just got a 2004 le mans with only 22k on it.. traded in the 94 greenwood. just have a few questions.

first: what the heck is this 1-4 shift thing. read a few threads saying that there is an eliminator for it or if you just drive it like its supposed to be (which i do sometimes) it wont be a problem. after reading what the owners manual said about it, im a little confused. either the previous owner must have installed the eliminator thing, or im mis interpreting what it is, because ive ignored it pretty much every time and shift to 2nd just fine. the ONE time i actually went from 1st to 4th, car just about died, like i thought it would, cuz it dropped to like 400 rpms. so im not sure what this is. ive drove alot of manuals, granted nothing close to a z06, but you can't just shift from 1st to 4th when u are barely at 2000 rpms... any advice on this? how do i tell if the eliminator is installed, where should i look for it?

2nd: as i said ealier, i have driven alot of manual transmissions, but none even close to this. its so precise and exact and stiff, but not bad stiff. i mean, no softness or play in the clutch pedal, its so DAMN perfect, and i know ive only had the car 2 days, but im not having a whole lot of luck doing smooth shifts when im just driving like a... old lady i guess you could say. light throttle, just trying to shift slow and smooth.
but you know how it is if you dont shift right, little bit jerky etc, cuz im not timing right. but when i drive it like a racecar (lol) it so easy to shift almost without noticing. so did it take anyone else a while to get used to it, or have i just been out of the manual game for too long and need some more training?
i embarased myself today, wife was in the car and at first i was trying to be all carefull and just drive normal, and she pretty much said i sucked at shifting lol. then i raced it and of course it was fine. i think im getting a little smoother, but sometimes i still mess up. good thing lots of people arent paying attention or id make a fool of myself sometimes. vettes are more worthy then this...

and third and final. kind of off topic too, but: i have hardly ever used a auto car wash, the few times i have it was with old peices of crap. always wash the car myself, but the past few months our work schedule has been crazy, even though we just got back from deployment, and i almost never have spare time, not even time to relax.
i HATE dirty cars. driving it once, which is all highway driving, and then parking it in the garage for a day or two i dont even like leaving it unwashed. so, is it ok to take this baby through a car wash? i cant just leave it there dirty, but i dont even know when i will have time for a wash. working this weekend, just got off work today, working next weekend... on and on.. any of you guys take yours through one? sorry for the long post! thanks!!

 

1. When you see the "Shift 1 to 4" on the dash, it would normally force you to shift to 4th as you tried to slide it into 2nd. Since the eliminator is installed, the light will still come on, but you can ignore it.

2. Yes, I think the C5Z is more challenging than many other cars I've shifted. I assume it is due to the light flywheel.

3. Only hand wash. And only use micro fibers. Also, consider buying some "Waterless Car Wash" (I use Adam's). Waterless Car Wash will allow you to clean a lightly dirty car. I use the stuff basically every time I drive the car. And yes, top detail guys highly recommend the stuff...

 

Hmmm....not trying to hijack but, if you don't have the skip shift eliminator installed, when the light is on you aren't able to go into 2nd? I bough mine used without any knowledge of what has been installed, but when the ligh comes on, I'm still able to put into into 2nd, so does that mean th skip shift is installed?

 

MrJonMan:
I would say that you have a skip-shift eliminator in your car. Took me 3 years to install mine...should have done it sooner.

IrishNation24:
When the dash light comes on try to shift into 2nd...if you can't shift into 2nd, then the skip-shift will get your attention. To me, it was an annoyance. Throttle position and rpms will dictate when and where the skip-shift comes into play. If you wish to see if one is installed, you will need to raise the car and search for the bypass harness installed on the transmission on the drivers side towards the top of the transmission.
Enjoy the car...just beware of these things when the air, tires and roads are cold. Despite the traction control and active handling, the back end can come around quicker than the nannies can react when sudden power is added when its cold out.

 

Yes, sounds like it.

 

Have you registered it at Z16.org yet? Its free. You can find out your build number and much more.

