Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

Howdy,

Was driving with a buddy today, taking him for a ride on the H3. He noticed that I often skip gears (neutral to 2nd gear, skipping 1st) and he told me this is bad for the tranny.

Is this true? I've been driving 5-speed manuals all my life, and always done it (not everytime, but most of the time except on uphills).

I thought it is ok, but since the H3 is the first All Time 4WD I've driven, I'm not sure if this is a habit I have to break.

Thanks in Advance.

RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

I do the same, tell your buddy to chill. 1st gear is to low

RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

I have always skiped gears in the stang when just tooling around. Obviously you know when to shift, so no problem. :D

RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

I'm sure you gear skippers are skilled to what RPM you skip at...But I'll bet your buddy was referring to the clutch may have endure a little more strain.

RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

Isn't that bad for your clutch? It will wear out your clutch sooner because you are using more friction to get the car in motion. I am wrong?

RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

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RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

Slippage all has to do with the load being placed on the clutch, how fast it is applied, and the RPM's involved. In a nut shell, on flat level ground, if you can slowly let the clutch out without babying it, and without killing the engine to get the vehicle moving without applying any throttle, the gear is sufficient to start in. Having only test drove a manual H3, I cant remember the gear ratios, but I would be willing to bet it is perfectly fine. Most truck type vehicles have a low enough first gear that it could be considered too low when empty or on level ground. Second gear is usually an ok choice. Also skipping gears once you are moving is fine as well. In fact, this may even save a little on gas since the engine doesnt have to rev up another time. This should be done on slight down hill grades, or by reving a little higher than normal in the lower gear before shifting.
Semi trucks typically have 9, 10, 13, 15, or 18 gears, and under all but the steepest inclines start off in 2nd, 3d if empty. For the first few shifts, we skip a gear, so we start in 2nd, shift to 4th, then to 6th and then every gear after that, unless it is a 13 or 18 speed, then we still skip every other gear in the upper range because those others are sort of half gears. We also dont use the throttle to start, just let out the clutch, then step on the throttle.

RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

I do it sometimes so I know it works ok, but you're still wearing the clutch out faster since you have to ease off of it a little longer then you would if you were in first gear. The longer the clutch is slipping or not completely engaged, the more wear it takes to get the vehicle started.

This is what I was ALWAYS told. If I'm wrong, tell me :) I guess what you guys are saying is that with the H3 on level ground, it takes the same amount of time and pressure to engage the clutch at second as it does in first. If that is the case, then I need shop class :)

RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

It is a matter of friction. Think of it like your brakes. Since the clutch and brakes are made of the same material, the analogy will work quite well. If you always stomp on the brakes and do hard stops, your brakes will wear out really fast because you apply a lot of friction and create a lot of heat very quickly. But, if you do slow gradual stops, your brakes last a lot longer because the friction is spread out over a longer time and there isn't as much heat gennerated. Heat is a killer to the friction material. With the clutch, if you "dump" it, you will wear it out quickly. If you ease it out, it will last longer. If you have to go wild on the throttle to keep the engine running when you let it out, you are either letting it out too quickly, or in too high of gear. A couple hundred RPM over idle is all it should take, and drag the on the clutch at its highest point shouldn't last more then a second or two. In the long run, and assuming you are a proficiant manual trans driver, any extra wear on the clutch would be minimal and probably unnoticeable over the life of the clutch.

RE: Skip Gearing on 5-speed Manual Tranny?
 

I got it. I have been driving stick for 14 years. I learned driving a stick. I'll tell you what though, the time it takes for the engine idle to lower is bad on the H3. It takes so long for the engine to rev down compared to every other car I have driven that is a stick. Isn't there any way to adjust that?