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Old May 23, 2008 | 11:55 PM
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Default Shift Skip... WTF

Can someone please tell me what the real purpose of the 1-4 shift skip function is for? Mine seems to kick in when I'm just putting along and maybe just maybe I'm doing 20 mph. Why do I need to shift from 1 to 4, when it forces me to 4th the car bogs and I have shift back to 2nd anyway. It usually happens when I'm A) in traffic B) at a stop light or C) when I'm making a turn onto a street where I can't just get on it and take off.

I don't understand the purpose.

PS I will be buy a skip shift eliminator.

Thanks
Shane
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Old May 24, 2008 | 12:01 AM
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It's designed to keep us from paying a gas guzzler tax on the C6s. If you drove your C6 the way it was designed to be driven, it wouldn't be a problem. Here's why.

This light will come on when:
• The engine coolant temperature is higher than
169°F (76°C),
• you are going 15 to 19 mph (24 to 31 km/h) and
• you are 21 percent throttle or less.
Shift to 3rd instead.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 12:03 AM
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Thank the EPA and your friendly guvment. The Computer Aided Gear Shift (CAGS) was an ingeneous work around that the GM engineers developed to defeat the CAFE gas guzzler. This device helped them to achieve the required MPG.

Buy the device and forget about it.

Ignore the people who will tell you that your pecker size is proportional to the RPM at which you shift gears. The reasoning is that shifting above 2500 rpm or so will eliminate the need for the CAGS eliminator. However, as your post reveals - sometimes while creeping along in traffic, or quietly (and respectfully) easing out of your neighborhood, CAGS can engage.

Of course, mine doesn't cuz I addded the device.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 12:30 AM
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Originally Posted by need-for-speed
Thank the EPA and your friendly guvment. The Computer Aided Gear Shift (CAGS) was an ingeneous work around that the GM engineers developed to defeat the CAFE gas guzzler. This device helped them to achieve the required MPG.

Buy the device and forget about it.

Ignore the people who will tell you that your pecker size is proportional to the RPM at which you shift gears. The reasoning is that shifting above 2500 rpm or so will eliminate the need for the CAGS eliminator. However, as your post reveals - sometimes while creeping along in traffic, or quietly (and respectfully) easing out of your neighborhood, CAGS can engage.

Of course, mine doesn't cuz I addded the device.


Perfect.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 12:52 AM
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Had mine tuned out on the C5 and C6
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Old May 24, 2008 | 01:06 AM
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...so the car gets significantly better gas mileage chugging along at 18 mph in 4th gear? I still don't get it.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 05:27 AM
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Significant enough that you don't get a gas guzzler tax.

They have had the 1-4 skip shift (CAGS) on the F-bodies (Camaro/Firebird) since at least 1993 and on the Corvette since at least 1997. It's inexpensive and easy to defeat, and saved you (and me) from paying a gas guzzler tax. (Saved me from having to pay it three times, actually.)
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Old May 24, 2008 | 06:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Stickboy97
Can someone please tell me what the real purpose of the 1-4 shift skip function is for? Mine seems to kick in when I'm just putting along and maybe just maybe I'm doing 20 mph. Why do I need to shift from 1 to 4, when it forces me to 4th the car bogs and I have shift back to 2nd anyway. It usually happens when I'm A) in traffic B) at a stop light or C) when I'm making a turn onto a street where I can't just get on it and take off.

I don't understand the purpose.

PS I will be buy a skip shift eliminator.

Thanks
Shane


if you drive the C6 as it was designed to be driven it will never skip a shift.
So get out there and drive like a C6 and not a Buick.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 07:33 AM
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It is a bit disappointing to me to see the comments from members JimTn and Coastal Boot of "drive it like it was designed to be driven". There are just times when you can not do that. The small town I live in has stop lights at every block and when grandpa is in front of you in the farm truck and driving 10-15mph between lights, you sure can not "get on it" to get past the skip shift parameters. Sure there are times when I just leave it in first and rev up to about 3500rpm between lights, but I don't always like doing that. I bought my skip shift eliminator from Southern Car Parts. Very easy to install and then "you can drive it like it was designed"!
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Old May 24, 2008 | 07:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Swiftrider08
It is a bit disappointing to me to see the comments from members JimTn and Coastal Boot of "drive it like it was designed to be driven". There are just times when you can not do that. The small town I live in has stop lights at every block and when grandpa is in front of you in the farm truck and driving 10-15mph between lights, you sure can not "get on it" to get past the skip shift parameters. Sure there are times when I just leave it in first and rev up to about 3500rpm between lights, but I don't always like doing that. I bought my skip shift eliminator from Southern Car Parts. Very easy to install and then "you can drive it like it was designed"!
Or like when I'm entering or driving on the military base where I work. But having said that the CAGS does just enough to "fool" the fuel mileage test conducted by the EPA to eliminate the gas guzzler tax.

After all these years and a cheap and easy to install by-pass I still don't know what all the fuss is.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by JimTN
It's designed to keep us from paying a gas guzzler tax on the C6s. If you drove your C6 the way it was designed to be driven, it wouldn't be a problem. Here's why.



Shift to 3rd instead.

Originally Posted by Coastal Boot
if you drive the C6 as it was designed to be driven it will never skip a shift.
So get out there and drive like a C6 and not a Buick.

