I have heard some people say that it's okay to shift from 1st to 3rd or even 4th! Is this good for the car? I'm new at the whole stick shift thing, so every little bit helps! I'm consistently jerky from 1st to 2nd - but I've only been driving it a week!

 

I think this would be ok, Camaros and Vettes had this as a factory requirement on thier 6-speeds for years. It was to promote beter gas mileage. Only when you had the throttle pushed almost to the floor would the tranny allow a normal shift pattern. Most owners cut the wire to the solenoid to defeat this, however.

 

These cars are geared high so that it is very possible to do that without hurting the car. I had a 98 Ram Air TA before the G and like bigel said it does that from the factory(CAGS Skip Shift). As long as the car is at a high enough RPM for it not to bog or struggle wehn you shift it will be fine. I shift from 1st to third to fifth all the time. Saves gas and shifting efforts when I'm lazy. lol

-Andrew G35c 6MT

 

turtle... I was in the same boat as you... a few suggestions...

slide your seat up so that you can control the clutch with your whole leg and foot, not just your toes (no need to lean back and be gangsta)
practice letting the clutch off real easy with as little gas as possible once you get out of first gear (easier said then done for the beginner)
try shifting from 1st to 3rd to 5th or 2nd to 4th to 6th.

 

I skip shift now and then when I'm lazy...rowing all the way up to #6 is quite a process and your reving up in each of the 5 gears to get there, using more of that precious juice!!!! at $2.50 / gal.

 

why would you guys want to skip gears? In most cases, if you skip a gear, you'll end up with a low RPM... low RPM = lowered power. If you just shift sequentially, you'll keep the RPMs up and have better acceleration... but thats just me since i like driving everywhere like a maniac =P

 

The VQ35 engine has enough low-end torque that, if you're not driving like a maniac, shifting from 1st to 3rd is fine -- provides enough acceleration for "normal" driving, and saves gas and wear&tear on the clutch.

The 5-speed auto does something rather similar.. if you're driving rather moderately, there's a very short delay between the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts.

Of course, if you're flooring it, yes.. use every bit of every gear. Gas mileage will suffer, but smile mileage will increase drastically. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

Skip shifting is fine, so long as you don't drop the RPMs too low and cause the engine to strain. I noticed that the manual says you can shift into 6th at 32+ MPH - that seems low as heck to me, but it pulls 6th nicely from 45 MPH on..

It's funny, because I used to race dirt bikes up until about 3 months ago. If I'm driving hard, I find myself wanting to be able to drop a gear and loft the front wheel(s) when I see bumps or deep tire grooves in the road. Some impulses die hard.

I have yet to clear a 50-foot double jump in my G, but I'll make sure and post the "Dukes-of-Hazzard" footage if/when I do..

-- mike

2003 G35C 6MT Leather, BS, Prem

 

I'll foward you the number of my body shop for afterwards! :-)

 

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why would you guys want to skip gears? In most cases, if you skip a gear, you'll end up with a low RPM... low RPM = lowered power. If you just shift sequentially, you'll keep the RPMs up and have better acceleration...

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I think they're talking about when you're just driving normal/sitting in traffic/etc, because it noticeably improves your gas mileage to skip gears and take it easy on the throttle. It's a different story when you're trying to race or quickly accelerate.

2003 G35 Coupe
Black, Willow, 6spd, Aero, Prem
On the way...due in April...hurry!! [img]/w3timages/icons/crazy.gif[/img]