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80mph in 2nd gear in a tt? Seriously?

8K views 53 replies 27 participants last post by  15913000gt 
#1 ·
From the any kills lately thread I was reading there's this part that says "let off around 80, right before 3rd gear shift. " ... seriously? 80 in 2nd?
I know I just have an SL but my god, really 80 in 2nd?

50 in 2nd is 5k rpm on my unfast SL, and I am very not willing to ruin my car to try to find out but... I'm wondering what the heck is that rpm for 80 in 2nd?! When in the world do you racing guys switch gears? 8k rpm or what?! Whew!

nissan maxima, 06-ish. last body style. so around 280hp 3.5l v6

pulled up to a light with a friend in my stealth turbo, 2 guys in their maxima were already in the lane. they revved the engine a lil. i laughed and gave them a goodbye wave(i know cocky). he pulled up a nose or so to the line. i just stayed put. waited for the light. popped 1st, revved to 3,000 and dropped clutch and off i went. he chirped the tires(perhaps manual but likely he had an auto). by the time he had traction i was already half a car ahead, kept gaining on him till the two lanes merged at which point i was about 2 cars ahead. let off around 80, right before 3rd gear shift.

he promptly turned right at the next light. me and my friend were laughing our asses off the whole way home.

it was fun, hadnt run anyone in a while. thought it was going to be closer as the maxima has some good power an torque and still weighs less than a stealth.
 
#3 ·
Pfft, that explains why my Dad pleaded and begged me to not get the vr4 and swore & promised the SL would do. Been thinking when the engine finally goes THEN I'll mod & upgrade everything. 80 in 2nd, even 75, sweet...
 
#8 ·
Rolling 55-60 in 3rd next to a dubstep ricer in a celica i revmatched 2nd and took it to rev limiter about 85. pop pop!! Downpipe no cats and intake are my only power mods.
 
#12 ·
Yeah how old are you? My first car was an SL when I was 16 and as much as I wanted the vr4, im glad it wasnt my first car. got my first TT when i was 19 and realized it would have been too much car for me at the time lol. and yeah on top of maintenance and insurance
 
#15 ·
Coulda swore 7000 rpm in 2nd was 70 mph... 5000 is 50, etc. I can hit 80 in 2nd in my 5 spd because I rev to 8000 rpm.
 
#19 ·
I think you guys are over-exaggerating the inaccuracy of the stock speedo. When I cross the 1/4 mile mark at the track my speedo says 109-110mph, and that's what comes out on the time slips. Same with the app on my phone which uses GPS to measure MPH. 135mph on the speedo was 135mph by way of GPS.

I've only heard the first gens were a little more inaccurate at HIGH speeds, like 140+. And second gens are pretty much spot on.

Of course it's dependant on whether or not you have the proper size wheels and tires on your car.
 
#20 ·
crap that reminds me. I do not remember which speedo gear I have in my car right now.

Either way the difference is only like 3% between 1st and 2nd gen.
 
#25 ·
sure why not take em.

buy the gray car and get dr750s with it.
 
#28 ·
I need you to pay the taxes on the transfer. I only need 1/5 of the 20,000 to get it started.
 
#30 ·
Ah, forgot about that. Let me call Gene, Evan Brower and a Nubian Prince to do a no-questions-asked wire transfer.
 
#29 ·
Longer gears = less shifting = more pull?
 
#31 ·
Only if you have turbos to handle it i.e. 9bs run out of steam at higher rpms. Otherwise, on bigger turbos that hold full boost to redline it will be faster because of the time lost for shifting. Just look at how much faster autos ET. Same concept.
 
#32 ·
Yea I'm not trying to argue i think that's what the other side of the argument is in this thread.
 
#33 ·
It all depends on horsepower, powerband and what/where you are racing. Both have pro's/con's. any other 'argument' is ludicrous, and that is what Forest was getting at I think in all seriousness.
 