I have a question for each of you:

Do you change your own oil ?
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Old May 24, 2008 | 09:35 AM
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Originally Posted by Swiftrider08
It is a bit disappointing to me to see the comments from members JimTn and Coastal Boot of "drive it like it was designed to be driven". There are just times when you can not do that. The small town I live in has stop lights at every block and when grandpa is in front of you in the farm truck and driving 10-15mph between lights, you sure can not "get on it" to get past the skip shift parameters. Sure there are times when I just leave it in first and rev up to about 3500rpm between lights, but I don't always like doing that. I bought my skip shift eliminator from Southern Car Parts. Very easy to install and then "you can drive it like it was designed"!
Exactly. I like to ease out of my neighborhood. You never know when a child or pet can run out in front of you. In that situation, my CAGS light sometimes comes on. Of course - that's all it does.

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Old May 24, 2008 | 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Swiftrider08
It is a bit disappointing to me to see the comments from members JimTn and Coastal Boot of "drive it like it was designed to be driven". There are just times when you can not do that. The small town I live in has stop lights at every block and when grandpa is in front of you in the farm truck and driving 10-15mph between lights, you sure can not "get on it" to get past the skip shift parameters. Sure there are times when I just leave it in first and rev up to about 3500rpm between lights, but I don't always like doing that. I bought my skip shift eliminator from Southern Car Parts. Very easy to install and then "you can drive it like it was designed"!
I totally agree with Swiftrider08. I'm happy to avoid the gas guzzler tax, and I'm happy the skip shift is so easy to defeat, but I'm tired of people saying if you "drive it like it was designed to be driven". It's not like we drive a racetrack every time we get on the road. There are plenty of times, especially, tight turns out of a light in heavy traffic, where the 1-4 shift is an embarrassment. AND I keep seeing "shift to 3rd" too. You can't shift to 3rd without going into 4th first.
Get a skip-shift eliminator, drive like you want to drive and thank GM for making it easy.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 10:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Swiftrider08
It is a bit disappointing to me to see the comments from members JimTn and Coastal Boot of "drive it like it was designed to be driven". There are just times when you can not do that. The small town I live in has stop lights at every block and when grandpa is in front of you in the farm truck and driving 10-15mph between lights, you sure can not "get on it" to get past the skip shift parameters. Sure there are times when I just leave it in first and rev up to about 3500rpm between lights, but I don't always like doing that. I bought my skip shift eliminator from Southern Car Parts. Very easy to install and then "you can drive it like it was designed"!
Stay in first then. You can easily do 50mph in first gear. Don't ask me how I know!
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Old May 24, 2008 | 10:47 AM
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Where did I say you could or should drive it like it was designed to be driven all the time? Where did I make any negative comments about the times you don't drive it that way? Where did I make any negative comments about anyone who buys & uses a CAGS eliminator?

I'm disappointed in people who come on here and read things into a post that are not there.

Lighten up Francis.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 10:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Stickboy97
Can someone please tell me what the real purpose of the 1-4 shift skip function is for? Mine seems to kick in when I'm just putting along and maybe just maybe I'm doing 20 mph. Why do I need to shift from 1 to 4, when it forces me to 4th the car bogs and I have shift back to 2nd anyway. It usually happens when I'm A) in traffic B) at a stop light or C) when I'm making a turn onto a street where I can't just get on it and take off.

I don't understand the purpose.

PS I will be buy a skip shift eliminator.

Thanks
Shane
It happens at a stop light you say??????

You're shifting too soon.

I'd love to hear more about it causing you problems at a stop light.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 11:02 AM
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Originally Posted by wombats777
...so the car gets significantly better gas mileage chugging along at 18 mph in 4th gear? I still don't get it.
The CAGS has nothing to do with YOU driving the car...it is designed to make the car get better mileage in the very strict federal fuel mileage test that all cars must go through. If the car can get better mileage in that test, then it avoids the gas guzzler tax. And then the car that you buy must be identical to the car that went through the test...so the CAGS must be on your car just like it was on the car that went through the test and produced those great fuel mileage numbers that we all love and brag to our friends about. You know, those friends who have cars like Camrys etc that don't get as good mileage on the highway as we do????
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Old May 24, 2008 | 11:39 AM
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In town I almost always shift 1st to 3rd
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Old May 24, 2008 | 11:47 AM
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My '07 M6 convertible obviously has the skip-shift feature, but I've never really noticed it. I don't drive like Parnelli Jones all the time (oops, probably dated myself a bit there, but the 500 is tomorrow), but I don't baby the car either. Must be just the right combination. I think I've seen it four times in 5300 miles. Caused me a little concern the first time it kicked in, I had forgotten it even existed. But, I just went straight to 3rd, no problem. It's not a big deal.
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Old May 24, 2008 | 11:59 AM
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Originally Posted by JimTN
Where did I say you could or should drive it like it was designed to be driven all the time? Where did I make any negative comments about the times you don't drive it that way? Where did I make any negative comments about anyone who buys & uses a CAGS eliminator?

I'm disappointed in people who come on here and read things into a post that are not there.

Lighten up Francis.
Then, just exactly what do you mean by "If you drove your C6 the way it was designed to be driven" in your previous post.? That statement is probably just as riduculous as the "Drive it like you stole it" you see on here so often.

There are times when you are in traffic that there isn't much you can do without the 1-4 shift kicking in. That's why I installed the CAGS eliminator as the first mod.
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