So more than a year in now, and I still love driving my Tib every day. This is my first manual car, however, and I'm not the best at timing the clutch yet. When I was driving automatic I just floor it and let the car do the rest when i want power. I am wondering for the manual i-4 tib what would be the best shifts at each gear to get continuous power. For example, I read from auto-week that shifting at 5500rpm gets continuous power, but the engine still feels out of breath at 3rd gear and up... any tips on shifting would help :)

Shift before fuel cutoff at 6800 rpm . You don't want to bounce off the rev limiter so grab the next gear as the tach needle sweeps past 6000 rpm , you'll stay in the sweet spot all the way to top speed .

Thanks mfp. So to do this better a short throw shifter would be a good idea and worth the money? (Currently I haven't done any mods to my car)

much depends on how quickly you want to wear out your engine, running round to the red line may well give you maximum power but is not doing your engine alot of good, changing gear at medium rev. range will keep your engine much happier and keep your fuel consumption down!

indeed I understand that part. revving to redline too much isn't healthy for the engine. but my problem exactly lies in shifting in mid-revs. Like I said when I did the AutoWeek suggestion of shifting between 5000-5500rpm, the engine feels out of breath after third gear. I suppose the 2.0 just isn't powerful enough...

Guys who have installed short throw shifters love them . I don't like the 'joystick' look personally so i don't plan on changing mine . I will however probably change the soft rubber base bushings for aluminum to tighten up the feel .

Intake , headers and a catback will solve the engine power issues . You willl not believe the difference .

We are all concerned about fuel economy and engine life so we don't often run to redline but when we do we want the experience to be rewarding .

This post has been edited by mfp: May 31 2008, 09:18 AM

Dear jliean,

Montego and Motor Trend are correct...you want to shift before your torque curve drops off, and your drop off is around 5800 rpm. Your engine will drop approximately 900 rpm between shifts, taking you back down to 4900 rpm. This keeps you in the sweet spot of your torque curve.

Byron

Ok , so we differ by 200 rpm , i'm cool with that .

This is assuming the car is totally stock , otherwise the powerband can be significantly improved at higher rpm .

This post has been edited by mfp: Jun 6 2008, 09:26 AM

Do headers void warranty?

Unfortunately many dealers will give you warranty problems if you install headers not to mention that they can be illegal in some States . Most will ignore intake/catback upgrades as a lot of dealers will modify their own showroom vehicles with those mods .
When i mentioned to my service manager that i planned more upgrades but was concerned with my warranty , his comment was , 'i don't see anything' .

First of all I'd like to thank you guys for the tips. I tried it out yesterday there definitely was a difference. Given that my car isn't awfully powerful I was still impressed with the continuous power as it went through each gear. It took me a few tries as I said I'm not the best with manual transmission, but my best try in terms of shifting in the right rpm and timing with the clutch came at my third try. I could feel the car staying within the powerband and it never felt out of breath as I said it did before :57:

Secondly yeah I checked with my dealer and they don't like the idea of headers. Perhaps I'll think about intake and exhaust first. I have a friend, however, that says exhausts and intake on an otherwise completely stock engine would only transfer to minimal horsepower at the wheel and suggest that I save my money? seeking second opinions :P

Your friend is right , the change is small for intake/exhaust , about 10% at the wheels but you will feel the improvement , for the 4 banger around 10-15 whp .
Throttle response is vastly improved , the car will sound great , like a sports car should and you will see some fuel economy benefits after the ecm learns to deal with the improved airflow .
Aftermarket parts maintain a good resale value if you ever decide to return the car to stock so keep the stock stuff .

I see. I am taking full time at the coffee shop I work part time at this summer so I should have some cash to spend by its end. I am thinking along the lines of intake, exhaust and a short throw shifter. mfp mentioned that the powerband would increase after mods, but would the small gains (10-15hp right?) from these mods make much of a difference with the powerband?