 

that stuff doesnt leave swirl marks on the paint? i'm always so carefull about touching the car if there is any dust on it or anything. i usually spend more time rinsing it then washing it, becuase i dont want to be rubbing dust all over the place and scratching it.

i have tried that a few times, as soon as the light comes on i can go right into 2nd just fine. no problems at all. i will still check next time i get the chance just to make sure its installed, but i am guessing the previous owner probably did. he put headers and exhaust on it, and changed the pedals and shift ***.. (not to fond of the shift ***..), so he probably did that too.

nope, but i will now!! thanks. i have all the certificates and originall paperwork that came with the car new, plus that blue banner that says what # it was. 278 out of 2025 i believe it was.

 

the bad thing about where we just moved to is that the only place there is to wash a car now is one of those coin operated washes with the high pressure nozzle and the brush thing. are those ok to use? the old place had a whole area with a bunch of hoses and you could wash it like you were in your own driveway.... i miss that.

 

Waterless Car Wash is safer than normal washing in regards to swirls unless the car is seriously dirty. And you definitely have the skip shift removed.

 

And for the love of god, don't use those brushes at the drive in car washes. A drive through car wash should be fine IF it's a "touchless" car wash. Just be careful about how low your car is and possible clearence issues.

Edit: I have a C6Z shifter and it is an improved shifter over the stock C5Z, but without any shifting issues that come with most aftermarket shifters in these cars. It actually shifts into gears better than my stick one did for whatever reason that may be.

 

The 1-4 shift is determined by rpm level. If you're just over that rpm you will be able to shift into 2 whether you have the Skip Shift device or not. Get under the car and check to see if you have the device installed is simple enough. It's on the drivers side of the transmission.

If the previous owner modified the car, chances are an after market shifter was also installed. Most of the after market shifters are stiffer, which is the trade off for "precision shifting". If you carefully pull the boot off (don't break the plastic trim ring), you should be able to determine whether an after market shifter was installed.

An oem shifter (C5/Z06 or C6/Z06) will be stamped steel with rubber isolation on the lever. A couple of after market shifters are actually modified oem shifters, so keep that in mind.

If you find a billet constructed shifter beneath the boot, you definitely have an after market shifter. Some of them have bias springs which you can change out to soften or stiffen the shifting effort.

Take an image of what you find and post it. Someone should be able to ID the shifter.

 

would never even think about it..

is this what you have? http://redshift.homestead.com/C6shift/C6shift1.jpg

will do, next time i get the chance. im at work right now, and we are all just sitting around since we are only here because we have a plane flying.. to bad i cant drive it into the hangar and use our tools!!!

 

Yep, that's the one.

 

how much did that cost you.

 

Depends on what kind of deals you can find. I looked for a few weeks and got the shifter for $38 shipped and the **** for $45 shipped. I constnatly checked the C6 for sale forum, and had to jump on it before someone else bought them. I've also seen the shifter and **** go for 80-100 on ebay.

 

hmm. how easy was it to install? i'm always so unwilling and uneasy when it comes to removing interior trim peices, mostly because in every other car ive owned, they are always such cheaply made plastic crap and it always seems like 90% of the stupid plastic clips always break, then you have rattling all over the place cuz the piece is no longer secure. i dont know how these vettes are but i have come to HATE doing anything that involves interior panels.

 

It was really easy. The hardest part was removing the stock C5 shifter (I call it a giant **** plug, b/c I think it's that bad). Here's some links that show removal of the stock shifter.

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/pat...rInstall.shtml

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...tallation.html

 

Light will still come on with the skip shift installed. Only way to disable light would be with an actual computer tune. Or removing the bulb from the cluster maybe?

 

well then i will have to keep a lookout for a good deal. thanks

 

I 2nd the C6 shifter, its much more comfortable and better looking **** and it sits in a better location and it slightly shorter. Biggest improvement on mine so far.

I do the 2 bucket wash, one with soap, other to rinse. Mine is garaged so I dust with a huge CA duster and clean up spots with Instant detailer and microfiber towels. Keeps it looking clean for weeks at a time with very little effort....

Also suggest a Shorty Antenna if you still have the stock 24" ugly one...