My first post! That being said, I just started driving a z4 m roadster and wanted to know if there were any recommended/optimum upshift speeds (rpm) for each gear from anyone who drives one? ...and please don't tell me to listen to the engine or anything corny like that. I'm not asking for a manual transmission tutorial.

There's not such thing as an "optimum" shift RPM.

I shift at 7,900 RPM when I'm at the track. I shift at 2,500 when I'm tooling around town stuck in typical L.A. traffic. Shift when appropriate for the occasion and situation. Your peak torque comes between 4,500 RPM and 5,000 RPM, use that to your advantage.

Which gear your in does not dictate where you shift at. Go out and drive the car until you're comfortable with a stick shift and it'll come to you naturally, whatever RPM you need to shift at, whatever manual car you happen to be driving.

around 3,000 on daily driving, higher when you are having fun. Anything above rev limited is fair game once your engine is broken in and warmed up (oil temp not just temp)

Hack's right, it's personal preference. Driving around the city, I tend to rev up to 3500 rpm before upshifting, and downshift when revs drop to 2500 rpm or so. For hard acceleration, I'll go up to 5500 rpm before upshifting, and on the highway or other high-speed situations I go to red-line.

god i love driving my car :D

Drive it like you stole it.

There's not such thing as an "optimum" shift RPM.

I shift at 7,900 RPM when I'm at the track.


I thought there was a built-in rpm limit (below redline) that cuts off fuel to protect the engine.

I thought there was a built-in rpm limit (below redline) that cuts off fuel to protect the engine.

Yeah. And it kicks in at 7,900 RPM.

Ask me how I know.

does it actually cut the fuel or does it just decrease the accelerator signal, since it's drive by wire?

does it actually cut the fuel or does it just decrease the accelerator signal, since it's drive by wire?

The best way I can describe it, is when you hit the 7,900 RPM limit, even if your foot is to the floor, the car will decelerate for a split second (say, drop to ~7,800 RPM) then accelerate again up to 7,900 RPM. The sensation is like a soft rocking back and forth in short, subtle intervals.

It might be possible for engine/road momentum to carry the RPM past 7,900 a little bit while in lower gear. The few times I was bouncing off of the limiter was in 4th gear on a very LONG straight at California Speedway.

My usual concern is not when to upshift but how long of a duration I can keep the RPMs above 6K without imploding the engine and draining my bank account due to gasoline consumption!

Call me a hooligan but there is something fun about roaring along the high-way at high-rpms listening to the engine sing. Of course I don't really drive like that but I sure want to!

Have you seen that video of Hans Stuck's top speed run on the Autobahn in an M6? He was near redline for several minutes. If anything is built to withstand high sustained RPM for a long time, it's BMW ///M engines.

I frankly wouldn't worry about sustained RPM over 6,000 "imploding" the engine. Gasoline consumption, on the other hand...My MPG average can dip as low as 6 miles per gallon at certain tracks.

[quote=The HACK;11782873]Have you seen that video of Hans Stuck's top speed run on the Autobahn in an M6? He was near redline for several minutes.

This one???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DzsdSWTMug

Several minutes??? Looks like less than a minute and most was not at redline...

He means optimal shift points for max performance/power. In some cars, you short shift to hit peak power/torque, etc.

7900 RPM is peak power for the S54 engine and M Coupe/Roadster transmission.

the car was built by germans. and the autobon has no or a sugjested speed limit .so just drive it like a german

7900 RPM is not going to hurt this engine as long as you don't run it there all day long. There are a lot of S54 engines with the limiter set at 8300 RPM.

He means optimal shift points for max performance/power. In some cars, you short shift to hit peak power/torque, etc.

In most cars it's pretty close to redline.

the car was built by germans. and the autobon has no or a sugjested speed limit .so just drive it like a germanActually, much of the Autobahn has a speed limit these days, and that recommended speed limit can get you in deep doo doo if you are deemed to be driving in an unsafe manner. Tailgating or passing on the right can get you a three month driving suspension. A large number of German drivers putt along in diesel compacts these days anyway, and the "Elephant Trains" of trucks cause havoc with speedy motoring. Close to urban areas you might think you are in Los Angeles with all the stop and go traffic.

The American fantasy of a wide-open 21st century Autobahn is just that - a fantasy. The German liberal nut-jobs and car haters are working hard to cap the Autobahn at 130 kph (about 80 mph) or even lower, so get your Sunday morning balls-out Autobahn run in while you can.

He means optimal shift points for max performance/power. In some cars, you short shift to hit peak power/torque, etc. In most cars it's pretty close to redline.

Yessss Sia Bani!! This is exactly what i was referring to. So HACK, are you telling me I will get max power at around 7900 rpm even when accelerating in 1st gear...2nd gear...?

Yessss Sia Bani!! This is exactly what i was referring to. So HACK, are you telling me I will get max power at around 7900 rpm even when accelerating in 1st gear...2nd gear...?


Hack's right for most NA motors...especially high strung ones like the M.

Shockjunk, look for stock dyno charts. You will know where to shift based off of the area under the overall curve, where that area is maximized under a portion of the curve, etc.

Basically, you want to shift at a point where when in the higher gear, you're as close as possible to peak power.