I gotta say, after having driven my P5 for a week, I'm in love. The handling is great, the stereo sounds good, and the engine is fun to rev.

My favourite part of driving is figuring out how to make it as smooth as possible. With my '92 SE, it was easy; I could shift without the car rocking at all. With my new best friend, I'm finding it a lot trickier.

Does anyone have any tips on the ideal shift points for the P5 to make it as smooth as possible?

dru

 

i usually shift at 2.5K RPM so it goes like this (try to line up the revs, makes it really smooth!)

1st: ~800RPM -> 2.5K
2nd: ~1.5KRPM ->2.5K
3rd: ~1.95KRPM->2.5K
4th: ~2.0KRPM ->2.5K
5th: ~1.9KRPM ->6.5K

something like that, the shift between 1->2 is weird, it falls farther than the rest but after that, the next shifts usually fall to around 2K
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William clay ford, jr. picture

 

In other words that's called granny shifting

 

Smooth shifting comes in knowing your gears, knowing the sweet point on the clutch. You know you don't even need to depress the clutch all the way down. There's a sweet spot just about half way or even less and you can shift and it's smoother as the clutch and flywheel engage faster without losing rpms. Downshifting smoothness comes when you know how to heal/toe (rev match) and you won't feel any jurkyness.

Takes time but get to know your car and it will be good to you.

 

I understand your transmission will work much sweeter if you run a syn-trans oil such as REDLINE instead of the "nautural" type that is installed by the factory.

Also I have a B & M short shift kit in my Protege5, it makes shifting a AWESOME experience...try it, you'll like it.

Later, Speedbump.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by speedbump
[B]I understand your transmission will work much sweeter if you run a syn-trans oil such as REDLINE instead of the "nautural" type that is installed by the factory.


I changed out the factory trans oil and replaced it with the redline at about 4000 miles. I really didnt think it made any difference at all on shifting. However the feel of the shifting did change dramatically at about 7500 miles. I can even shift into 1st while Im still moving which I wasnt able to do when newer. I really think that once you get some miles on the car and break it in it gets much sweeter shifting wise.

BTW, I have a sneaking suspicion the factory trans oil may be actually synthetic. It had almost a pleasant smell compared to typical trans oil which has been real stinky in my experience.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by speedbump
[B]I understand your transmission will work much sweeter if you run a syn-trans oil such as REDLINE instead of the "nautural" type that is installed by the factory.


I changed out the factory trans oil and replaced it with the redline at about 4000 miles. I really didnt think it made any difference at all on shifting. However the feel of the shifting did change dramatically at about 7500 miles. I can even shift into 1st while Im still moving which I wasnt able to do when newer. I really think that once you get some miles on the car and break it in it gets much sweeter shifting wise.

BTW, I have a sneaking suspicion the factory trans oil may be actually synthetic. It had almost a pleasant smell compared to typical trans oil which has been real stinky in my experience.