How close do you follow after taking off from a light?

[shiftmate]

Interesting discussion. I find that traffic generally accelerates faster than I do at lights. But I 1->2 shift at 2-2.2k, which I suppose is considered short shifting. I might try doing the shift at ~3k and see how that works out.

[fr4n]

Interesting discussion. I find that traffic generally accelerates faster than I do at lights. But I 1->2 shift at 2-2.2k, which I suppose is considered short shifting. I might try doing the shift at ~3k and see how that works out.

short shifting is awesome if you got good low end

gears never refuse to go in, never any bucking regardless how fast i release the clutch

[shiftmate]

Interesting discussion. I find that traffic generally accelerates faster than I do at lights. But I 1->2 shift at 2-2.2k, which I suppose is considered short shifting. I might try doing the shift at ~3k and see how that works out.

short shifting is awesome if you got good low end

gears never refuse to go in, never any bucking regardless how fast i release the clutch

Honda I4 VTEC = no low end. Gotta be over 3k rpm for it to get fun.

[Squint]

Interesting discussion. I find that traffic generally accelerates faster than I do at lights. But I 1->2 shift at 2-2.2k, which I suppose is considered short shifting. I might try doing the shift at ~3k and see how that works out.

short shifting is awesome if you got good low end

gears never refuse to go in, never any bucking regardless how fast i release the clutch

Honda I4 VTEC = no low end. Gotta be over 3k rpm for it to get fun.

But.. the VTEC!! It can do anything!! Right guys??!? Right??


(I totally understand, my non-VTEC 97 Civic has to reach 3k to shift.. it almost refuses to before then, though it is a slush)

[tankinbeans]

I've found that regardless of shifting style me, myself, and I are unable to get much above 29 mpg so I just shift at 2500ish and call it a day. The more I try to maximize my economy the more it drops.

However, given I got to drive an auto Forte Koup (same engine) when I brought mine in I realized that under all but the most sedate driving the auto holds gears until 3500-4000 rpm. This leads me to believe that my shifting at 2500 is a decent compromise between power and economy. It was also one of the few autos I've been in that would hold a gear until redline if I was giving it the beans, whereas every other auto tends to shift at around 5000 if I'm giving it the beans.

[theholycow]

It was also one of the few autos I've been in that would hold a gear until redline if I was giving it the beans, whereas every other auto tends to shift at around 5000 if I'm giving it the beans.

I've never driven a slushbox that won't hold a gear to redline if you hold the pedal to the floor, nor one that won't downshift to the lowest possible gear when you slap the pedal down.

[tankinbeans]

It was also one of the few autos I've been in that would hold a gear until redline if I was giving it the beans, whereas every other auto tends to shift at around 5000 if I'm giving it the beans.

I've never driven a slushbox that won't hold a gear to redline if you hold the pedal to the floor, nor one that won't downshift to the lowest possible gear when you slap the pedal down.

'Haps my memory is cloudy, or I've been dealing with severely...uh...impaired automatics.

It's been 15 months or so since I've driven an auto full-time. My how time flies when you're doing something or other.

[Squint]

It's been 15 months or so since I've driven an auto full-time. My how time flies when you're yanking your stick around

Fickset.

[SonicHKS]

This is one of my peeves of driving around my town here. Everyone seems to own a truck or SUV with a huge V8 and a slush. They take off at lights and will ride right on my ass , then when I shift 1st-2nd its like they don't notice and almost rear-end me. Some of them will even do a ricer flyby, annoyed that someone would drive stick in this day and age. Its even worse at night since their headlights seem to be aimed right into my mirrors . I even got a little standardshifting decal to put on the Sonic to let them know its not your average slushie econobox and they need to hang back.

I drive at my own pace, so I usually hang back. I tend to take off slowly but drive quickly, if that makes any sense. So I'll usually be 3-4 carlengths back, and then when they cruise 5-10 under I'll be right on their ass .

[Shadow]

This is one of my peeves of driving around my town here. Everyone seems to own a truck or SUV with a huge V8 and a slush. They take off at lights and will ride right on my ass , then when I shift 1st-2nd its like they don't notice and almost rear-end me. Some of them will even do a ricer flyby, annoyed that someone would drive stick in this day and age. Its even worse at night since their headlights seem to be aimed right into my mirrors . I even got a little standardshifting decal to put on the Sonic to let them know its not your average slushie econobox and they need to hang back.

