shifting

[CrazyFukr]

when racing a 2nd gen integra should you shift at 5000rpm when you have peak torque, or 6000 rpm when you have peak horsepower?

[b16a3sol]

shift at redline, thats what its there for.

[CrazyFukr]

shift at 6500rpm ?

peak horsepower is at 6000rpm, which means that if you go to 6500rpm you will have the same horsepower as at 6000rpm, so you are just beating up your engine and burning gas going the extra 500rpm, right?

[sameintheend01]

no cuz if u shift earlier, you will be in the lower part of the power band when you are in the next gear.

[b16a3sol]

sameintheend01 is correct. there are two reasons why there is a redline. one is because if you go to warn you that you are reaching the limit in how fast the motor can turn without breaking. the other is to tell you when to shift so you can stay as much in the powerband as possible. use both reasons to your advantage.

[THE4TH]

it's the powerband you need to work with .... shifting at redline is your best choice for racing.. not only will it use the entire powerband for each gear.. but it will put you right into the powerband of the next gear, to avoid the low end sluggish pull.. works great with vtec.. in some instances.. you can redline it, and shift.. and still be in vtec.. a wonderful feeling..

[xollins]

Good question. I wish I could remember where I read a quite technical article discussing just this topic, but I do remember it saying that the particular optimal shift point depended on the specific car. Most cars benefited from being shifted at redline, but there were some that were better shifted at the peak torque (or at least prior to redline).

I am pretty sure the cars that would benefit by shifting prior to redline would be those with a rather flat torque curve (e.g. V8's).

I have an ITR and I am convinced that with it (and probably any other Honda/Acura) you are best to shift at red line which keeps the car in the "VTEC" rpm range when entering the next gear.