Optimal 0-60 shift points

[Breezybro]

So, amidst my boredom, I thought about something I haven't before. This is my first Manual car, and I have had it almost a year at this point and still learning more about it. Question however.. besides for "winging" it, any idea of optimal shift points if you're racing or 0-60?

I know the powerband is somewhere around 2,500 to 4,500 by feel, so isn't it best to upshift when you reach that point? Thank you.

 

[ShadowRS]

1st to 2nd shift in the RS is tricky. If you mess up, you will grind gears, miss gear, or spin tires and trigger traction control. I actually enjoy the short gear of the RS as I think it "feels" to jump of the line easy.

But in order to achieve a good 0-60 time, you need to achieve a good launch. Too much wheel spin, lost time and likely chance of messing up the 1-2 shift which is tricky. Too little throttle and you end up bogging the car and losing time. A good launch with the RS I have found is to hover the rpm at around 2500 or so. Make sure the traction control is as disabled as possible. Don't just dump the clutch, the sonic will not launch effectively that way. You are probably going to have to ride the clutch a tad to get a successful launch. Drop it too much and the nannies kick in.

Once launched, the 1st gear runs out fast. You know you have a good launch when the car smoothly pulls through 1st. Shift a little before the redline in first, around 6k. I think the computer kicks in and cuts off fuel around there. (someone correct me if I am wrong.) DO NOT SLAM IT INTO 2ND. You have to learn the shift and how to time it. The 1st to 2nd is the most tricky as it is very finicky. I find shifting early at 6k and slowing the shift down a tad works wonders. This is usually around 20 or so mph. 2nd will run up to mid 40's I believe. 3rd will get you to 60, and 4th will.. well, run out of steam. It's a stock sonic....

Anyways, remember shifting at redline on this car stock isn't very effective. It has a very noticeable loss of power after 6k. It feels like the car is just "floating" Believe it or not, I've been able to out dig several people in the sonic. Properly launched, this car digs hard. Usually I get run down though in 3rd or 4th... A tune or so will fix that.

Someone chime in if I am misinformed or not. These are just personal observations. I find you must learn this car and it's quirks in order to achieve perfection. I'd go out to some country road and practice a bit. You won't ruin the tires, this car isn't good at burnouts.

 

[Breezybro]

Thanks for the tips, definitely got some good information out of that! Believe me, I've been running this thing fast a lot

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

[AJH]

Totally agree about not revving past 5 on the laggy stock tack, there is a noticeable drop in the power with a stock tune.

 

[ShadowRS]

Indeed. I think it has to do with how the power delivery was designed. Doesn't it make peak torque at 4.5k?

 

[soggy]

reviving an old thread.

I have the 1.4 automatic and now use its "manual" mode more often now. I found that when bringing first gear to 4-5000 rpm before requesting 2nd delivers a nice boost going in and repeating into second.
I'm pretty sure I read max boost was at this rpm range anyway, so it would make sense. Driving the rpm that high I am also able to hear the recirculating BOV (unless it's a boost leak) when requesting the next gear. I never heard it before when requesting the gears at the same rpm as when in automatic mode and driving hard.

Also, I found this car to behave more like a boss when completely cold, I mean not even waiting for the engine rpm to dip under 1000 after first starting it.

this is all 2017 stock.

 

[skurtov]

Look at dyno graphs from Trifecta,BNR or the forums, when the power starts to really crater. Shift before that. Rule of thumb has been around 5200-5500rpms. You can stretch that to roughly 5400-5700 depending on mods.

 

[McD6113]

I'll chime in with my .02. I noticed when I still had the stock air box, the power dropped off at around 5k. I recently got a K&N typhoon intake and the dyno chart that came with it puts peak HP at just shy of 5.5k. The butt dyno seems to confirm this, as power doesn't seem to drop off nearly as much in the top end since I installed it. With the stock air box, it dropped like a brick at 5k and felt like the car was falling on its face. That said, I'd still shift between 5 and 5.5k if I was in a hurry because above that my trans in particular doesn't like to make the shift and often grinds (and has since it was new, I really need to change out the fluid/top it off). Dumping the clutch on the 1-2 shift usually results in the TCS intervening immediately (though to a lesser degree since I bypassed the bypass valve solenoid, it doesn't dump all the boost first anymore) so slower is actually faster in that case.