Quote:
Originally Posted by Plasmajab
Ill toss in a spin on it.
For my ranger:
1st 3.91
2nd 2.24
3rd 1.49
4th 1.0
5th 0.8
1st - 2nd =1.67
2nd - 3rd = 0.75
3rd -4th = 0.49
4th - 5th = 0.20
So lets do a 1 - 3 -5 shift.
1-3 = 2.42
3-5 = 0.69 (Nice)
So shifting from 1st to 3rd is a pretty huge drop in my ranger. You'd have to rev it pretty high to get to 3rd happily, but 3rd to 5th is not as huge of a gap.
In my ranger, 1st gear pretty much is like a "Bull low".. Enough to get the truck rolling but little else.
All the numbers are greek to me. Ill have to do some real world testing. Personally on my western star. YMMV. Basically shifting when the engine is in its peak torque curve with as little rpm as required.
So without "splits"
3rd 1000rpm
4th 1100rpm
5th 1200rpm
6th 1300rpm
7th 1400rpm
8th 1500rpm
For my western star, 1000-1700 is where it makes its peak torque. Basically keeping the engine running in the lowest part of the torque band. But I wonder how this would effect a regular car or truck. Of course the rpms would be higher.. But I think Im going to test this out. Thankfully I just so happened to fill my tank.
|
I doubt you drive much differently empty or loaded. It’s a bad habit to change up for the temporary empty condition. No one cares about your non-revenue miles. Just the loaded ones. Same rules apply (vehicle design).
Thus (for anyone, but around here they’re not interested in economy), you’ll want to load that personal vehicle to 80% of sticker or higher. 13-weeks minimum (calendar quarter; valid habits change with zero deviation) of record-keeping.
Be a good idea to load it per above and take it out for a hard highway run. Heavier, if you can manage it (trailer for higher aero resistance). An Italian tune-up preceding a habits change is necessary.
It’s “fun” to do the Kevin Rutherford thing, so in your personal vehicle you want a feedback gauge to use. An engine hour meter, as metro driving is about
Never idling & Never Stopping
as, it’s your Average MPH that’s at stake.
Higher = Better.
When to Shift
How to Shift
will fall into the decision previously-made to emphasize engine/trans braking for that road stretch. Street type plus traffic & weather. The, “Do Not Exceed”, reference you establish. IOW, a 50-mph road on which you never exceed 45 as that’s a shift point that takes you from Direct into OD.
Then — inside of that — is finagling with some rpm changes.
Empty, anything goes. But it has no meaning. It’s Y x 0. Nice guys here, next to none are serious. The loaded tests are the baseline against an empty by which to know the percentage gap to close. One has to work the drivetrain and brakes plus steering to affect a loaded vehicles momentum in a positive manner. Penalties are immediate. (As they should be). “Empty” pickup only exists on paper, is another way to say it.
TARE, is useful, sure. So is sub-60/mph on cruise. Those numbers represent the possibilities. They just aren’t real.
IOW, the difference between Town & Country can disappear given reasonable use. I took mine to under 10%. Same 1200-lb load. (Truck in sig. Stock. Minimum-allowed tire pressure.) 24-MPG Highway. 22-MPG city.
A plan is required. UPS “No Left Turn” Routing. An errands loop where the farthest point was reached by freeway FIRST. Work back to house. Etc. Accomplish the necessary, but with lowest fuel burn and never compromising safety.
The Key: Once you know the gear choice that promotes throttle-off slowing so that you never have to come to a stop, the rest is an easily-managed daily drama. It’s acquaintance with the roads (as you already know) that make those predictions easier.
Just pretend you’re humping around town for YRC in a day-cab & pup. Just none of that heart-stopping blind-side backing, ha!
.