont want to sound mean but it seems Spec guys with the Injen systems have had failures due to their design.


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## Dav5049915 (Sep 26, 2004)

i just recently passed 1400miles with my spec, and i've been mostly keeping it at or under 2000rpms while cruising city whether its 5th or 6th gear. from a cold start i almost always shift at 2000rpms until warmed up. also i am more gentle when i am nearing the end of my trip (for example, not downshifting to redline right before i enter my driveway then shut it off right after. 


yeah, i want to be more gentle now, so later on i can be hard. my 88 acura had over 170,000 miles and still ran in pristine condition, always had enough power, and i believe that is b/c the first owner (my uncle) treated it like a baby for its first few thousand miles.


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## White04SpecV (Aug 4, 2004)

SCOOTERSPECV said:


> I HAVE PROBABLY THE DUMBEST QUESTION ANYBODY HERE HAS HEARD! I have an 03 spec v with injen cai, borla exhaust, and nismo headers without the cat.. Now - when Im driving around town I am driving at about 3,000 rpms in 3rd gear (which is about 40 mph). Is it bad to drive with the rpms that high??? Also when I am shifting gears I shift at around 3-3500 rpms!! Is that ok also. In other words I am asking the Stupid question of how should I shift and what should the rpms be at while Im driving around town to be safe!!! Please dont think Im an ass, I just dont want to screw up the engine . I have 24k miles on it!!! Thank -you :cheers:


Dude! Are you ok? You're questions not dumb. The thing i can;t figure out is why in the hell is there an injen CAI, Borla exhaust and Nismo headers on your car, when you are uncertain of the RPMs you should run. That's why they put that nice red line at the end of your tac. Just don't go over that and try not to shift at that everytime. Other than that, he's right, its just gas being pissed away, listening to your engine sound great.

In my opinion though...the best RPM to shift at is whatever is high enough to stay ahead of the person in the next lane. Besides, you're never gonna chirp second shifting at 3 grand.


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## Fuel (Jan 19, 2004)

If you really want recommended shift points your manual has them for maximum gas mileage. They are all around 3000. Other than that if you are hitting the rev limiter you are shifting too high.


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## muphasta (Aug 12, 2002)

it really depends on the kind of driving you are doing. If you want to have fun and go fast, shift at higher rpms, if you want to conserve fuel, shift at lower rpms. When I want to make a tank last a little longer, I shift at 2.5-3k, but I usuallys shift somewhere between 4-5.5k.

The edit was to fix my shift points. I also try to drive around 2k when not on the freeway, but I am usually cruising right around 2900-3000 rpms at 75-80 mph on the freeway.


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## pherschel (Jun 29, 2004)

There are times when I shift keeping it strictly to 2000 to 2400 rpms. I call this automatic tranny mode. If you excellerate gently, this is very easy to do. You'll easily end up doing 60 if traffic will allow.


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## Ralphieboy57 (Sep 20, 2004)

*RPM?*



SCOOTERSPECV said:


> I HAVE PROBABLY THE DUMBEST QUESTION ANYBODY HERE HAS HEARD! I have an 03 spec v with injen cai, borla exhaust, and nismo headers without the cat.. Now - when Im driving around town I am driving at about 3,000 rpms in 3rd gear (which is about 40 mph). Is it bad to drive with the rpms that high??? Also when I am shifting gears I shift at around 3-3500 rpms!! Is that ok also. In other words I am asking the Stupid question of how should I shift and what should the rpms be at while Im driving around town to be safe!!! Please dont think Im an ass, I just dont want to screw up the engine . I have 24k miles on it!!! Thank -you :cheers:


Ralphieboy back on line. I drive my 04 Spec v at cruse at 2500 to 3000 rpm. Depending on how I feel today. I do make it a point to air the car out daily. I noticed that the motor starts to idle a little rougher. Gotta go!!!

Stay true to the illussion!.....................Ralphieboy :showpics:


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## trinisentra (Jul 2, 2004)

Right now I have an automatic tranny on my sr20. I realise that when pulling off from a stand still the engine revs to about 4k rpm or even 4,500 rpm before it changes into second. Is that normal for a automatic???. No matter how soft I mash it will only change at that rpm. Is something wrong??


Also if i throw in a gear box will that help me with my gas milage???

And finally does the car burn less gas if one changes gears quickly and at low rpms to get to 5th gear ?? In other words would driving in 5th gear a lot help with gas


Thanks Marc :cheers:


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

My brother has a 350z... he shifts out of first gear at the moment the rev limiter light goes off... this is all the time... he cruises around town at like 5500 rpm... i've been in his car while he drives... its very uncomfortable (understatement)


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

James said:


> My brother has a 350z... he shifts out of first gear at the moment the rev limiter light goes off... this is all the time... he cruises around town at like 5500 rpm... i've been in his car while he drives... its very uncomfortable (understatement)


probaly also a lotta fun thou


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## Coheed (Oct 12, 2004)

NickZac said:


> probaly also a lotta fun thou


I've had my SER for 118,000 miles and i always cruise at around 3000 rpm. sometimes i cruise at 4000, just depends on how much i want to spend. No major repairs yet. Just a new alt.

ps- I have an sr20de in my car. it's a 96 SER :thumbup:


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