I ran a brand new XK convertible from the light the other day. Such immature and puerile behavior, but hey, the other guy started it!

We were both in pole position at the intersection, and both gunned it. I was about half a car length ahead of him, but he was holding with me. I didn’t shift into second until about 5K (way too late), and at the point of shifting, he caught me. We ran neck and neck for about half a block more, until I was forced to slow down because there was a Vespa in front of me just lollygagging along. Not wanting a Vespa for a hood ornament, I was forced to let the Jag shoot past me.

Had I not run out of road, I think it would have been a horse race for a few blocks, but I could tell the guy was ****ed that his $113K Jag wasn’t able to clean my clock!

Honestly, I almost NEVER do stuff like this, but it was obvious he wanted to “go,” and there was no traffic ahead of us for the first couple of blocks. It ended up being a relatively short burst of speed.

 

Why do you say you shifted late at 5K? That 4.6 is just starting to sing baby!! Pull it all the way out to 6K next time, you aren't going to hurt it.

 

hahaha. best. response. ever.

 

Well, mostly because you need to get out of that 1st gear as fast as possible to gain any velocity.

I'm sure that Jag is auto paddle, and I'm guessing he probably shifted a half second ahead of me, explaining his sudden gain to nose-to-nose status with me.

 

Are you sure it wasn't an XKR? The XK vert is a bit of a pig and at 300HP and 3750lbs it does 0-60 mph in 6.3 sec.
Anyway, nice match-up!

 

Ask any drag racer, or anyone who has done some serious drag racing about this theory. I don't think you will be short shifting any more if you do that.

The more time spent in 1st gear the better. (unless you are just spinning the tires, then get out of it. Might as well shift then while you're at it) The engine makes it's peak HP just before redline, right? So by you shifting early, you are robbing the engine of it's peak power band, and taking away part of the gear that will get you accelerating the quickest.

4-6K is the money maker, no matter what gear you are in.