When should you downshift while driving a manual?

(2010-05-30 09:52:05)

1. Matt Says: I bought my first 5-speed today and have been teaching myself how to drive it. Everythings pretty easy, I can finally go from a complete stop to moving without stalling, and shifting after that is simple. Just two questions though... say I'm in 4th going about 60mph, and get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle. Is it fine to leave it in 4th or should I be downshifting? Also, when is it appropriate to shift to 5th? Do I really even need to? Any pointers are greatly appreciated!

2. Matt Says: I'm assuming you're just talking about daily driving, where fuel economy is important. Let me know if I'm wrong here.

On a smaller engine you usually want to avoid dropping too much below 2000 RPM. So when you're slowing down that's about the shift point you'd use. Same with upshifting, put it into 5th when you think the engine will be going about 2000 RPM in 5th.

This is a really really loose guideline. It's a little bit different with every car. For example on a big diesel truck you can drive it fine a bit below 1000RPM.

If you're trying to accelerate faster then it doesn't apply at all. For example, if you're trying to pass on the highway you could drop your car from 5th to 3rd and speed up right to redline. Of course the higher you rev your engine the more wear and tear you put on it.

3. ladystang Says: don't have to downshift. just work the clutch in slowing down.
5th helps in gas mileage.

4. destroyeron13 Says: Depending on the type of vehicle and its engine determines at what rpms you should be operating at, and that should determine when you should shift. On my Jeep I'm usually between 1.5-3k, if I start having to go slower than 1.5k I'll downshift to the next gear, on my girlfriends car the rpms are a bit higher, but same principle.

Don't work the clutch, its a stupid idea and won't save you any money when you have to replace it.

5. Ben Says: You should change gears when cruising to keep the rev counter at around between 2-4000 rpm.
The lower the revs, the less strain there is on your engine and the less gas you use, however, if your revs are too low, you may stall. Use 5th on the freeway, and maybe 4th when driving around town at 30mph or whatever.