I know this is a dumb question but this car is my first stick shift and seeing how there's no redline marked on the tachometer, how far can I take it before it would damage the engine? and where about should I be shifting? I usually shift around 3-4 and am afraid to take it higher.

i THINK the redline is at 6500rpm. in the owners manual there is a guideline with shiftpoints for normal driving conditions. rev it up, i rev it to 6.5k all the time.

Okay... What exactly is the point of reving to 6500rpm? Do you think there is any additional HP or Torque up there? <br>Let me guess, you like how it sounds...<br><br>For those people who actually want to keep their cars for more than a day, shift around 3,000rpm. Once you get more experience driving the stick, you will be able to do it by the seat of your pants. The harmonics of the motor and exhaust will tell you when it is and is not acceptable to shift up or down.

thanks matt, someone told me to shift around 3-4 grand but I wasn't sure. I'm more concerned with making my car last than killing the engine to go fast.

The point of shifting at 6500 rpm is the car goes really fast Einstein!!!!! If you read the original question the kid asked how high you could shift the car not what was the recommending shifting range for everyday driving.

Not really. If you read the article in Sport Compact Car Magazine from dec - feb not sure which one they found that to get maximum hp, and torq to get speed you should short shift the 2.0 Zetech. It has A high drop off curve of both HP and torq above about 5800 rpm. So even though the engine is reving higher you are loosing hp and torq. The best times they got were 2nd gear around 5000 rpm and 3rd gear around 4200 with 4th gear at 3900. They claimed that the stock car needs to be short shifted in order to get fast times. Also if you get too close to the rev limiter the engine will actually brake and lower the revs so you loose power again. If you want push High rpms and go fast you will need to remove the rev limiter and get a perfomance chip. you will also need some kind of psi boost to keep the torq and hp in the high reve range. oh by the way say by to the power train warrenty if you do this. You might also want to get the german Getrag 6 speed trans for the car.

shifting between 4k and 5k rpm is where the most power is, that from personal experience. by the time I go to 5th gear, I'm shifting at around 3500. you can tell when the power starts to drop off...I refer to it as "the point of diminishing return".. your putting more into it, gasoline/time, than you are getting from it, hp/torque....my 2 bits....L8R

Listen for a sec billgwolf. Once a car's engine reaches max torque peak, it stops accelerating. The engine can rev further but no more vehicle acceleration occurs. Torque is everything when it comes to power. Max torque is achieved way below 6500 rpm on the stock Zetec motor. I own a stock ZX3 and I believe max torque is arrived at 5500 rpm. Revving the engine beyond max torque RPM is a waste of time and detrimental to engine life.

By that message, your saying after 5500rpm the car does not speed up ("it stops accelerating"). Trust me, if you keep on the gas past 5500rpm, the speed still increases (acceleration=change in speed).<br><br>What may be true (and probably is) is the acceleration drops dramatically at 5500rpm. The question is not where the torque peak is.<br><br>i.e. if 99% of the torque is available after 5500rpm, and 1% is available before 5500 rpm, then you would want to rev high enough that when you shift again, it drops you right into the torque peak. (figures are completely bogus, just making a point). You have to look at the entire torque curve to find the best shifting points.<br><br>Obviously for optimal engine life, and gas mileage you should shift around when the upshift light comes on.<br><br>-Matt

You got me Matt!! After I posted my message I realized what I had written. As you stated the car does not stop accelerating at 5500rpm. My bad. What I should of said is once a engine reaches its torque peak the acceleration slows drastically. I have a graph on the Zetec torque curve and I'll scan it and post it here for everyone. Max available torque on the curve is from 3000 to 5500 which is really good for normal driving. I find it to be very usable in that range. When I hot rod through the corners near my home I stay around 4000 and shift at 5500, occasionally going beyond that if the corner is longer or I have to keep the power on to avoid sliding out.<br> Nice talking with you.<br><br>Del

Hey Del your right about thoughs corner turns because it has happened to me already since i lowered my Focus with Eihach Springs i was racing a very well modified 2001 New Honda Civic which i have to say looks very ugly but the new Hatchback coming out looks cool. Anyway i made a pretty quick right turn and since i have an automatic the way i shift my RPM is by starting at gear 1 and go up to 5000RPM's and then shift to second gear and then to drive I hear this totally fucks up your Trans so i don't do it all the time. but yeah i felt it when i made that right turn my focus almost wiped out but it was a pretty fast turn i think i need sway bars which i don't have yet but i will. And i don't have an mods yet just the lowering springs and indaglo Guage that real turns heads and i'm still waiting for my Xenon Body-kit and then i will buy a NorthViking Touring Style Wing from Focussports.com but there out of stock right now then it's off to buy and exhust system any suggestions?? i was thinking of Borla but i'm not sure yet.

I think Borla makes fine products. I've used them on previous cars.