6th Gear Query

[Ozzie Osmond]

P.S Drive an automatic gearbox car and note what gears it selects at what speeds. The gearbox is programmed to avoid labouring the engine. This is why the engines in automatic transmission cars last on average longer than in manual gearbox cars. The gearbox protects the engine from bad drivers!

[P1H]

vixen1700 said:

Learning the gearing on the EP3 Type R too. Although I've done about 600 miles in it since 31st March.

I find it's fine at 45 in 6th and pulls very strongly with no stress at at all, any thing lower than that, I'd change down.

I think that is probably the right way to do it, considering what I have read above.

As for learning the gearing on the EP3 it seems to take a bit of time, escaping town I seem to only use/need 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th, which can't be correct!

[P1H]

Ozzie Osmond said:

P.S Drive an automatic gearbox car and note what gears it selects at what speeds. The gearbox is programmed to avoid labouring the engine. This is why the engines in automatic transmission cars last on average longer than in manual gearbox cars. The gearbox protects the engine from bad drivers!

Interestingly neither of the automatic Hondas owned by my family members [accord and civic] let you know which gear you are in.

In any case despite both being v-tec honda engines this would not be comparable.

[anonymous-user]

The PH question said:

does driving a car in 6th gear at slow speeds put any undue stress on the engine?

The first PH answer said:

it won't

The second PH answer said:

Yes, it can do.

The third PH answer said:

It depends

Well, that just about covers the options.

[Ozzie Osmond]

P1H said:

Interestingly neither of the automatic Hondas owned by my family members (accord and civic) let you know which gear you are in.

Don't all auto's have a manual D-3-2-1 (or similar) shift lever? When the car is moving at a suitable speed just pull the lever back to a lower number and if the car doesn't do anything you know it's already changed down. If moving the lever triggers a down-change you know you've gone further down the box than the car thinks is right.

[Decky_Q]

Hitting DC or motorway I usually accelerate up 2-3-6 as Ive already hit 60/70 in a decent time and now want to level off for economy, around town though I dont think my car would do anything uselful in 6th, even at about 80 the rpm are about 2k so at 30mph it would probably be jerky and risking a stall, plus no engine braking, no acceleration available and putting considerable strain on lots of cast metal that can crack and break under twisting forces.

[P1H]

Greg66 said:

Well, that just about covers the options.

Haha too true. Nevertheless the consensus seems to be that is isn't great, I'll go with that

[Martin_Hx]

You will get used to the EP3 gearing, i usually say 5th 30mph, 6th 40mph but it all depends on the situation.

Anyway stop driving like miss daisy and spank it a little The car will love you for it !

[vixen1700]

Martin_Hx said:

Anyway stop driving like miss daisy and spank it a little The car will love you for it !

LOL! I'm probably guilty of that too, I mean just how often do people get the chance to get it up to 5800 and beyond in 3rd/4th? I mean it's quick enough through the gears without having the VTEC kick in.

My missus did start screaming at me a bit the day I picked it up and drove home though and did engage the VTEC.

[Martin_Hx]

Its hard not to, but my commute to and from work isnt long enough to get my car up to what I would want it at to take it over 5k.

I try give it a little blast at least once a week tho. Your car will feel much better after a thrash just make sure she is warm in all the right places :-P

[P1H]

Martin_Hx said:

Anyway stop driving like miss daisy and spank it a little The car will love you for it !

Haha you don't have to worry about that! Consider it spanked

[motco]

MX7 said:

P1H said:

I see, can you explain why that might be?

I don't know what car you're thinking of, but, for example, with DMFs the transmission feels so smooth, that people change up at very low revs, not realising that their flywheel is working overtime to compensate.

Especially diesels...

[veevee]

Why would you want to drive at 25-30mph in top gear? If you're pootling along in traffic and the engine isn't under load anyway, you're not going to be saving much petrol.

[abbotsmike]

I have heard it said that the most economical gear to be in for a given speed is the one that needs the least pressure/movement of the the throttle pedal. Not perfect but it makes sense.

[Dracoro]

P1H said:

Ledaig said:

Try to think of it this way….

Imagine you are riding a push bike, first off you want to start in 1st gear – it’s all nice and easy as the ratio take the force you are putting in and turning into motion with no bother whilst you comfortably sit on the saddle.

Now try and do the same standing start whilst in 6th gear, suddenly the power you are putting in can no longer be turned into forward motion with ease, in fact you end up standing on the pedals to get things moving, thereby putting more power in for less out and subjecting the driveline to unnecessarily high forces.

A very good analogy, but I wondered if this was the case in a car when you have already got up to speed, i.e. 30mph, as I imagine the effort required to keep the car moving at 30mph is next to none [on a flat road without an immense headwind]

Same principle applies. After all, what defines what "up to speed" is? 10/20/30/40? It all depends on the engine and gearbox. For example, on your pushbike, at "what speed" do you put it into the highest gear? Not at 5mph, probably not at 10mph but maybe at 15mph. I (as a large chap) could pedal OK in top at 10mph (not that I would but could) but an average 8 stone child would still may not be able to pedal at 10mph in top gear. And again, top gear on my mountain bike is not the same as top on a racing bike etc..

Anyway, back to the car, in whatever gear you're in, if you press the pedal and nothing much happens, you're probably in too high a gear. In your Type-R example, at 30 I wouldn't be in anything higher than 5th, 6th at about 35/40. Adjust to a gear lower if going uphill. If going downhill, it matters less as the car isn't under anywhere near as much load.

Edited by Dracoro on Tuesday 17th April 14:51

[CampDavid]

A mate of mine says it's more efficent in his Laguna. I say his engine is labouring

On the other hand, he get's 950 miles to a tank, I don't.

[motco]

CampDavid said:

A mate of mine says it's more efficent in his Laguna. I say his engine is labouring

On the other hand, he get's 950 miles to a tank, I don't.

How many miles to a dual-mass flywheel?

IMHO this is not only false economy but a thoroughly un-mechanically-sympathetic style of driving - one that leaves the car flat footed and incapable of accelerating in situations that may require it. If you're that worried about economy, get a push-bike!

[Otispunkmeyer]

Wouldn't do it in a diesel as I think it can upset DMF's

Taxi company here had all its skoda's converted to a solid fly wheel because the drivers were ruining the dmf's by simply keeping the cars in high gears all the time and booting it.

[simoid]

6th gear will almost certainly be using more fuel than a shorter gear at 25-30 mph.

Even if the engine isn't under load, you'll surely be close to stalling at those speeds!?

[XitUp]

Martin_Hx said:

Its hard not to, but my commute to and from work isnt long enough to get my car up to what I would want it at to take it over 5k.

I try give it a little blast at least once a week tho. Your car will feel much better after a thrash just make sure she is warm in all the right places :-P

How long does it take to warm up?
Most cars will warm up within walking distance, so you're either lazy, or your car is fked. Which is it?