Fang911

Fellas- On the highway, going between 60-80 mph, is it OK to drive the car in 5th gear at 3500-4500 rpm to maximize responsiveness (accelerating, changing lanes, etc) or is it better for the engine to plug along in 6th- fuel economy notwithstanding-

Crazy Canuck

Your choice.

Bijan

If just cruising I would use 6th, those revs are reasonably high for that.
If it was a PDK in Auto, it would go to 7th

rijowysock

why would u cruise in 5th when you have 6th..

cruise in 6th, still picks up faster than the corolla in your way, if you need to pass you push the clutch, push up to 5th and then give it some gas.. only about what 500revs more power... i usually go 5th to 4th and then go ***** to the wall and pass the guy way faster than anyone could ever need to.. i would never cruise in 5th on the highway regardless of the "zippyness" when i touch the pedal.. just wasting gas and revving the baby higher than she needs to be to get the job done..

when i get my pdk ill be in 7th as much as possible.. why? because it takes 1 second to drop to 4th or 5th if need be.

rijowysock

btw.. usually when a gap opens up or when a corolla is in my way i notice it long before and have much more than ample time to downshift and pass.. if you dont you should be watching the road better.

At Law

I have no idea why you would drive in 5th on the highway.
In 6th gear, you're typically pumping out 32-34 mpg's.

Half the fun of having a 997 is downshifting into 5th or 4th,
listening to the engine rev, and passing pickup trucks and minivans.

rijowysock

32-34mpg? i average like 24 MAX on the highway @ 80mph in 6th. ive never seen a figure above 25 on my PCM

sharmat

You will see those numbers if once you get on the highway then reset the MPG by using the left stalk. But as you know the avg MPG will sink down again the as you mix up the driving pattern (city/highway).

At Law

You're kidding. I am always north of 30 mpg on the highway
at 70-80 mph. I have a 6-spd.

rijowysock

i have reset with the stalk, and then watch it...never above 25 in my life.. my city is usually around 12-14... i dont drive with that heavy of a foot and on the highway i dont floor it that much.. hmmm.. then again i do drive usually north of 80, so maybe the excess speed hurts mileage due to the wind resistance?

i got a 950 mile trip on tuesday ill reset before i go and average the entire trip and see where it takes me, will be driving a pdk on the way back so i can compare and contrast.

vitman

There's a 6th? Actually, there's so much traffic here that there are always 3 corollas in the way (Don't get me started on the Priuses giving me the dirty glances....I still and use less gas than Al Gore uses jet fuel!) I thought that the constant 6th to 5th for passing would put more wear on the clutch so I just keep it in 5th until over 90mph.

At Law

Yeah, I'm talking mpg strictly while on the highway. You must
reset it while you are cruising on the interstate. I would
almost guarantee a 30mpg plus.
Germans are great for MPG.

When I had my 530i, I would often times get 32-34 at 80mph plus on the hwy.
(Don't buy a 530i, they are boring as hell and everyone in the world has one).

OldGuy

I didnt use 6th much unless the wife was in the car. Yes I got around 30 mpg in the GT3 in 6th gear at 8-mph.
In the PDK it does everything for you. Just push the Sport button for passing.

Edgy01

Years ago the tendency was to drive back a gear to get better response. With the displacement in these engines, you have much more torque than ever before, and there is no real reason to drop back to 5th unless you just like the noise!

yemenmocha

I'll use 5th to anticipate passing someone. Easygoing in 5th, or if the driver is a punk and speeds up so I cannot pass easily then I hit 4th very quickly. The 6th to 4th isn't so fast for me.