what gear do u drive in

[dynasty_365]

wondering what gear do u guys drive in. personally i like 5th gear cuz of the pull i can get. when i want to get on it i can still unlike 6th where the engine is turning slower than the transmission. i know u can drive in 6th and downshift to 5th when u wanna get on it but what harm does driving on the interstate in 5th do?

i love being able to jst get on it cuz i work nights and i'm on the interstate at 10 at night damn near by myself for 30 miles.

any thoughts

 

[lokstag1]

You're just wasting dollars, and forcing your engine to operate at a higher rpm, which accelerates wear, but yeah, whatever...

 

[dynasty_365]

Yea that's the response I figured I'd get but I jst wanted to check with u guys and see if 5th was ok or not. Guess Ima have to start putting it in 6th lol

 

[dynasty_365]

Yea that's the response I figured I'd get but I jst wanted to check with u guys and see if 5th was ok or not. Guess Ima have to start putting it in 6th lol

 

[jaybertx]

lokstag is right but so are you. You don't HAVE to put it in 6th, that's why you bought a manual so that ultimately you have control and can ride in any gear you want.

 

[SteedaGT9150]

theres this thing called down shifting.... you should try it some time

 

[dynasty_365]

lol yea man i know about downshifting. this is my first new car and this is my first manual. while i have the basics down i still need help with a few things every now and then ya know. like say someone wants to go when i'm on the interstate and i'm in 6th do i jst downshift to 5th or can i downshift even lower than that for a better pull?

most people i know dnt know how to drive a stick andmy dad drove 18 wheelers for years but has had some serious back surgery recently and cant really get in my car to help me so i'm more so reserved to reading material on the internet, youtube vides, and asking u guys for advanced tips.

 

[Will3212]

my 2012 mustang gt stick is also my first new car and first manual. I like pulling in 2nd gear to maybe about 5k-6k rpm then shifting directly into 4. I don't know much about downshifting, I just know the rpm jumps up so i mean i'm pretty sure that car will pull.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Are you kidding....at $1.40/L, I drive in whatever gear gets me the best mileage.

 

[arcwcb]

^x2, if I'm not actually at a track racing, i try to get the most mileage per dollar lol I don't care if that means having to downshift just to pass somebody.

 

[jaybertx]

lol yea man i know about downshifting. this is my first new car and this is my first manual. while i have the basics down i still need help with a few things every now and then ya know. like say someone wants to go when i'm on the interstate and i'm in 6th do i jst downshift to 5th or can i downshift even lower than that for a better pull?

most people i know dnt know how to drive a stick andmy dad drove 18 wheelers for years but has had some serious back surgery recently and cant really get in my car to help me so i'm more so reserved to reading material on the internet, youtube vides, and asking u guys for advanced tips.

Oh... Ok. I misunderstood your intent with the question. In that case, roll in 6th and downshift to 4 or 5 wherever appropriate. If 5th is too dogged, go to 4th. You'll get the hang of it and the feel for it shortly.

 

[Az Pete]

When down shifting, you should know the max speed of each gear so you do not down shift into a gear that does not match your speed. That can leave parts on the road. Practice the down shifting so it becomes smooth.....but, you are on the public roads.....

 

[streethorse]

When you downshift the engine rpm has to be high.
You dont want to downshift from 5th gear at 3500 rpm to
4th gear at 2000 rpm or bad things will happen.

 

[Rhymhoont]

Just play with it for a while. That's why a stick is more fun. shift here, shift there. you will fins your groove. Stay in high gears until to need it, then punch down, and you will find that oh, 4th is ok for an intersection, or you need 2 to pull out of this one. It takes a bit, but are you complaining as you are learning?? I doubt it.

That is why sticks are more fun to drive.

 

[dynasty_365]

Yea I actually tried downshifting tonight. Had to get around a vehicle and was in 5th going Bout 60. Finally got a opening and downshiftrd to fourth and it went smoothly. No jerking or anything. I dnt remember what the rpms were but there weren't high. Couldn't have been no more than 2500-3000 but I dnt remember.

But what's the reasoning behind having the rpms high before u downshift? U speaking as far as when u slowing down for a curve or something or r u speaking as far as trying to gain speed or what?

It's so much easier having u guys to ask this stuff about instead of having to jst read and decipher things I find on the Internet ya know

 

[Rhymhoont]

In simple speak, the higher the RPM of the engine, the more HP and, more importantly torque you will have on your foot. So at times I pull a city turn in fourth when I know it and I and slowly get back to 40.

Other times I drop to second so I can pull through the turn, and then hit 3. Just keep in mind you never want to lug it in too high a gear where when you punch it, it does nothing. Drive it a bit and It will come quick.

On mine, I try to keep it below 2k for eco, and around 1300 RPM (low) around a tight corner. Although, it usually is 1k low and it pulls me out fine with the 5.0

 

[Gearbanger 101]

But what's the reasoning behind having the rpms high before u downshift?

This is known as "rev matching". It's done in order to make the downshift into the lower gear engage more smoothly.

Burping the throttle slightly after depressing the clutch in order to bring the rev's up at, or slightly above the selected gears RPM range before you shift, reduces the jerkiness felt during your downshift.

 

[dynasty_365]

Yea I've done that before. Been in like fourth and brake for a turn and instead of downshifting I lugged it along until it got to the range where the throttle responded correctly. So what I should have done was downshifted then when I come out of the turn accelerate and shift up to a higher gear.

What about throwing it in neutral and braking into the curve then going into the correct gear? I've spoken to someone who say they do that cuz downshifting is hard on the transmission. So which is better downshifting or throwing it in neutral

 

[dynasty_365]

All this good info man this should really b a sticky or something. Could b called do's and donts of driving a manual

 

[Az Pete]

Yea I've done that before. Been in like fourth and brake for a turn and instead of downshifting I lugged it along until it got to the range where the throttle responded correctly. So what I should have done was downshifted then when I come out of the turn accelerate and shift up to a higher gear.

What about throwing it in neutral and braking into the curve then going into the correct gear? I've spoken to someone who say they do that cuz downshifting is hard on the transmission. So which is better downshifting or throwing it in neutral

Down shift before the corner/curve so you can gently accelerate thru and out of the corner. Never coast with the car in neutral or the clutch in. I think it might be against some state laws as to having control.

You can rev the engine while the clutch is in to bring the rpm up to a level to match the gear you want to down shift to. This is just a practice thing that you learn from listening to the engine, watching the tach vs speed and trying different things.