it's all about gears!

[oldtamiyaphile]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

Where's that from? Australia?

If it is he's driving on the wrong side of the road!

[P-hack]

Originally Posted by Cobb

If you got a good power band, final drive and outer tire diameter you are set.

You are completely forgetting about economy.

Anyway that guy was doing some impressive shifting, probably helpful technique when pulling a large load up a hill. Otherwise they skip shift all the time.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Sounds like a good place for electric drive.

Raise the rpms above that for how long- a second or two?

Yea, too bad just about no cars have electric drive :/ I like Toyota HSD (if the throttle response could be sharpened and the traction control removed that would be fantastic) but I like having a stick and 3 pedals. I think mild hybrid tech can make the situation slightly better by charging up the battery when you're going slowly.

About the rpms, I dunno. My flywheel is heavy for the mass of my car, and revving the engine feels like it's using quite a bit of gas as I have to really stab the throttle to get it to go. I imagine that adds up.

[ecomodded]

Normally I shift at 1100-1150rpm into the next gear , the same threw all gears till I'm settled in at 1000rpm in 5th at 30 mph which takes 6-10 seconds and about 100ft. of road.
But if i want to zip off I let the rpm hit 1300 then I shift fast and do the same with all the gears, using either way I go from 1st to 5th in about 100ft

So yup Frank I do raise the RPM for only a second or 2, the gears are spaced that tight but get me to cruising speed fast.
Admittedly I do shift somewhat like a speed demon but drive more like a snail in a rush , using my diesels low rpm torque.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

With an engine that may be considered kinda underpowered for highway performance, extra gears really make more sense.

You may remember this one, the Brazilian-made Fiat Palio Weekend, which had a 1.0L engine exclusively to our local market.
Only with this engine a 6-speed transmission was available

Exactly.

A small number of gears only fits a car when it has plenty of power - regardless of how well the gearing is chosen.

But having plenty of power, is generally counter-productive to being fuel efficient:

Despite the graphics saying Power to MPG, it's actually Power to Liters/100km - that is, higher value is higher fuel consumption.
Baseline numbers are HP.

Power vs. mileage - Spritmonitor.de

[Cobb]

My sidekick I typically drop the clutch at 3 grand and shift out to the next gear at 5 grand. Of course it cruses at 3 grand in 5th at 60 mph.

Originally Posted by ecomodded

Normally I shift at 1100-1150rpm into the next gear , the same threw all gears till I'm settled in at 1000rpm in 5th at 30 mph which

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Exactly.

A small number of gears only fits a car when it has plenty of power - regardless of how well the gearing is chosen.

But having plenty of power, is generally counter-productive to being fuel efficient:

Despite the graphics saying Power to MPG, it's actually Power to Liters/100km - that is, higher value is higher fuel consumption.
Baseline numbers are HP.

Power vs. mileage - Spritmonitor.de

I guess that's a good way to say it. And then when the engine has plenty of power, having more gears to control the rpms on the street has a big effect on efficiency since the engine is putting out so little of its power.

Thus, more gears is better in both situations! Low powered engine, more gears = better acceleration, high powered engine, more gears = better efficiency and better acceleration.

[Cobb]

Fuel economy, whats that? You need gears for fuel economy? How about a steel belt and 2 V shaped pulleys?

Originally Posted by P-hack

You are completely forgetting about economy.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Fuel economy, whats that? You need gears for fuel economy? How about a steel belt and 2 V shaped pulleys?

Lower mechanical efficiency plus a torque converter, a great recipe for fuel economy!

[Cobb]

Its my experience most automatics beat the stick shifts in mpg in epa testing. In fact its hard to find a prius, insight, or civic in a stick shift.

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Lower mechanical efficiency plus a torque converter, a great recipe for fuel economy!