Speeds in lower gears
 

What gear would you be in at 30 mph......40 mph
Cold engine?
Warm engine?
It seems that 28 to 42 mph (local street speeds) is a between gear choice....
I'm talking about not accelerating ...just light throttle...cruising....

2nd gear

3-4K in any gear...

3rd

This is a good question. Based on the wisdom on this site, here is my answer:

1. From start up until my oil pressure is 1.5 bar (ie, when oil is at operating temp), I keep the RPM below 3500, but above 2500. This generally requires driving in 2nd gear on most city streets (50km/h = 30mph)

2. From that time on, 3000-4000.

So, cruising a city street at 30/40 mph, 2nd gear....kind high revs....!!

No problem 2nd at 30-40 on city streets. The sound my car generates at 4200 rpm in second is a joy to hear. Someone once posted “never above 3000 rpm when it’s cold, never below 3000 rpm when it’s warm”. Good rule of thumb.

Just seems really high revs for just coasting along on cily street.....what would be the revs on a Tip at that speed range...??

Can’t speak for a Tip, never driven one. My manual, I don’t shift to 3rd in city traffic at 30-40 unless I know I’ll be going faster in short order, otherwise I’ll just be down shifting again shortly back to 2nd. C4s runs smoothly in 2nd way beyond 40 and I can brake to a near standstill without stalling and then hit gas and go again. Very forgiving gear. Just my experience.

Lugging these motors is not healthy...You can feel/hear what makes the motor happy.

My Tip changes gears around 2,000RPM during light acceleration, so 3rd/4th would be those speeds.

+1

Some here drive these cars at far too high an RPM range for normal driving IMHO. You are NOT lugging the engine at low revs (don't drop below 1,500 RPM unless in 1st gear) in 3rd and 4th gears using small amounts of throttle. Lugging only becomes an issue when you try to accelerate hard from low RPMs in 3rd gear (or higher) or when you use heavy throttle inputs at low RPMs when trying to climb a hill in 3rd gear or higher.


dak911 -- My guess is a 996 Tip, like most other automatic cars, shifts early and keeps the revs very low under normal driving conditions. I test drove a 996 MK1 tip many years ago and if I remember correctly, it seemed very sluggish and always in too high of a gear.

I usually drive in 3rd at 35 - 40 mph....around 28- 3200 rpm very light throttle, basically just coasting along...but if I need to accelerate I will downshift to 2nd...to get to 3500 to accelerate from there...THAT I feel is the right way..

This is true, so the Auto part is perfect for rush-hour traffic. Let the road open up and a simple pull into the Tip mode allows the car to run and sound like a Porsche.

Just got back from driving my tip in 5 o'clock traffic. Cruising at steady 40-45 mph was up to 5trh gear..