Highway cruising gear

[ProTekk]

UEL's, 100% catless, N1 catback and I rarely go out of 4th...I'm going to hell when I die aren't I?

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[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by ProTekk

UEL's, 100% catless, N1 catback and I rarely go out of 4th...I'm going to hell when I die aren't I?

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No, but you are making Saudi princes that much richer

[woode]

Originally Posted by cjsporl1996

People are being too conservative with this car. It's a true SPORTS car. I redline it all day long. My mpg is about 21-22 combined.

I have a ton of fun in my car, but I don't drive like a tool around the city and through neighborhoods. I have a combined 29.2mpg right now.

Sports car doesn't mean you have to redline it all the time. You can keep it in the mid range a lot too and still have fun hitting corners aggressively. Pushing the car to the limits all the time on the streets is just asking for trouble in more ways than one. From the sounds of it you are likely really young and will learn.

[STV3]

Had a friend with a wrx that was anti 5th gear on highways for some reason, motor ended up blowing cruising on the highway one day. Car only had about 50k miles on it. Not saying the high rpm was the direct cause of the failure but I'm sure it didn't help either.

[504]

Id rather NOT know what his oil temps reach after a short cruise.

[Akari]

+1 to what everyone else has already said.

In a NA car you want to be in the highest gear possible without lugging the engine for the lowest wear and highest fuel efficiency.

In turbo vehicles this isn't always the case as turbo efficiency can change your overall efficiency. My STi loves 5th vs. 6th at low highway speeds.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by woode

I have a ton of fun in my car, but I don't drive like a tool around the city and through neighborhoods. I have a combined 29.2mpg right now.

Sports car doesn't mean you have to redline it all the time. You can keep it in the mid range a lot too and still have fun hitting corners aggressively. Pushing the car to the limits all the time on the streets is just asking for trouble in more ways than one. From the sounds of it you are likely really young and will learn.

The kid isn't even out of HS yet. He's lucky he has such a nice car.

When I was his age I was allowed to drive A car. That car wasn't mine, it was my parents', and it was a 1987 Honda Accord with over 100k on the ODO. It was a POS, in short. Well-cared for, OLD (only younger than me by 3 years), POS. And I enjoyed the freedom such access gave me.

Don't abuse your first car, kid (not speaking to @woode here) even if it's a beater, let ALONE if it's a brand new car that's actually yours.

[BlueDubbinTDI]

Originally Posted by Pegasus

As soon as I get to 35mph I throw it in 6th and floor it. Don't need to shift again until I'm under 35. Ideal for mpg and longevity.

this just seems fucking lazy

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by Pegasus

No joke, anytime above 35mph im in 6th. Idk if it's bad or not, I don't know how it could be. But it does make me wish there was a 7th overdrive gear. Turning about 1,500ish at 60mph.

To me, the lower the rpm, the less the friction, the better the fuel economy and less wear & tear. That's just how I think of it, I could be wrong but it makes sense in my head.

It can be bad for the engine to be spinning extremely slowly with a very high throttle setting (in other words, if you're climbing a hill doing 1300 in 6th while floored), but as long as you aren't flooring it all the time at low RPM in high gear, you should be fine.

[woode]

Originally Posted by Pegasus

No joke, anytime above 35mph im in 6th. Idk if it's bad or not, I don't know how it could be. But it does make me wish there was a 7th overdrive gear. Turning about 1,500ish at 60mph.

To me, the lower the rpm, the less the friction, the better the fuel economy and less wear & tear. That's just how I think of it, I could be wrong but it makes sense in my head.

You are.

[cjsporl1996]

Originally Posted by chrisl

I don't think I would trust you for advice on what's OK to do with this car...

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57094

For what it's worth, I always drive stick shift cars in the highest gear where I'm not lugging the engine, unless I am actively passing someone, or driving in a sporty fashion over a mountain pass, or on a track or something like that. Cruising around at 45+ is pretty much always in top gear in pretty much every car (though I do sometimes have to use 4th instead of 5th at 65-70mph in my Outback when in the mountains, since it needs the extra power to climb some of the hills).

Ummm it turned out that nothing was wrong with my engine. In fact I'm boosting my engine this weekend😊

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

When I was his age I was allowed to drive A car. That car wasn't mine, it was my parents', and it was a 1987 Honda Accord with over 100k on the ODO. It was a POS, in short. Well-cared for, OLD (only younger than me by 3 years), POS. And I enjoyed the freedom such access gave me.

Actually that Accord wasn't bad at all if you ask me (imo it was the first good one, car of the year in Japan when it came out in 1985). It had really cool flip up headlights, double wishbone at all 4 corners, low driving position and the steering felt really good once it stiffened up at high speeds / corners. You were a lucky kid!

[BRZfan]

You need more driving experience (instead of asking questions prematurely).

Originally Posted by Spartacus

Hi Everyone,

My friends and I are having a bit of a debate regarding proper manual driving technique and I thought I'd pose it to the experts. The crux of their argument is that on the highway, under normal driving conditions (some traffic, not bumper-to-bumper, but not wide open either) I should be in 6th gear and only downshift as needed to pass and maneuver aggressively. I tend to use 4th as my workhorse gear and only shift up when things are wide open and straight. I think we all agree that it's more fun to keep the revs in the happy 5000 - 7000 zone, but am I unnecessarily damaging the engine by making it work harder than it needs to?

This is first manual car and I've driven it this way since after the break-in period. I haven't had any passengers question my shifting tendencies until the past few days -- though admittedly most of my friends don't drive stick. So who's right? Should the car (1) only be downshifted as needed or (2) only be upshifted as needed from cruising speed?

Thanks!

[Mrpolarbear]

less lazy.
more shifting.