I have a MCS 6-spd manual. The gear ratios are low and tight. This is great for acceleration and round town zipping. Sometimes you just want to drive normal and not have to row thru the gears so frequently. So I tried some 1-3 shifts and some 2-4 shifts depending on traffic, speed, etc....
Seems to work fine. The gears are close enough so when you skip shift you still land in the torque band. Of course the supercharger is always willing to pull from down low. But its not good to lug the engine especially with a small displacement DOHC motor. If you hold the gear a bit longer than usual and bring it up to say 4K rpms or so, you can easily skip a gear and have the next gear drop you in the 2200 rpm range. This works out fine for a smooth shift and you can still accelerate smoothly... gear shifting, clutch action reduced with no ill effects.
Just some random thoughts to share...
Of course I am in the break-in process so I am taking it easy.. for now..

Also filled up and got 27.2 mpg on this last tank.. this too will change...

 

As long as you wait for the flywheel to spin down you won't prematurely
wear the syncro's while skipping gears during shift up.


Backing out of my driveway, I always go 1-3 on my other car because
the MT is notchy until the oil warms up.

When I skip a gear while down shifting, I do 4-N-2 and just
double clutch.

 

Backing out of my driveway, I always go 1-3 on my other car because
the MT is notchy until the oil warms up.

Doesn't backing out of your driveway have in involve reverse somewhere in the mix?
-Dan

 

I skip shift all the time getting on the freeway.

 

Sure skip shifting works fine but I wouldn't recommend doing it during the cars break in period IMHO:smile: you are just asking for trouble down the road so to speak. Too many people play too many games during the break in period and wind up paying for it 30 to 40 thousand miles later. Its just not worth it.

 

Why ???????????????? I am not exceeding any break-in limits, not abusing anything ... All I am doing is skipping a gear ocasionally.... isn't hurting a thing..

 

Another break-in junkie eh? The transmission doesn't care what gear you're coming from... and it certainly doesn't care about a break-in period. It just assumes you haven't figured out how to drive yet.

 

Yes, MCS can be driven as a three-speed 1-3-5 just fine with just a little extra noise from revving it higher, and with leisurely driving you should never be forcing the syncros anyway--just tug lightly with one-finger.

BTW the MCS is not DOHC.

 

!^^^ That was funny ^^^! - I for one can't stand it when my transmission makes assumptions!

I think MGear's point about break-in guidelines has merit, but then it's my JOB to minimize risk, both real and perceived. I have had my life quota already, of "20/20 Hindsight".

We won't ever know who is "right" either, for 2 reasons: First, cars that were lovingly broken-in STILL break, and additionally, some who completely abuse or ignore break-in "get away with it" just fine. This is discussed at length, pro and con, elsewhere - get a sandwich and a "not going anywhere for a while" Snickers bar, and a cold beverage, search on "break in" and off you go!

Anyhow, there's certainly no harm in following the manufacturer's guidelines for break-in. Noteably, they don't come out for or against skipping gears the first 1250 miles, but then I have too-high expectations when it comes to written documentation .

Now excuse me I have to go remind my tranny what happens when we @$$-u-me stuff. And, don't even get me started on what the SES Light thinks of my driving -

Tatt

 

The shifting possibilities are limitless with the six speed.
1-3-6 seems gas efficient but can be hard to stave off the sc jumping in.
1-2-4-6 moderate gas economy, easy to control
1-2-6 aggressive, then seeing cop, then going speed limit and whistling like nothing happened.

I guess some days it depends on the price of gas, and some days it depends on the ammount of coffee I drank (or didn't drink).

 

My error, I stand corrected. SOHC.

BTW, here is a great in-depth article on the Tritec engine used in the S

Engine info

 

There is no harm done in skipping a gear. Especially since they are close ratio. I am not talking about abuse of any kind. Been driving a stick for ovr 36+ years.
My previous car was Z06 , It had a 1 - 4 skip shift feature. It would force you into fourth gear from 1st if you were driving slow. One of the ways GM got some good EPA ratings. It was a computer aided gear selection, CAGS
The mighty V8 didn't mind going from 1st to 4th due to torque, but it was not a good match as it was being lugged some.
I disabled it the day after I bought it... dumb feature... just making a point that it can be done even forced by the manufacturer...

 

There you go - yet another case of a transmission making assumptions (forced 1st to 4th)... Although I guess in the Z06 case it was the manufacturer making the assumptions . Oh no, now I'm even more aggravated! I would have done away with that "feature" too, I think.

Seriously though, I didn't mean to sound like I thought any bad stuff was happening. The "break in junkie" post had a slight whiff of disrespect, that's all, and MGear's instincts I think are right on the money.

Skippin' gears and lovin' it, even though 2nd to 3rd (the "see ya!" shift as I call it) at around 45-47mph and then adding some foot, is pretty fun too,

Tatt

 

Yep, CAGS is how the Vette avoided the gas-guzzler tax, whereas the German makes make you pay for it. Of course most people dislike automatic 1-4 so they simply use more throttle to override it--and this defeats its purpose:smile:. We do like cars that encourage you to drive faster...

The worst case scenario is a Semitruck with 18 close-ratio gears and a 2000rpm redline. If you aren't carrying a load the fastest way to accelerate is to skip four gears at a time.

I routinely skip gears downshifting from 6 to 4, no double-clutching needed. In a related note, you can shift gears without even using the clutch if you match rpms well enough. Try it but mind the light one-finger pressure rule--when the rpms match it will just snick into gear.

 

I didn't know the Z06 was ever offered in an automatic?

 

JefS I am no break in junkie but I am a product design engineer. The break in period is designed for a number of very specific reasons one of the most important reasons has to do with rev control which has a direct effect on a number of critical engine components and in fact has very little to do with the gears. If you want to screw around with a 20 to 30 thousand dollar expense during a very brief but critical time frame that's up to you. But I can guarantee you my car will outlast and be worth more at resale time than someone that has fooled around outside of recommended engineering parameters.

 

It wasn't. CAGS locks out 2nd and 3rd from the 6-speed when you shift from 1st, when at 35% throttle or less, between 15 and 21 mph, and engine coolant temperature is greater than 171 F (77 C).

 

It isn't... only 6-spd manual... who said it was an automatic?

 

I fail to see how skipping a gear is outside the break-in parameters? I doubt your guarantee is worth anything. There is nothing wrong with this technique, there is no abuse involved and everything is within the break-in guidelines.
Even if it exceeds the guidelines, doesnt mean the car will fail earlier than another.
The car is not that fragile nor is it sensitive to variances such as skipping a gear or reving it to 4501 rpms!!

 

1-2-6 or 1-2-3-6 when pulling onto a busy highway from the shoulder or rest area,
1-2-4 in neigborhood driving at times,
2-3-6 merging into fast moving, tight highway traffic from an on-ramp.
I've also done the no-clutch shifting at times for fun. I can make imperceptible shifts. Came in handy when I twisted my left ankle recently.

 

I like this one, but that 4-6 shift is very cumbersome - gotta get the revs up in 4th because it takes a while to get the lever up-over-down to 6th.

I think 1-2-3-6 is great for getting on the freeway, though.

 

mikem53 - thanks for the link to the engine pdf.

 

You're welcome... great article... its one beefy little motor... Has some impressive hardware that can take a beating...

 

Coming off an on-ramp, merging, doing 75MPH in 3rd@ 5000 RPMs, I just go straight to 5th. I don't see how this hurts anything.

 

no Dan, we're skipping gears, remember?


oops.