I drive at my own pace, so I usually hang back. I tend to take off slowly but drive quickly, if that makes any sense. So I'll usually be 3-4 carlengths back, and then when they cruise 5-10 under I'll be right on their ass .

Sounds like you need a car that has more balls.

BTW, how would they even know you're driving a stick? After all, your awesome driving abilities allow you to shift more smoothly than an automatic, right?

[SonicHKS]

This is one of my peeves of driving around my town here. Everyone seems to own a truck or SUV with a huge V8 and a slush. They take off at lights and will ride right on my ass , then when I shift 1st-2nd its like they don't notice and almost rear-end me. Some of them will even do a ricer flyby, annoyed that someone would drive stick in this day and age. Its even worse at night since their headlights seem to be aimed right into my mirrors . I even got a little standardshifting decal to put on the Sonic to let them know its not your average slushie econobox and they need to hang back.

I drive at my own pace, so I usually hang back. I tend to take off slowly but drive quickly, if that makes any sense. So I'll usually be 3-4 carlengths back, and then when they cruise 5-10 under I'll be right on their ass .

Sounds like you need a car that has more balls.

BTW, how would they even know you're driving a stick? After all, your awesome driving abilities allow you to shift more smoothly than an automatic, right?

Sticks have a major weakness, like I think I already said in this thread (or some other). Automatics have more torque multiplication at lower RPMs and therefore take off faster from lights. That, and 1st gear is short on my cars, and the 1st-2nd shift always takes a moment and there is a brief pause in acceleration. Even with the shift and pause in acceleration its smoother than any slush I've been in.

I also drive for fuel economy most of the time, which requires taking off slow and cruising at a decently fast speed. My cars have balls, I just don't tend to use it needlessly, especially when gas is approaching $4/gal.

[fr4n]

Shadow and Sonichks have chemistry it seems

[Shadow]

Sticks have a major weakness, like I think I already said in this thread (or some other). Automatics have more torque multiplication at lower RPMs and therefore take off faster from lights.

That's funny because I have no problem getting out in front of those pesky V8 truck/SUV drivers (that you mentioned) from a traffic light. Automatics don't have an inherent advantage when it comes to taking off faster from a stop. There are so many different variables that's it's almost impossible to make that statement. Torque multiplication comes from gearing more than any other single factor. And I'm not just talking about the gear ratio of each gear, I'm talking about the overall gearing, which includes the axle ratio as well. And of course another major factor in torque multiplication is actually torque itself. If you have an engine that makes good low-end torque, you can pull off the line very hard even while you're at low RPM.

I also drive for fuel economy most of the time, which requires taking off slow and cruising at a decently fast speed. My cars have balls, I just don't tend to use it needlessly, especially when gas is approaching $4/gal.

Regardless of your car, if you're taking off slow intentionally, does it surprise you when those truck/SUV drivers are on your ass? I mean, just how slow are you taking off? Give it a little gas and get that econobox up to speed, and then you can concentrate on fuel economy if that's your thing. BTW, it's pretty much a well-established fact that an engine is more efficient when accelerating with the throttle open more than half way and the car accelerating briskly compared to a really slow take-off with the throttle hardly opened at all. So you might actually get better fuel economy if you kick it up a notch when you're taking off from a stop.

[tankinbeans]

I'm lucky most people wouldn't know me from an auto most days, unless I have a couple really jerky shifts, because they're usually too busy texting or sniffing their own farts or whatever yuppies do in their cars. Once I get moving, I give it the beans. Lately I've been retraining myself to go a little slower off the line because I was moving my foot far too fast and missing the friction zone entirely and stalling, but once moving I will hold it in each gear until about 2500 RPM, if trying for fuel economy, or 4000 RPM, if trying for speed (insofar as 143 torques can produce speed out of a 2.0 litre normally aspirated little thing).

On another note, I think I've decided to try and adjust some of the throttle delay (read: half inch dead spot) out of my throttle to see if the engagement point will feel more natural. I'll update in the misc thread.

[IMBoring25]

My dad's been getting about 5% better mileage on his bike since he followed me on mine and discovered brisk acceleration works. Most people go way past brisk, but taking leisurely acceleration to an extreme is also suboptimal for most vehicles with which I've dealt.