i dunno but i've just been wondering. the way i see it is that you can shift whenever before the redline. is that safe running down every gear, or can that damage the engine, even though you're not in the red?

 

I have a related Q to this topic, is it ok rev the engine high in 1st gear? like, to get a good start. also, I heard that 1st gear is not meant to be used as a "driving" gear, that it gets damaged if you drive around in 1st, like in a parking lot for example, is this true?

 

Basically, from what my friend tells me...he uses 1st gear only from starting the car at a standstill. Like a stop light or stop sign. For anything else such as slowing down into a turn,
he shifts into neutral, brake, shift to 2nd and slowly accelerate out of a turn.

I have been doing this since he's the one who taught me, but I usually brake , gear to 2nd, and accelerate out of the turn from 2nd.

Coming to a stoplight, I shift into neutral, and stop. This way, I dont' have to step on the clutch at all when braking and it doesn't wear it out.

You guys can give this a try. See what works

 

On our cars you can't even shift into 1st unless you're going about 3-5 MPH or slower so I wouldn't fear any damage. You really shouldn't need to use first for anything than starting off from a standstill. I'd rather slip the clutch in 2nd while going around in a parking lot than shift into 1st and feel my car rubberband back and forth and do other stuff that I don't feel good about. There should be no reason why revving 1st up to the redline should be any different than revving 3rd to the redline. Power (torque) drops off at about 5500 RPMs anyway so you might as well shift up.

 

so in other words, is it safe to shift at 6k every time?

 

it's "safe" as in it won't blow up your engine, but it WILL increase engine wear and eventually when your engine is worn enough, you'll take it to 6000 RPM and a piston will crack, or something else will go FUBAR.

So encouraging ain't I

 

what does FUBAR mean?

 

Fucked Up Beyond All Repair / Recognition