Here's the general idea - acceleration in a single gear corresponds closesly with the torque curve. Your acceleration (change in speed over change in time) is greatest at the torque peak, and tapers off after the torque peak.

Using VAG-COM, I logged a full throttle run in each gear on a straight, flat road. I used block 005. Change in speed over change in time is acceleration. 9.81 m/s^2 = 1 g. The optimal shiftpoints are where the curves cross.

So, for my specific setup (note, this varies by car, mods, etc.), the optimal acceleration is obtained by shifting at:

1>2 6700 rpm (34 mph)
2>3 6800 rpm (62 mph)
3>4 6200 rpm (86 mph)

In Excel, I created 6th order polynomial trendlines for each data series (sounds WAY more complicated than it really is). This basically smooths out the data to make it more readable.

Interesting note: You will always get your fastest acceleration by shifting AFTER the horsepower peak (unless you have a CVT, in which case you will have the fastest acceleration by keeping the engine AT the horsepower peak).

• Shiftpoint Spreadsheet

Andy