LS3 question
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14,999
Likes: 200
From: Bay Area Ca.
Sweet for what?
Speed, fuel consumption, smoothness through the gears?
The Tq and hp curves meet around 5250 rpm's. This would be for performance driving.
Tq moves the car hp keeps it there.
I personally do not see any reason to shift higher than this unless it is with a specific need for say 1/4 mile or road course to
My own personal opinion and others will argue.
Speed, fuel consumption, smoothness through the gears?
The Tq and hp curves meet around 5250 rpm's. This would be for performance driving.
Tq moves the car hp keeps it there.
I personally do not see any reason to shift higher than this unless it is with a specific need for say 1/4 mile or road course to
My own personal opinion and others will argue.
Last edited by Boomer111; Jan 1, 2014 at 08:13 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,001
Likes: 2,703
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
For max acceleration, you normally want to shift at redline. That's slightly beyond the power peak, but after the shift is completed you are now carrying more rpm and thus making more power. That's why the A6 is set up to shift as close to redline as possible.
If you want to be a little easier on your engine, shifting about 500 rpm below redline is said to reduce the stress significantly, but I don't know how to test that out.
If you want to be a little easier on your engine, shifting about 500 rpm below redline is said to reduce the stress significantly, but I don't know how to test that out.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 45,212
Likes: 892
From: Texas
CI 1-4-5-8-9-10 Vet
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '10, '17
For max acceleration, you normally want to shift at redline. That's slightly beyond the power peak, but after the shift is completed you are now carrying more rpm and thus making more power. That's why the A6 is set up to shift as close to redline as possible.
If you want to be a little easier on your engine, shifting about 500 rpm below redline is said to reduce the stress significantly, but I don't know how to test that out.
If you want to be a little easier on your engine, shifting about 500 rpm below redline is said to reduce the stress significantly, but I don't know how to test that out.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,231
Likes: 451
From: Maryland
Best acceleration, everything else is just commuter driving.
Read this a long time ago:
Shift 7 to 8% above your HP peak rpm for maximum acceleration.
Example:
Stock LS3 HP peak = 5900 rpm + 8%/472rpm's = 6372 rpm's.
Works for me.
PS: Shifting higher is only making noise "AND" slowing you down. With my "A6" shifting at approx. 6400 rpm's the engine falls back around it's torque peak of 4600 rpm's which is good for acceleration & not bogging the car down.
Shift 7 to 8% above your HP peak rpm for maximum acceleration.
Example:
Stock LS3 HP peak = 5900 rpm + 8%/472rpm's = 6372 rpm's.
Works for me.
PS: Shifting higher is only making noise "AND" slowing you down. With my "A6" shifting at approx. 6400 rpm's the engine falls back around it's torque peak of 4600 rpm's which is good for acceleration & not bogging the car down.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; Jan 2, 2014 at 12:16 AM.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 558
Likes: 7
Sweet for what?
Speed, fuel consumption, smoothness through the gears?
The Tq and hp curves meet around 5250 rpm's. This would be for performance driving.
Tq moves the car hp keeps it there.
I personally do not see any reason to shift higher than this unless it is with a specific need for say 1/4 mile or road course to
My own personal opinion and others will argue.
Speed, fuel consumption, smoothness through the gears?
The Tq and hp curves meet around 5250 rpm's. This would be for performance driving.
Tq moves the car hp keeps it there.
I personally do not see any reason to shift higher than this unless it is with a specific need for say 1/4 mile or road course to
My own personal opinion and others will argue.
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Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,231
Likes: 451
From: Maryland
If I am driving any stick "normal" I shift at low rpm's unless I want more acceleration than I will raise the rpm's depending on how much pickup I'm looking for at the moment just like any other car. 
PS: An automatic works the same way; with little gas an A6 can be in sixth gear in "very" short order but floor it and it's a whole different story.
I know what you are looking for and you will find it in short order after you start driving your car. Good Luck.On your 2 to 3 shift you may like running second gear up higher or lower to a degree than the next guy.
What I do in our 5 speed stick M3 BMW is try to shift were the person sitting next to me and "me" can not even "feel" the shifts, period. 1,3,5 works pretty good for smoothness in that car.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; Jan 2, 2014 at 01:21 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14,999
Likes: 200
From: Bay Area Ca.
Well I have changed the differential from the stock 3:42 to 4:10's.
But I usually shift while just cruising over 2,000 and under 3,000 rpm. Now I can shift much earlier and much higher but right around 2,5000 give or take a few hundred rpm's you will find it to be pretty smooth. At 3,500 the car starts to wake up.
My comment on the 5,200 rpm max shift was with longevity in mind and not all out time elapsed speed.
I agree with Gearhead Jim's assessment for all out performance under the clock.
But I usually shift while just cruising over 2,000 and under 3,000 rpm. Now I can shift much earlier and much higher but right around 2,5000 give or take a few hundred rpm's you will find it to be pretty smooth. At 3,500 the car starts to wake up.
My comment on the 5,200 rpm max shift was with longevity in mind and not all out time elapsed speed.
I agree with Gearhead Jim's assessment for all out performance under the clock.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 15,344
Likes: 4,009
From: Texas
It's a car. Shift when it feels right/it feels comfortable to you. One size (rpm) does not fit all. Speed, desired acceleration (no matter how minimal), incline of the roadway, etc all play a part.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 12,359
Likes: 2,895
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Read this a long time ago:
Shift 7 to 8% above your HP peak rpm for maximum acceleration.
Example:
Stock LS3 HP peak = 5900 rpm + 8%/472rpm's = 6372 rpm's.
Works for me.
PS: Shifting higher is only making noise "AND" slowing you down. With my "A6" shifting at approx. 6400 rpm's the engine falls back around it's torque peak of 4600 rpm's which is good for acceleration & not bogging the car down.
Shift 7 to 8% above your HP peak rpm for maximum acceleration.
Example:
Stock LS3 HP peak = 5900 rpm + 8%/472rpm's = 6372 rpm's.
Works for me.
PS: Shifting higher is only making noise "AND" slowing you down. With my "A6" shifting at approx. 6400 rpm's the engine falls back around it's torque peak of 4600 rpm's which is good for acceleration & not bogging the car down.
Tech Contributor
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Bill