#36 ·
Yeah this, thanks! I was shocked to see (some) people doing 80 in 2nd because
1) why? does not shifting to 3rd really make it faster at the top end? Why push the engine that hard when it doesn't really make it faster.
2) where in the heck do people drive & not get constant tickets every time they're in not just 3rd, but 4th! What in the heck is the point of a 6speed if it WAS geared the same? LOL. Would only use 6th at a track or what?

The 6s being geared different explains a lot. I just have a 5 (and a sl (slow) as they say), but I love love LOVE shifting, that's why I don't drive an auto, lol. Heck, I pretend shift at the red lights just being impatient for green, whispering 'come on, let us go already.' Even downshift at every opportunity, you know? It's FUN. I dream off & on of a 6spd, but wonder how often I'd really get to use all those gears. So I was not understanding the 80 in 2nd... Now I think I get it. Thank you :)


Thanks for all the replies, too. Good to see it from all angles :)
 
#38 ·
5speeds get good gas mileage too. I can cruise in rush hour on the fast lane in neutral @ 800rpm.
 
#44 ·
Well the 6g72 bottom end is built to rev like few others, the top end is fine for stock limiters. I have no fear of riding a rev limiter during a burnout. Valve float will kill off power before you ever hurt anything when you increase the rev limiter to a certain point.

Stock for Stock, a 6 speed transmission car hits the end of the 1/4 in the same gear as a 5 speed. If we are talking about subjective "how fast a car is in my head based on an imaginary situation that is biased towards one transmission," then you are kinda cheating to prove yourself correct.

Transmission choice depends on exactly what others have said. Powerband (which includes your rev limiter, where/if your hp drops off enough that you need to short shift, how far power drops when you shift and rpms drop, etc), final trap speed, ability to keep things from exploding (what upgrades needed etc). After thinking about that stuff your car has to be fast enough to even need to shift to 4th in the 6 speed. If you have a VERY fast car you will still need to shift to 4th in the 5 speed and then you have lost ALL advantages because your 4th gear will be VERY short and basically a waste of a gear change.
Matt's stock junk parts bottom end didn't like 151+mph (since he went faster then 151 before letting off and trap speed is an average of 2 points) in 3rd gear.


I am a fan of holding a gear as long as your transmission will shift. Do the math and even if HP drops off a lot on the top end, the gearing advantage is in your favor in many situations. HP on the top end actually needs to drop well below the low rpm hp you make when you shift. The difference would be equal to the gear ratio difference.
 
#46 · (Edited)
What? I believe you are mistaken good Sir. The 5-speed's superiority is that its gears are very long; the MR gearing is shorter than the US 6-speed (which is already shorter than the 5-speed). Also, 6th gear in the MR is almost the same ratio as 5th in the 5-speeds. Overall you really gain the best of neither world...

The real advantage of the MR 6-speed is acceleration, as all the gearing is short (at least in comparison to the US versions). I'm sure it's a blast to drive with a lightly modified VR4, but once you're making real power you'll want the longer gearing. My Talon's short gears were really fun when the car was near stock, but at 300awhp it burns through the gears so fast I feel like I need a ratchet-shifter...

As for 80mph in 2nd, totally reasonable. Granted though you'll be right at the stock 7272rpm rev limiter. The 5-speed gearing is just ridiculously tall; especially compared to my DD. Having driven the Talon for years, it still feels very weird to get on the express-way with the Stealth in 2nd...

Comparison goodness:





 
#47 ·
I had options a couple of years ago.

Option 1 stick with the 5 speed.
Option 2 take the 6 speed from my wrecked 94 and donate it to the 93 and do the mr conversion.

Option 3 go full us 6 speed conversion.

I asked Matt Monet, Ray Pampena, and Chris Hill what shoul d I do for a dd that was sporting evo 3's and 500-600 awhp.

They all said without hesitation, stick with the 5 speed as they all het the same gas mileage at the speed limit. Only while breaking the speed limit does the us 6 speed take a advantage. In the quarter the 5 speed has the advantage on the rest down the track but the shorter gearing helps the launch. Overall down the track is better. Chris even stated once he believed t4 would have been faster had it had a 5 speed in it.
 
#48 ·
:) This :) Thank you for taking the time to post this, too. :)
 
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