Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
It follows that if the most efficient way to climb a hill is as slow as possible while over 1200 rpm, then doing it in 1st gear would be most efficient. I find this difficult to believe.
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In general, I get my best mileage when I climb the hills as slow as I can (in 5th gear) while still keeping the rpm over 1200, usually at around 70% to 80% throttle. That translates into a speed of 40 to 45mph. Impossible to do 40 to 45mph in 1st gear and it wouldn't be efficient at a screaming rpm even if I could. Below 1200 rpm in 5th gear the motor gets less efficient when pulling much of a load and on steeper grades I'll have to run at a higher rpm to have enough torque to maintain speed on the hill.