Ok when the skip shift is on it seems like the car loses a lot of power down low. Also is reverse a tricky gear? I haven't figured it out yet I move little by little with the pedal ,talking about the clutch, slighty depressed then when I let it go it jerks and speeds up.

 

You'll learn, give it time. Try having someone who knows how to drive a stick well teach you. I had the best teacher (dad)

Yeah, in reverse you just kinda ride the clutch a little (slip it) if you're just backing out of a space or something... just let out on it enough to get the car rolling fast enough that it gets out of the space then put it back in first gear. If you're backing up a long ways then just let it out like you would any gear..

The skip shift is actually forcing you to skip second and third gears.. so no you're not really losing hp.. but the car does "bog down".. it would be like an auto with only two gears instead of four. GM made the car with the CAGS (skip shift) to get better fuel mileage so the camaro would avoid the dreaded fuel guzzler tax. If you want to disable the CAGS system you can so very simply by either unplugging it from the transmission (95 and older) or you have to buy a 5 cent resistor from radio shack and plug that into the pcm side of the CAGS sensor on the trans (96 and newer)... it takes no more than ten minutes max and is the cheapest mod you'll ever do.

Hope this clarifies some things for you,

 

Don't worry, Skipshift can be programed out of the computer. Reverse is not a trick-same as forwards,just rev up as normal (very hard) and snap clutch don't worry it'll smoke good same as forward (but backwards)

 

Does anyone make a plate that has the paths to the gears cutout? I think it would be much easier to drive if I had that little piece.

 

Get a skip shift eliminator, $30 or so. CAGS (Computer Aided Gear Selection) pissed me off when I had to deal with it. Ride reverse like you're in 1st goin slow and careful. I've been known to squeel the tires in reverse...

 

Ok cool what gear does everyone park in? just noticed I need to change my sig

 

Read my post again.

DO NOT BUY A CAGS ELIMINATOR

You can eliminate the cags for under a dollar or for free! The CAGS eliminator is a rip off!

A Pro 5.0 short throw shifter has, in my experiences, made it easier to find gears which can be kinda tricky since there are so many (6)

This is the explanation I give people when they first drive my car if they are having problems finding the gears.. I find it helps a lot.

The pro 5.0 is spring loaded so the stick sits dead in the middle of the gear box in neutral.. from this center starting point it's easy to find all the gears All the way left is first and second. If you let the stick spring back to the middle and push it up that's third, down is fourth. All the way to the right is 5th and sixth. Reverse is allllll the way right and up only when the car is stopped (you're locked out of reverse when the car is moving forward).

Really it's not hard to find the gears, you'll learn quickly. I don't even think about changing the gears any more, it just happens.. my hands and feet do it on their own. Soon, you'll be able to tell what gear you're in by the rpm and speed you're going, you'll even be able to tell by the sound of the car at a given speed. Just give it a little time. You'll learn where all the gears are with the stock shifter but the pro 5.0 would probably make it easier and faster to do so... plus it's just a darn good short throw shifter and a real worth while, easy, mod.

My.02,