5 speed question about MPG

[pyro]

Hey I recently got my first manual car and was wondering when not driving it fast and trying to save gas or what ever what rpm should you shift? Like which is the best one for fuel economy?

[Jay 535i]

Hey I recently got my first manual car and was wondering when not driving it fast and trying to save gas or what ever what rpm should you shift? Like which is the best one for fuel economy?

Shift as early as is possible without lugging the engine. All things being equal, higher gears are better -- but don't lug the engine!

When coming to a stop, don't shift into neutral until the very last moment. With a manual transmission, when you are coasting in gear you are buring NO FUEL AT ALL.

[angrypancake]

I think the rpms you shift at aren't going to affect the mpg that much, though obviuosly the higher the rpm you shift at the less youre going to be getting. 4th and 5th gear are the most economical, if you watch the guzzle-o-meter you'll see in 1st and 2nd it will be wayyy over to like nothing, 3rd is alright...

[pyro]

Shift as early as is possible without lugging the engine. All things being equal, higher gears are better -- but don't lug the engine!

When coming to a stop, don't shift into neutral until the very last moment. With a manual transmission, when you are coasting in gear you are buring NO FUEL AT ALL.

Really so when engine brakeing the engine stops injecting fuel? i always shift into nutural.

[632 Regal]

your supposed to shift these things?

[Jay 535i]

Really so when engine brakeing the engine stops injecting fuel? i always shift into nutural.

Yup. No need for fuel as the road wheels are turning the engine round. Watch your fuel-o-meter. It goes towards infinity during engine braking, but not during idling.

As soon as you shift into neutral, the engine needs fuel again to keep idling.

Stay in gear right up until the last moment. As the tach approaches 1, shift into neutral then.

This is good for your brakes, too, BTW. Use this technique consistently and you'll be amazed at how much less you're using your brakes. Just make sure you're blipping the throttle on downshifts so that you're not transferring all that wear to your clutch.

In fact, this technique will probably save you more on brakes than it will on fuel. In any case, it's good form.

[dacoyote]

your supposed to shift these things?

With a Clutch to I think :-)

[derick]

I was reading a BMW article by BMW itself and it said 90% throtle and shifts at 2000 rpm were the most fuel effeceint. Search for the article.. its on the net somewhere

[Robin-535im]

I was reading a BMW article by BMW itself and it said 90% throtle and shifts at 2000 rpm were the most fuel effeceint. Search for the article.. its on the net somewhere

90% throttle!! I think 0.90% (0.009) is more like it. I can get 26 MPG if I only use the first 3 mm of gas pedal travel. Takes a hell of a long time to get to speed though.

I was trying to get the best mileage possible for a while... would start off super super slow and was able to get 26 MPG if I did that all the time (ALL the time, NO 10 sec full throttle blips or you'll ruin 2 days of good gas mileage). One day I noticed that all the people starting off from the light were going really slow just like I was. I thought, "Hmmm, they must be trying to save gas too..." but then realized that they were all driving NORMALLY, and my, "super super slow" was the same speed as everyone else's normal.

Did that for a tank or two and gave up!

[derick]

no i'm serious. 90% throtle. they did the test through a hole tank of gas and that combo got the best mileage. also the second best was 90% through 5000 rpm. look for the article!!!