[Zormecteon]

The manual (written for fuel economy I presume) says the shift points are 12 mph, 23, 32, 43, and 44. I haven't referenced this to rpm yet. ..

BUT...

There have been studies done that show that you get better fuel economy with a "heavy foot" and shifting at redline, than you do with a very light foot and shifting at 2000 rpm! The best fuel economy is achieved with a heavy foot and short shifting, --2000 rpm or so. Its because the intakes, combustion chamber, spark timing etc, are all optimized for max fuel conditions, so at less than max, they are not as efficient.

These test were run by BMW and reported in Road and Track magazine back in the 1980s. They tested nine conditons, variants from light throttle, medium throttle and full throttle, .. early shift, middle rpm, and red line shift points. As a result of these studies, BMW actually introduced the 312 ETA, a car with the torque high at low rpms.

Bottom line, ... shift where YOU feel comfortable. based on road and weather and traffic conditions.... unless you are trying to optimize fuel economy, in which case, ... Why buy one of these cars?

 

[Zormecteon]

ff you're shifting at 3k, and think it has cajones, .....

The turbo is just starting to kick in, and you are at the bottom of the power curve....

Most usually a tranny is set up so that if you shift at peak horsepower, you will drop to peak torque...

Experiment.... there is a rev limiter to keep you from over reving the engine...

Drive and enjoy.

 

[Zormecteon]

Speaking of shift points.. .I've been watching the upshift arrow to find the lowest point at which it goes on, to reverse determine the lowest rpm from which is would is necessary to downshift. The light comes on at about 1750 rpm, and the next lower gear is then at 1500 rpm, meaning that to keep the car from lugging, 1500 is the lowest point from which you should pick the next lower gear.

I haven't tested but I believe the gearbox is set so that the drop in rpm as you upshift is from peak horsepower to peak torque, thus the ratios provided, always keeping you in the power band.

 

[Zormecteon]

Yes, also based on throttle input. If you're nailing the gas it won't come on at all, even to red line. .. I was seeking the lowest point, slowly, ever so slowly increasing speed, trying to make the light come on.

 

[Zormecteon]

Couple of things..

1) brakes are cheaper to replace than clutches, so when coming to a stop, don't bother to downshift all the way to first. I leave mine in third or fourth, push in the clutch and brake to a stop. When coming to a light, I'm ready to bang into second if i need to, but never first. (I watch for the yellows on the side street)

2) The idea of rev matching is to get the tranny turning at the same speed as the engine BEFORE shifting. It comes from the time before syncro rings when double clutching was necessary. There the technique is clutch in, shift to neutral, clutch out, rev engine, clutch in, downshift, clutch out.... When using a modern tranny, if you clutch in, then rev the engine putting light pressure on the shifter, you can feel when the stick will slip into the lower gear... done correctly, you wouldn't even really need to use the clutch. but the syncros will wear out faster if you don't. ..

3) upshifting should be done with a slight delay to let the engine rpms drop down to the speed of the next higher gear. Again, you can feel it. Watch the tach, that's what it's for. To get an idea of where the points match up when upshifting, and you can use those points for downshifting...

Feel and practice.