Just something I've been wondering...

I usually keep my car in a gear that keeps it close to 2K RPM during low speed (35-40 mph) cruising. I was wondering if it's beneficial to throw it into a higher gear? Would it help or hurt gas mileage?

For example, if I'm cruising at 35 mph, would throwing it in 6th gear do more harm than good? In that gear the engine would be revving just above 1k RPM and any slight tap of the throttle would bog the engine down pretty good, which I think would be terrible for gas mileage.

But if the road is pretty flat and you don't need to accelerate, is it better?

Should I be throwing it into 6th on long stretches of low speed side streets where I'm doing 35-40 mph? I also worry that putting that much load on the engine can't be healthy.

Thoughts?

 

You'll save on gas but its not even worth it. As long as your not really accelerating too much you'll be fine but if you do you will put strain on the transmission.

 

the lower you keep the RPM, the better your gas milage is at that time. if its a long stretch and you don't plan on accelerating for a while, throw it in 6th. I keep it near 2K if i know im going to be accelerating and changing speeds to get through traffic, but if im just crusing and don't intend really touching the gas, i'll throw to 6th at 35/40. if anything, thats the fun of having a stick shift, you downshift back to 4th and then accelerate

 

IMHO I don't really think lugging the engine along in 6th gear at 35 mph is doing much for gas mileage, and it probably is doing more harm to the drive train than it would by keeping a load on the clutch that you bet at a higher RPM. Personally, I like to always be ready to respond to a "situation" that might occur on the road, and that can't necessarily happen if there's no rpm's available to get the torque applied.

In any case, I live around D.C. where there are always "situations" because we are the melting pot of the country. Anyone seen those dash cam videos from Russia? Always be ready to roll. You may not be so worried about that.