Shifting question: First second then fifth, or use every gear?

[Fat Charlie]

Sorry, engine braking is still braking. EOC on the downhills, DFCO when you need a little braking.

[redpoint5]

I often skip 3rd to 6th. The acura has silly close gearing, and people tend to accelerate slowly, so if I'm limited to the acceleration of the guy ahead, then I'm skipping some gears and loading the engine a little more.

[Xist]

People also choose vehicles based on bluetooth connectivity and Apple Play.

[MetroMPG]

I routinely shift 1-3-5 in the MPGiata. It's geared super-sporty-low, even wth the oversize rear tires I put on to get the RPM down a bit.

Sometimes I am seduced into the 1-2-3-4-5 routine, simply because it truly is a fun shifter to use. So I play race-car driver once in a while.

Then I reach 50 km/h / 30 mph and calm down.


I haven't driven the Mirage enough to figure out if skip-shifting will be par for the course, though I have done it more than a couple of times.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

If I'm accelerating above 30 mph I go through every gear. Otherwise for 20-25 mph I do 1-2-4, for 25-30 I do 1-2-3-5. Obviously this depends on hills where I usually have to shift closer to 3-3.5k RPM versus 1.5-2.5k normally.

[Fat Charlie]

Getting to highway speed, unless there's a real sense of urgency it's 1-2-5.

[iikhod]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Sometimes I am seduced into the 1-2-3-4-5 routine, simply because it truly is a fun shifter to use. So I play race-car driver once in a while.

Then I reach 50 km/h / 30 mph and calm down.

"This is not le mans!"

[elhigh]

First > Third > Fifth, when unloaded and on level ground.

It's really a question of the driver and the mission, so it's up to you to be aware of what you're doing to know when to skip, and if you should.

My truck with nothing in the bed, First is way low. Second would work but demands just a bit too much clutch slippage for my preference. Third, coming out of First, is low enough engage without lugging but still tall enough to comfortably pull all the way to 45mph, by which time Fifth is in the torque zone. Know your engine, transmission and loading and the shifts will suggest themselves.

My original clutch went about 200,000 miles, and I've been driving this truck this way the whole time. It was my second kid learning stick that killed it. And that was worth the sacrifice.

[Ecky]

Really depends for me. I have tall gearing and 6 speeds in the Insight, and a moderate-to-short 5 speed in the Fit.

My wife gets closer to 50mpg in the Fit during summer, and is averaging closer to 40 with weather hovering just below freezing, and ice/slush on the roads. She always uses all 5 gears but tends to slam through them quickly at low speeds, typically 5-12-18-25ish and accelerates with high load in 5th from 25. I'm not sure if she ever revs it above 1500RPM when accelerating before getting to 5th gear.

In my Insight I tend to vary my shift pattern. More often I use all of the gears. 6th isn't really appropriate until ~35mph where it's at ~1150rpm. Gears 1-2-3 are a hoot with the ~250HP engine so when I'm driving more spiritedly I'll hang onto 2 or 3 a little longer and then go straight to 5 or 6. 2nd is good for ~80mph and 3rd for 110 so it's not like I'm being forced to shift.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by elhigh

First > Third > Fifth, when unloaded and on level ground.

It's really a question of the driver and the mission, so it's up to you to be aware of what you're doing to know when to skip, and if you should.

My truck with nothing in the bed, First is way low. Second would work but demands just a bit too much clutch slippage for my preference. Third, coming out of First, is low enough engage without lugging but still tall enough to comfortably pull all the way to 45mph, by which time Fifth is in the torque zone. Know your engine, transmission and loading and the shifts will suggest themselves.

My original clutch went about 200,000 miles, and I've been driving this truck this way the whole time. It was my second kid learning stick that killed it. And that was worth the sacrifice.

High reasonability. But the door open to, “man & mission“, is an escape clause negating the rest. (I get what’s being said). Below is general, not specific to the man or his post:

First on mine is a granny when solo (1200-lbs above ship weight). All that’s being done is getting momentum started. And, at that, it’s great. The First to Second shift is immediate. Just a few feet (is how it feels).

“Normal” for a vehicle is when loaded close to spec.

“Abnormal” (driver only) is NOT how to establish driving habits.

If I drive as if my trailer is always in tow (not an 8,000-lb truck, but an 18,000-lb combined rig where the tractor MUST pivot far outward on turns), anything solo makes problem-solving easier. The only corner I cut is a decrease from an almost 90-degrees. After all, one can never steer by following the front wheels. It’s always the pivot off the Drive Axle.

Driving is about timing. The order thence is Steering & Braking. Throttle Use is a far distant third.

The throttle exists to get you to the gear best suited. It doesn’t have much other use.

Best suited (means) fewest possible changes from lane-center while steady-state.

If that means a higher rpm than thought ideal so as to emphasize engine braking on a suburban feeder road, then such it is.

Weather shouldn’t much change the equation. Nor should load (see previous). Only traffic volume is the wild card. As the requirement for separation distance never changes (time, and speed, to impact).

So I can’t see the point of gear skip. Faster component wear PLUS habit incommensurate with loaded vehicle versus traffic volume problem.

What I’m speaking of isn’t “virtual”.

The belief that skill & awareness will overcome consequences is what’s not supported statistically, is the virtual construct.

The premise, “there are no accidents”, covers this.

(Brakes won’t and don’t solve operator-error problems)

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