When to shift??

[Wescyde]

On my 2001 Passat, I try to shift between 3000 and 4000 RPMs (unless I'm racing). Since I've been driving the Vibe GT (about 2 weeks now) I've been trying to do the same. I brought my Vibe into the dealer to fix a few problems (a whole other topic) and one of the salesman said that we are supposed to shift right around 6000 RPM and that at 6000 the GT will do a dramatic jump to 7000RPM. Sadly, I haven't been able to test this theory becase my Vibe is still in the shop. Has anyone else heard about this? When should we be shifting in the Vibe GT? Any light on the subject would be appreciated.

[d_m_kolb]

Shifting time depends on what kind of driving you are doing. Racing, on a falt surface, going down a hill, going up a hill. If you want good gas mileage stay outta the gas pedal and shift in the lower RPMS. The last stick I had was a 1970 MBG GT. If I was driving just to get from point A to point B I could shift between 1,750RPM to 2,200 RPMs. If racing I'd shift after 6,000 RPMs.It's really the drivers choice how he drives and wants to drive.

[lordyogi]

ive been driving a GT for a couple of months now, ive found that if you are just driving normal shifting around 3500 is fine, but if you are racing use the VVTL-i to your advantage and run that sum-gun up to 8200 like it was meant to be run son. yog

[Wescyde]

Here's an update on my first posting. After getting my car back I took it to 6000RPMs and the salesman was right!! Everytime I took it to 6000RPMs I felt a boost of power and the car almost "skips" to 7000 RPMs. Try it for your self. The salesman told me this is a feature specific to the VIbe GT.

[NovaResource]

Not really a feature of the GT, more specifically, a feature of the engine only available in the GT. That's the difference between the VVT-i in the base Vibe and the VVTL-i in the GT. It's the "L".VVT-i stands for Variable Valve Timing (Intelligent). That's a fancy way of saying the computer adjusts the cams timing to produce more power. Both the base and GT get a kick of power right around 3800-4000 rpm.The "L" in the GT engine is for Lift. Meaning, the computer also increases valve lift. This happens right around 6000-rpm in the GT engine when the base engine is just about out of steam. The increased lift keeps the GT engine pulling to 8200-rpm.
[Modified by NovaResource, 10:31 AM 7/24/2002]

[NSimkins]

quote:VVT-i stands for Variable Valve Timing (Intelligent). That's a fancy way of saying the computer adjusts the cams timing to produce more power. Both the base and GT get a kick of power right around 3800-4000 rpm.Thanks for that clarification. I knew that my Base Vibe did get a little kick of power around the 3800-4000 rpm range as you stated. I initially thought only the VVTL-i engine had this feature solely and the VVT-i had nothing period.
[Modified by NSimkins, 9:40 AM 7/24/2002]

[masonjl]

the owner's manual (yes i actually read it) says for best gas mileage shift around 3k.But for those that love speed.... it definetly jumps from 6 to 7....But it sucks that you gotta shift down to third to get any power when passing or quickly accelerating at 60mph....

[LadyHwk750]

I'm with you fritsburg! That is what makes the break-in period such a pain.

[masonjl]

break-in period????any one care to enlighten me how i should properly "break-in" my car?i've broken-in several mototrcycles but hadn't heard anything about breaking in my GT.....

[d_m_kolb]

Your all starting to go off topic. The question was about shifting not breakin so please talk about shifting.If you'd like to talk about break in periods please start another topic.Thanks

[millster]

I assume it's fuel shutoff. The engine just cuts out and revs wildly (cutting off and reving back to the limiter repeatedly). Actually if you didn't know what was happening it could be quite frightening. I've never hit it when hitting the redline but if you don't let your engine warm sufficiently, it will kick in at around 7K.

[lordyogi]

i was gonna post a reply earlier but my power went out just as i finished typing my post and made me angry. but i will hopefully answer any questions that i have seen come up about revlimiting/fuel cut off for the GT.if you try to run up cold, the engine will cut out at 7k. if you lose traction (ie dump the clutch while stopped on a dirt road, or just stomp the gas and spin the tires) automatic traction control kicks in at 6k until you gain enough traction for the second cam and lift to kick in. if you are racing someone and forget to shift, you are and idiot (dont worry i am also an idiot, adrenaline will do that to you) but thanks to the computer programmers at toyota, who im sure get in a lot of trouble if engines start blowing up because the limiter wasnt working, have that bad boy set around 8500rpm. that is all that i have found about mr revlimiter/fuel cut-off. and there is no top speed governor on the GT, you can see results in the racing forum under topic of top speed if you already havent.yogi

[mu_ohio]

This is what I generally felt about when to shift. It's more of a feeling of how fast you are accelerating. If I'm just crusing around town waiting for someone to catch up to me at a red light I shift very early and keep the RPMs down. I'm sure I shift before 3k in those situations. If I want to merge onto the freeway, I'll wait a while longer, maybe going up to 5k or holding 4th gear until I'm ready to stop at my cruising speed. When having fun, I will let it go up to 8200 in the first couple gears. It's mostly about feeling of what you want the car to do and go from there.