At what RPM do you shift when in manual transmission?

Forum for Infiniti M35 and M45, and Nissan Fuga owners.
eccentric
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Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2005 4:42 am
Car: 2006 Infiniti M35x
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I'm not that big of a racer but i wanna learn a thing or two...can anybody give me some tips to be a better manual driver?

for example: when in gear 1, accelerate until you hit 3000 RPM's then shift....you know stuff like that...thanks


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szh
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Unfortunately, no longer a Nissan or Infiniti, but continuing here at NICO!
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(I have the older 2003 M45, so my comments should not be taken as fully applicable in your case.)

For me, the car's automatic seems to be very, very effective at reading my mind when I really want to accelerate hard. So, I tend to use it in normal automatic mode all the time to get the best acceleration results and widest grin (simply by leaving the transmission in Manual gear 4 for around town - see reasons later)!

Of course, note that turning off the VDC is important. I do not know exactly why, but the car seems to hesitate a tiny bit less when starting from a full stop. This may not apply to the 2006 M35/45 since their transmissions were re-programmed, I believe.

Now, if your question was with regard to just using the manual mode in normal driving, I would rather recommend just using the automatic! These new Nissan/Infiniti transmissions are outstanding in optimizing the engine speed to required power at the wheels - almost like they read your mind! Other folks may comment otherwise, of course!

The one thing I do, however, in my M45 is select manual fourth gear (letting the car shift up and down automatically) when I am driving around town at non-highway speeds. This prevents lugging the engine at low rpm's, particularly when going up some longer slopes at low speeds near my house.

A side-bar question: does your 2006 M35/45 have a true manual mode (i.e., the setting is the gear you are in, all the time) or does it operate like the earlier M45 and G35s (where the selection is the top gear it goes to) shifting up and down as needed? If the first, then my comments about leaving the car in fourth gear does not apply, I suppose!

Z

SIDVICIOUS
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SZHOSAIN...YOU LEAVE IT IN 4TH? DO YOU COME TO COMPLETE STOP IN FORTH AND THEN TAKE OFF? HERE IS WHAT I DO, 1ST 6000RPM, 2ND 6000RPM, 3RD 6000RPM, 4TH 6000 RPM, DROP DOWN TO 2ND BECAUSE A COP IS ON ME!

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szh
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SIDVICIOUS wrote:SZHOSAIN...YOU LEAVE IT IN 4TH?
Yes, and let the M do the shifting for me. It does shifts pretty much as well as I could, I think!

In normal around-the-town-driving, this is simpler too!
SIDVICIOUS wrote: DO YOU COME TO COMPLETE STOP IN FORTH AND THEN TAKE OFF? HERE IS WHAT I DO, 1ST 6000RPM, 2ND 6000RPM, 3RD 6000RPM, 4TH 6000 RPM, DROP DOWN TO 2ND BECAUSE A COP IS ON ME!
Good stuff! I sometimes wind the car out too, but only when I have lots of room and even then, the auto shifting - particularly the modified shift points when in "manual" - seems to do very well indeed. My only extra thing to do is to turn the VDC off if I really want to hurry!

Z

jmart233
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Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2005 6:51 am
Car: 2006 Infiniti M35 Sport

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What exactly does the VDC do? I thought it was some kind of traction control.

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szh
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Unfortunately, no longer a Nissan or Infiniti, but continuing here at NICO!
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jmart233 wrote:What exactly does the VDC do? I thought it was some kind of traction control.
Yes, but more intelligent than mechanical traction control systems - it is fully electronic and integrated with the engine and transmission controllers. VDC = Vehicle Dynamic Control.

It is a very worthwhile thing for wet and slippery conditions. In my 2003 M45, it does a great job of preventing spinning in rain. However, for fast launches when racing somebody, it is best to leave it off - my car does way better 0-60 times when it is off!

Z


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