Quote:
Originally Posted by leevanf
Thanks Mazeroni! however, if i dont floor it, and go really gentle on the throttle, i dont feel the ''lug" at all, in fact its still quite smooth. Will that count as safe?
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I wish I knew more on the subject. I don't think anyone can tell you for sure. If you aren't feeling it, I'd guess it's not terrible. The engine is strong and can take a lot of abuse. Also the engine mounts are going to absorb some of the vibrations from the engine, and the firewall and other insulation could be dulling any sounds of "strain."
You say that manually controlling shifts gives you better fuel economy.
It could be that the ECU wants to keep you in lower gears for the sake of the engine, and thus you are seeing worse fuel economy. Or it could be it wants the car to feel sporty. But a lot of this is subjective. I don't really know what "gentle" throttle means and am not entirely familiar with you commute....
When crawling in traffic, I'm typically above 2,000 and use engine braking to slow to a near stop. I don't like the engine being under 2K because to my ears it sounds unpleasant.