comawhite wrote:I have no problems getting off the line. The only problem is my first gear tends to be done as soon I start rolling (be at 3500 before I know it) unless I manage to spin the tires then pfft forget about it. xD
Same here.
My 1st gear shoots up rather quickly and I don't run it to redline. I can beat cars off the line, but unless im rather quick shifting to 2nd, they'll bypass me.
I'm not into street racing, but I will say that a good launch with a manual transmission car can be quite fast off the line. Automatics are easier to launch quickly, but a proper manual transmission launch can be amazing. Back when I had my Eagle Talon, I could bring the revs up to about 6000 and side step the clutch. Thanks to the AWD system, the car would jump off the line like a scalded cat. Amazingly, the car handled about 75 or 80 of those brutal launches before anything broke. And just in case you're wondering what broke first, it was actually the rear axles. They sheared off at the CV joints.
I don't really see the point in traffic light GP, if I'm infront I'll shift at 3k for 1st gear, 2.2k for 2nd,3rd, and 4th gear. I'll only rip it if there's noone around, undercover cops around here bait people at the lights trying to rev people on at the lights.
Roger wrote:I'll only rip it if there's noone around, undercover cops around here bait people at the lights trying to rev people on at the lights.
That seems.. wrong.. in some way. I want to say illegal but I don't know your local laws to say for sure. Kind of like baiting criminal activity by doing semi-legal things.
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT '97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi
There's nothing semi-legal about revving an engine at a traffic light. I've occasionally dealt with vehicles in such a bad state of tune that you had to rev them to keep them running. If you interpret a revving engine as an invitation to race, that's on you. Providing what looks like an opportunity to engage in criminal activity is not entrapment. It generally takes an explicit offer to engage in criminal activity being initiated by the officer for that standard to be met.
IMBoring25 wrote:There's nothing semi-legal about revving an engine at a traffic light. I've occasionally dealt with vehicles in such a bad state of tune that you had to rev them to keep them running. If you interpret a revving engine as an invitation to race, that's on you. Providing what looks like an opportunity to engage in criminal activity is not entrapment.
It generally takes an explicit offer to engage in criminal activity being initiated by the officer for that standard to be met.
Fickset
'08 Jeep Liberty 6-Speed MT - "Last of the Mohicans"
IMBoring25 wrote:There's nothing semi-legal about revving an engine at a traffic light. I've occasionally dealt with vehicles in such a bad state of tune that you had to rev them to keep them running. If you interpret a revving engine as an invitation to race, that's on you. Providing what looks like an opportunity to engage in criminal activity is not entrapment. It generally takes an explicit offer to engage in criminal activity being initiated by the officer for that standard to be met.
Valid point. I have even driving a vehicle every now and again that needed to get to a shop and had to be revved a bit. Notice I didn't say illegal, I just said it didn't seem right. Street racing is not safe, and anyone willing to do it should know better (not saying I didn't go quickly through open parking lot a time or two at school.. but still).
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT '97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi
Let the slushbox drivers race their boring cars all day long and then complain that the EPA fuel economy figures are wrong. I don't have anything to prove on the street.
DKaz wrote:Let the slushbox drivers race their boring cars all day long and then complain that the EPA fuel economy figures are wrong. I don't have anything to prove on the street.
+1
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT '97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi
Never noticed slushies beating from the light. I'm usually with traffic in 1st and then heavier accel in 2nd and 3rd. I drive 1-2-3-4-6 and 1-2-4-6 quite often.
Same here...I often do the 1-2-3-4-6. Wished my car have a taller 6th gear to save a bit of fuel like those vettes, which only purr away at about 1.5krpm in 6th gear doing 75mph+
MFan wrote:Same here...I often do the 1-2-3-4-6. Wished my car have a taller 6th gear to save a bit of fuel like those vettes, which only purr away at about 1.5krpm in 6th gear doing 75mph+
I know what you mean, I have really short gear ratios. I'm turning around 3k at 75-80 mph.
Which is great for power but not so great for fuel economy. I rarely have to downshift to pass anyone on the highway in 6th, so that's a plus.
75-80 at 3K RPM isn't really short. Most 5 speeds I have ever driven or been in, turned 3K at 70 in 5th, so it's really not that far off from the "norm" as I like to think of it, for your 6-speed.
I've come to realize that at high speeds, engine RPM has less to do with what MPGs you get than wind drag. My Corolla spun 3,000 RPM at 75mph and got awesome fuel economy on the highway. My old old Corolla did 3,450 RPM at 75mph and also was very good. My Mazda 5 revved as high as my old old Corolla but I was able to do 35 MPG, not bad for a tall car with lots of frontal area.
Reducing RPMs is good for passenger comfort though. My current Mazda 3 does under 2,800 RPM at 75 mph. I don't hear the engine and wind noise is also at a minimum, but I do hear a lot of road noise on some driving surfaces.
