Altima 3.5 Owners!! (with manual transmission)

[jh3p]

Once again I have another question dealing with manual transmission. I guess I'm a bit insecure with how I drive. I've been driving manual for 2 weeks now, and I'm at about 734 Miles and 30-some stall outs Anyway, my question for all those out there that drive a 3.5 manual altima, at what RPM are you switching gears? to give a basic gist of how I'm doing it, heres what I do:

1-2 gear :: around 10 mph.2-3 gear :: around 2300 RPM3-4 gear :: around 2700 RPM4-5 gear :: around 2700-3000 RPM5-6 gear :: around 3000-3300 RPM

A lot of my friends who also drive manual say that I should switch a bit later (between 3-4 K RPM) . I'm not too confident with how I'm driving right now, I can deal with the fact that my shifting isnt too smooth because I've been driving automatic for the past 2 years, but I don't want to hurt the engine or anything. And most of them say just feel for it, i'm still not sure what that really means.

So can you guys list the rpm at which you shift, and also does shifting late and shifting too early really effect the engine all that much?

Thanks a lot. and happy holidays.

[GreyZone]

I shift between 4000 and 6500 RPMs...if Im being real gentle maybe around 3000.

Problem with shifting lower than 3000 is your not gonna have good power in the next gear your shifting (going from 2nd to 3rd direction) into. You could floor the pedal at 2000 rpms and you're not gonna have good pick up, except maybe in first gear.

Get used to shifting between 3000 and 4000 rpms, even up to 5000 is okay. I would really suggest no lower than 3000, and 4000 is preferable. You wont hurt the engine by shifting to low, but you will stall it more, and have littel to no power at the pedal.

Keep at it!

[generic808]

I shift between 4000 and 6500 RPMs...if Im being real gentle maybe around 3000.

6500 on a regular basis?

And watch your gas mileage go down the drain!

[cliffy21]

You can safely shift anytime above 2500. If i am just driving my daily commute, i usually shift between 2500 and 3500. The only downside to that is that the lower the RPM, the less power you have in the pedal. Since i'm just driving to work, that's not an issue. On a nice day when i feel like playing a bit, i shift over 4000 to keep the rpm up in the next gear. Neither way will "hurt" the engine, you'll just burn a lot more gas running the rpm up.

Also, you say you shift into 6th gear around 3000 or so. The higher gear you are in, the more forgiving it is to shift into a higher gear. What i mean by that is that if you are cruising at 50mph, you could do that in 4th gear. The RPM would be up a bit and you'd burn more gas, but it would be fine. You could also shift into 5th though, and the RPM would drop a bit. You'd save some gas, but sacrifice some immediate power when you stomp the pedal. Further, you could shift into 6th gear as well. You'd have hardly any power under your foot, but the RPM would be as low as possible, and you'd get the best gas mileage.

That's the beauty of a manual, in that you can control the gearing to suit what you are doing. I've been following someone on a highway in 4th gear, because i know he is going to take off on me, and i want to dust him, so i leave the car in a gear that will allow me to get the power down quickly. Otherwise, i'd just be floating along in 6th gear.

I hope this makes sense, because i remember how awkward i felt driving my first stick shift.

[08altima35]

I shift between 4000 and 6500 RPMs...if Im being real gentle maybe around 3000.

1st of all. Grey Zone drives like a bat out of hell. Much love for that, but shifting at between 4000 and 6500 rpms everytime you wind through a gear is not great for your motor or gas mileage. If you have a pit crew on your staff i think this would be just fine, but i plan on my car being in the same condition three years from now as the day i drove it out of the show room. I have no idea what car you stepped out before getting into the a/c 3.5, but in most cases the 3.5 is going to be more power. Shifting out of 1st gear at 2300-2500 rpms will still reserve you plenty of power in second. takes a bit more skill with the clutch to complete a smooth shift, but think about this - when taking off from a stop light and you have a car in front of you can you really wind up to 4000 rpm's in 1st gear without running into the car in front of you? yeah you can, but it's such a gradual climb that you're wasting a hellof a lot of gas doing so and it's really not worth it and serves no purpose.that's just my take on the matter.

[johnny_d]

1st of all. Grey Zone drives like a bat out of hell.

lol, I can testify for that, he had 2 big guys in the car, plus 380 lbs of weight in the trunk and accelerate like crazy on the freeway at 90plus
Modified by johnny_d at 10:16 AM 12/24/2007

[Zerep]

your shifting should always depend on how you want to drive. now if you hold the gear until you get in the 6000rpm range you waste alot gas, and even though a lot of people say it doesnt damge your engine i think it might have some "not so nice problems in the future." any ways good job a picking the manual it gives alot of options when it comes to acceleration. i used to have 325 manual and the stop and go traffic in florida pissed me off

[GreyZone]

my own pit crew...now there's an idea!

hahahaa, cheez, Okay, okay...I will clarify. 90% of my shifting is at 4000 rpms. Even in first, taking off gradually, 20 mph is at about 4000 rms, then a smooth shift into second...I'm not talking about flooring it everytime.

