Is it ok/better/worse to skip gears while accelerating in a manual car? Example would be starting from a stop in 1st and going strait from 1st to 3rd gear.
For wide ratio transmissions,usually found in the economy cars, don’t skip. If you have a performance car with a close ratio six speed, you can skip.
Thats just a general rule. Under certain circumstances, it might make since to skip a gear on an economy car or go through all six on a performance car.
No problem as long as you don’t lug the engine, Corvettes come that way from the factory.
I sometimes skip gears in my 6-speed Versa. Frequently, 4th will get me up to 40-45 MPH real quick, then if I’m on a slight downhill, I’ll just drop it in 6th. The top four gears on my Versa have very closely spaced ratios, though. Just try not to make the engine work too much below 1,800 RPM or so.
As long as the car’s speed is brough to a level where the engine when it’s reconnected will be withiin its usable torque band (the engine shouldn’t lug) than the car really doesn’t even know or care that you skipped a gear. It’s common practice on higher performance cars.
My guess is that the Fiat 500 will need all its gears.
Cool, Thanks, I have a mazda 3 and i usually run 1st up to 3500 rpm or so and when i hit 3rd its around 1400 when I let the clutch out.
In my 5 speed supercharged V8 Mustang with a 4.10 rear gear, I frequently skip gears, it’s pretty hard to lug the engine. In my 1974 TR6 with a 4 speed manual, I generally use each gear when up shifting. On the vehicle I learned to drive on, an old F-100 with 3 on the tree, I don’t think I ever skipped a gear.
1400 rpm? Way too low for a 4-cylinder and darn close to lugging in my opinion/imagination. Why not simply shift into second? What is to be gained by skipping it?
City driving is the only reason I skip, im not accelerating hard so I didnt know if it was better or worse for the car to skip. I guess using all 5 gears that were provided is probally the way to go.
It’s quite common to skip a gear under very normal conditions. For example, while building up speed quickly to merge into a high-speed highway I use third gear. When I’m about even with everyone else I go directly to fifth.
Don’t know about your 1st-3rd method. That’s a bit eccentric. Second gear is far more versatile than first. I suggest you go quickly from 1st to 2nd, then decide about skipping 3rd to go directly into 4th. BTW, the Mazda3 is a great little car. Ill get me one some day.
On a 4 cylinder I won’t skip a gear if the rpm drops below 2K in the higher gear.
NO problem at all…but like Texases said you dont want to unecessarily LUG the engine…they dont like that much and it puts undue strain on engine components… SO if the gear skip doesnt make the engine dig way way down in the RPM’s then you can skip to any gear you want… On steep hills I can go from 1st to 5th in my GTi… It has a 6sp close ratio trans btw so if I dont lug it badly…it doesnt matter at all.
Whether or not you skip gears depends on the conditions and the car. I once owned a 1954 Buick with a three speed manual transmission. The Buick V-8 had enough low end torque that on level ground, I often started in second gear. If I was on a slope or wanted faster getaway, I would start in first, but often skip second and shift directly into high. On the other hand, I owned a 1955 Pontiac with a manual transmission. It didn’t have the torque to start off in second, and second gear was needed unless I took it up to 20 or higher in first gear. As others have said, don’t lug the engine. I was taught to drive for economy and get into high gear as soon as possible, but without lugging the engine.
I often skip first if I’m still rolling when the light turns green. Also, there is a place where I just use first and second to get the car rolling then I keep it in neutral until gravity accelerates me to cruising speed and then I go straight to fifth.
I also often skip gears on my motorcycle, for example, when passing someone who is only going about 50 mph, I will usually downshift to second gear and twist the throttle open and by the time I get around him, I’m going about 100 mph and so I just go straight to fifth and let it coast down to my normal cruising speed.
I love that bike’s passing power!