Is it OK to skip gears?

[charlizetivo]

Just wondering if it's okay to skip gears while driving the 2zz, for eg. 6th->4th, 4th->2nd, etc. OR 1st->3rd, 3rd->6th, etc. I tried it today this morning and accidentally went from 6th to 2nd but quickly managed to clutch-in at 6.5krpm. Does it wear synchros or clutch? Is it totally fine to do so? Or is it best not to skip gears at all?

[campbeam]

It has been a while since I have driven a manual. I used to skip gears some of the time depending upon circumstances.

Main aim is to have enough engine revs after changing gears up or not over-revving the engine when changing down. 

[Tony Prodigy]

18 hours ago, charlizetivo said:

Just wondering if it's okay to skip gears while driving the 2zz, for eg. 6th->4th, 4th->2nd, etc. OR 1st->3rd, 3rd->6th, etc. I tried it today this morning and accidentally went from 6th to 2nd but quickly managed to clutch-in at 6.5krpm. Does it wear synchros or clutch? Is it totally fine to do so? Or is it best not to skip gears at all?

No, it doesn't hurt it to skip gears. Just don't try and select 2nd from 4th if your doing 80 kays or so. You have to be sensible about it at the same time. You have to rev match each gear for its given speed so you don't over rev the engine when going from a high gear to a low gear.

If you're slowing down for a corner for instance, you don't need to go back through each individual gear. You could go from 6th to 4th, then as you approach the corner go from 4th to 2nd. Road conditions can dictate what gear you select too.

[Squalled]

I remember reading a thread somewhere on the net (could be here or on another Toyota forum) that the C series gearboxes don't do well in long the run with skipping gears although, I've never seen any real world evidence of it. I mean I have some mates that have done it no issues but I myself have never done it.

[charlizetivo]

Thanks for the help, guys. I guess I can skip gears every now and then when I need to quickly overtake or slow down for a sharp turn, but other than that I suppose there would be no real reason to. As Squalled mentioned, I also saw something similar somewhere on the internet about the Sportivo/Celica gearboxes being fragile and what-not so I thought I'd ask here.

[Squalled]

11 hours ago, charlizetivo said:

Thanks for the help, guys. I guess I can skip gears every now and then when I need to quickly overtake or slow down for a sharp turn, but other than that I suppose there would be no real reason to. As Squalled mentioned, I also saw something similar somewhere on the internet about the Sportivo/Celica gearboxes being fragile and what-not so I thought I'd ask here.

Well any C series gearbox is quite fragile unfortunately. The gears themselves are quite small along with the teeth. From what I found out as well, the C series gearbox doesn't like flat shifting or constant hard/quick gear changes at high RPM. Not that I've done any serious track days but I haven't seen this to be all too true as I've had plenty of mates do track days with no issues.

[charlizetivo]

On 7/22/2021 at 9:09 AM, Squalled said:

Well any C series gearbox is quite fragile unfortunately. The gears themselves are quite small along with the teeth. From what I found out as well, the C series gearbox doesn't like flat shifting or constant hard/quick gear changes at high RPM. Not that I've done any serious track days but I haven't seen this to be all too true as I've had plenty of mates do track days with no issues.

Thanks for the input, Squalled. I do plan on tracking the car in the future. Just need a few upgrades such as Moroso oil pan, MWR Billet Oil Pump Gear Set. Wouldn't the extended pushrod help with the constant hard/quick gear changes at high RPM?

[Squalled]

20 hours ago, charlizetivo said:

Thanks for the input, Squalled. I do plan on tracking the car in the future. Just need a few upgrades such as Moroso oil pan, MWR Billet Oil Pump Gear Set. Wouldn't the extended pushrod help with the constant hard/quick gear changes at high RPM?

The extended push rod does help with higher RPM shifts and it makes all shifting in general a lot smoother. In terms of the oil pan and oil pump gear set, unless you indeed on tracking it multiple times a year they will likely not be worth spending that amount of coin on. The oil pump gear upgrade is honestly only really necessary if you intend on revving higher than 8400 RPM but other than that, I don't think it's worth doing since it's quite a big job. That's just my point of view though, if you want those mods, I've known a few mates that have had them and haven't really reported any issues 🙂 

[charlizetivo]

On 7/25/2021 at 5:42 PM, Squalled said:

The extended push rod does help with higher RPM shifts and it makes all shifting in general a lot smoother. In terms of the oil pan and oil pump gear set, unless you indeed on tracking it multiple times a year they will likely not be worth spending that amount of coin on. The oil pump gear upgrade is honestly only really necessary if you intend on revving higher than 8400 RPM but other than that, I don't think it's worth doing since it's quite a big job. That's just my point of view though, if you want those mods, I've known a few mates that have had them and haven't really reported any issues 🙂 

Thanks man, I just ordered an extended push rod!