Maybe, say, one out of ten shifts I'm pushing it to 5500 or 6000, under hard acceleration, and when I get a buring desire in my soul to really haul butt I kiss the redline at 6500.

I take great care of my engine, but I do drive it aggressively at times. Can easily get down to 12 to 15 mpg outta the car if I push it. The VQ is a good solid engine, it doesnt need to be babied, but you do need to be a smart driver. I'm averaging 18 - 19 mpg, mostly off freeway driving...someone else driving real conservatives probably gonna get 22, 23. No big deal.

5000 to 6000 between shifts isn't going to damage the engine, unless your letting it 1) get low on oil, 2) not changing the oil frequently enough (I do it every 3000 regardless), 3) running it hot, or 4) pegging high rpms then just holding there for several seconds instead of quickly just "passing through."

And cheez johnny, I only got 180 pounds in my truck, not 380. What, you think I'm that crazy? Course, the way I was driving that day, that was a 15 mpg day!...okay, maybe 12...

[johnny_d]

I thought you mentioned in the other thread that you were gonna pick up some more weight to double what you had

[GreyZone]

Good lord no!! That would just be crazy insane...course, Ive been accussed of that!

With me and my friend in the car, plus the weights, I had 680 POUNDS in that thing...and let me tell ya, thats too damn much weight!
Modified by GreyZone at 1:39 PM 12/24/2007

[mcheddadi]

I keep shifting at 7000rpm since I got my intake lol! mpg in the drain for the win! loool

[GreyZone]

7000? Really? I thought it would cut out at 6500 (redline)...it really goes over?

[6SPD_FTW]

I just don't get it. If we were talking about an anemic 4-cylinder then these shift points MIGHT be valid. Unless you NEED the power, under normal circumstances you should never EVER have to rev the 3.5 to 4000rpms between shifts.

You need to use your ears and listen to the engine - shift whenever it is natural for you to shift.

Me personally - unless I NEED to accelerate quickly, my shift points are as follows:

1-2 : 1200-1500 rpms2-3 : 1750-2000rpms3-4 : 1750-2000rpms4-5 : 1750-2000rpms5-6 : 1750-2000rpms

The 3.5 is VERY smooth down to around 1250rpms and has useable power for acceleration down to 1500rpms. Basically, 1st gear is just to get you moving. Once you're traveling about 5-10mph, you can shift to 2nd. You do not need to

I could drive an entire tank of gas and never go over 3000rpms on mine (I own a 2007 3.5SE 6MT). I do frequently redline the engine in 1st, 2nd and 3rd and it's healthy for the engine to do so on a regular basis. But lightly throttling the engine to high rpms is NO GOOD. It wastes gas, wastes oil, and is pointless for casual driving. The 3.5 has superb low-end torque - use it as intended. The VQ was designed with useable low-end torque so you don't NEED to rev the engine to have adequate power for normal daily driving.

If you want to rev the crap out of it, then that's fine - the VQ is a fairly bullet-proof engine and can handle most anything you throw at it (provided you maintain it properly). But saying that 4000rpms is a correct shift point for any gear is a little misguided.

Get your owners manual out and read it - it has recommended shift points for economy driving as well as aggressive driving and maximum speeds for each gear. Nissan suggests shifting every gear around 2000-2500rpms.

Late,Trav

[Dexion]

7000? Really? I thought it would cut out at 6500 (redline)...it really goes over?

The 6-speed goes to about 7100RPM-7200RPM before it cuts.

Its already been proven that the 4th gen VQ's actually make more power past 6600RPM max power is somewhere in the 6800-7000K range.

[6SPD_FTW]

My 2007 3.5SE doesn't feel like it has a true fuel-cut. It feels like the electronic throttle closes to prevent over-rev. I've never actually been able to pinpoint the rpm-limit, but I think it is close to 6800rpms on mine.

I know for a fact it's never revved over 7000rpms and I've definitely hit the rpm-limiter SEVERAL times.

Late,Trav

[GreyZone]

Me personally - unless I NEED to accelerate quickly, my shift points are as follows:

1-2 : 1200-1500 rpms2-3 : 1750-2000rpms3-4 : 1750-2000rpms4-5 : 1750-2000rpms5-6 : 1750-2000rpms

You are much calmer and more patient than I. Personally, I'd have to be on valium to be shifting that low!

Of course, it makes a difference if I'm accelerating to get on the freeway (which is pretty much the examples I gave) vs. just going city streets to the local grocery store....also, once I'm into 4th gear, not going much over 3000 before I shift, unless getting on it, or downshifting on the freeway to pass, then I really like punch it, pedal to the medal.

Haven't gone over 6500 though, don't see myself doing that, not much risk to reward benefit on that one IMHO.

greyzone <--- Batouttahellforsure also, speed addict <----need the power, hahaha
Modified by GreyZone at 1:54 PM 12/25/2007

[PJPrunesti]

The only time i would redline the rpm's is if i were racing but otherwise i would shift around 2,500-3,000 rpm's. The only difference is that 1st gear is the only gear i shift at a lower rpm (usually around 1,500) just because as said above that 1st gear is just to get you moving, otherwise you are usually in 2nd gear at the lowest.