j84ustin

I have gotten on the urban sections of the interstates that run through my city, and I have the feeling I'm not getting the car out of fourth no matter how hard I try. Anyone else have this problem? Also, is it normal for the car to be running 3k rpm at 60mph?

r-enzyme

iTrader: (1)

You will definitely know if you are getting it out of 4th. 4th is all the way down in the middle, 5th is all the way up to the right - very different positions. What makes you think you're not getting out of gear?

3k rpm and 60mph in what gear? 4th would probably be normal for this.

j84ustin

Well, I BELIEVE I'm going all the way to the up and right to go to 5th, but the RPMS actually go higher than when I was in 4th, which leads me to believe I'm actually putting it in 3rd instead. So that's why I am thinking I'm not getting it into 5th. Before I take the car on a road trip, I want to make sure I'm shifting it correctly. Did you ever have issues like this?

mysql

It sounds like the lockout is misaligned. You need that properly aligned for the gear to go full right and into 5th and 6th. The part really doesn't have any adjustment though, so I don't know how it would be off.

Pull out the center console and shift boot and take a look (Use the AFE STS DIY thread for getting in there if you don't know how)

JRichter

I've done this on occasion as sometimes it feels the gear lever is just guided more easily into 3rd than 5th. If I deliberately tug right than I easily get to 5th but most the other gears easily go where they are supposed to without much effort. And BTW, I've been driving a manual for 17 years so it's not like I can't shift.

fahrfegneugen

Have you been driving a manual long?

If you are putting it back in third you are going straight and not to the right. Nonetheless, the tranny will give you a good indication of what gear it wants to go into, at 60, it will be a a little reluctant to go into third I think.

Just practice, 3k at 60 sounds like 5th gear to me.

YaXMaNGTO

Come on, man, learn how to shift. At least you're showing a basic understanding of how engine RPM relates to what gear you're in. Having reservations as to whether or not you should take it on a road trip means you have a tiny ember of intellect to guide your propensity for self preservation. There's hope for you.

nhaddan

60 miles per hour at 3k is 6th gear. You've been getting out of 4th, and 5th but just not realizing it.

DemonRX-8

^ Exactly. Also, the stick is loaded to automatically center itself when out of gear. So straight forward from neutral puts you in 3rd, backwards is 4th gear. You have to exert pressure to the right when shifting from 4th to 5th. It's not a lot of pressure and pretty much becomes iniutive once you get the hang of it. Btw, make sure you don't add downward to the right side pressure when shifting from 5th to 6th!

nhaddan

I always get scared when shifting from 4th straight to 6th that I'm accidently going to put it in reverse.

fahrfegneugen

^the transmission wont let you, don't worry about it. You really don't have to push that hard down anyways to go from 4th to 6th.

DemonRX-8

True, the transmission won't let you actually get it into reverse . . . but it will make a nasty grinding sound. Don't ask me how I know!

nhaddan

Well that's good to hear, but I still wouldn't want to hear that grinding sound. Makes me cringe everytime.

luv4eternity

=.= .... If ur not used to manual , drive a cheaper manual car before driving a sports transmision ....OR get an auto ..

DaveCM203

Uh, yea. Been there once or twice. Now I am more aware to not push down on the stick as I move it. Does make me feel a tiny bit better to know that I am not the only one.

tksnobords

i listed the speeds for each gear in my car...keep in mine they are not exact. the 4th gear i'm not sure about. but it is close to 130. most people have trouble finding gears the first time they drive my car...but only because the gears are so close together. you should be able to tell just by looking at the shifter. 3rd is straight up...and 5th is up and pointed to the right. anyway...just get used to it and you'll have alot of fun.

1st 46
2nd 64
3rd 96
4th 130
5th i wish
6th i wish

YaXMaNGTO

Or you could simply go to the web, search, read, and educate yourself about your car. Dedicate a bunch of time with this.... even the answer to this thread is clearly spelled out.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/d...2003171557.pdf

tksnobords

true. i like your link.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

top of 3rd is 84ish. 5th is 135ish.

YaXMaNGTO

Cool. The R&T article that has that data panel in it is one of the reasons I went and test drove an RX8. Then I bought it. It's an amazing car, and whoever drives one should know something about it.

Transmission: 6-speed manual
Gear (Rpm) Mph
1st (9000) 39
2nd (9000) 65
3rd (9000) 89
4th (9000) 124
5th (9000) 147
6th (7650) 148

Engine rpm @ 60 mph in top gear.........................3100 rpm

j84ustin

besides Yaxman (no need to be a smart aleck), you've all been tremendously helpful. I had always been able to put the car in all 6 gears when stationary, so I knew it wasn't something necessarily wrong with the car, though mysql had a good suggestion. Since the gears are so closely aligned, I realized after reading some of your posts of those who had the same problem that I had been going from 2nd the 5th the entire time. Now that I know it was ME, I've fixed it . I was still unsure until yesterday, however, since I thought 60mph at 3000rpm was a little high, but apparently this is where it should be. thanks!

j84ustin

PS to your credit yaxman that was a great website!!! very informative, thanks.

fahrfegneugen

You will notice that most cars are at about 3k going 60-70. Now try getting in another and forgetting there is no 6th gear, lol.

Glad you got it figured out though.


Did you see that the link for the road and track thingy has our hp rating at 250, that is old, lol.

ken-x8

J84, there's a little hand positioning technique that can help with 12 vs 34 vs 56 shifts.

When you're going to shift into 3rd or 4th, put the palm of your hand on top of the lever, back of hand up, cupping your hand. 3rd is straight forward, pushing with the heel. 4th is back, pulling with your fingers.

For 1 or 2, rotate your wrist clockwise, so your palm is angled toward you. For 5 or 6, rotate your wrist counterclockwise. You'll then find it pretty natural to apply the correct side pressure for 12 or 56.

I saw this on a "how to shift" web site, but didn't save the link.

Ken

04RX8man

At 3K RPM in MPH
1st-15
2nd-22
3rd-30
4th-43
5th-50
6th-60