Does driving @ low speed in hi-gear & skipping gears harm the engine?

KatanaDV20

KatanaDV20

KatanaDV20

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Dont ask me where I got my habit from but I find myself on 5th gear even when trundling around town @ 30mph.

Also I tend to skip gears. So as I pull away this is the gear-chage sequence:

1 - 2 - 5

I dont even use 3 & 4 (except when I need power while entering a highway or to overtake)

My rides nothin special but its v reliable - a 2004 Nissan Almera 1.5SE with 5 forward gears.

Im not much of a tech-head when it comes to cars, engines and such but I got a feelin OcUK GD is populated with car-nerds :D

Are my habits harming my engine? Im trying to break them but they've become so ingrained its an automatic reaction now lol. I have to say Ive never had an engine go balls-up on me but Im still wondering if Im damaging the internals :confused:

Thanx..
 
If your doing it to save fuel, it's futile.
Each gear has a bell curve, and by straining the engine your using more fuel. You need to keep it with in the peak effect cry range. Either end of that will be worse.
 
nothing wrong with it in general as long as you are not labouring the engine too much.
All you are doing there is lowering your MPG.
Keeping the throttle actions as light as possible and short shifting up through the box trying to keep the revs at a constant RPM is much better on your pocket.
You need to convert the energy in the combustion chamber into reciprocating motion as easily as possible, labouring the engine in the wrong gear goes against this.

Trust me, I've been driving my 106 like Miss daisy for the last 653 miles one one tank full. I haven't gone over 65 mph for the whole time, I've not moved out of the inside lane of the motorway and drafted as many lorries as possible.
Current record is 64.12 MPG
But I do use the gears.. all of them, in order.
 
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Nothing wrong with block changing, but you may well wear the syncros on some gears more than others.

I almost never block change. The only time I do is when I come to a complete stop in say, 3rd, then shift back to 1st to continue onwards.
 
No the thought of saving fuel has never entered my head when I do this. I get up to a good speed on 2nd and then straight to 5th. Engine is not under load as the parts of town I drive in are completely level.

Of course when its time to head up hills 3 & 4 are used :) I should have clarified that I do the 1-2-5 thing on level roads, no inclines.

Got me thinking about the gearbox now lol..
 
Dabbles said:
I've done 1st to 6th before. You do have to scream the boobies off it in 1st to prevent stalling in 6th!
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Lol :p

I think if I tried that...something will fall off! 2nd to 5th is effortless for me.

Part of me is wondering if its the sound Im attracted to. Doing 20 or 30mph on 5th gear = deep smooth bass sound from engine.
 
Nothing wrong with this, especially with a large engine - I often start using 3rd then shift to 6th, 9th and then 11th ultimately 12th in my truck (when empty) when loaded I use all 12, as block changing usually makes the engine bog down too much.

I do have a high torque 13litre diesel in the Scania though! - going 1st -3rd in a small engined car won't be much fun though and as already mentioned, will make the engine use more fuel, not less.
 
R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
Nothing wrong with this, especially with a large engine - I often start using 3rd then shift to 6th, 9th and then 11th ultimately 12th in my truck.....
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Sha-weeeeeeeeeet :D

I wanna drive somethin with 12 gears :eek:

TBH I had no idea there were that many in those big rigs...I though they had 5 or 6 lol.

Also good to hear im not wrecking anything by driving this way.
 
If your Almeria box is anything like my Primera box you shouldn't be missing gears out like that. The ratio's are soooooo long that it labours the engine quiet badly even just short shifting!
 
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I change from 4th to 6th in my car all the time, 5th is only used very occasionally for cruising at around 35mph. There's only 200rpm difference between 5th and 6th in my car, rather pointless gear in my opinion.
 
May have done this by accident once or twice, but I've never thought doing it by default. Seems a little strange. :confused:

I occasionally drop down gears like this, but even that feels wrong...
 
Nothing wrong with it, just don't pin the throttle at no revs in fifth expecting the car to accelerate. Labouring the engine like that is likely to do more harm than good. Other than that, as you were sir
 
My step mother has to change every gear sequentially, up AND down.

I love her to bits, but she's a terrible driver, particularly at mechanical sympathy. However, I've never seen anybody change gear as fast as she does!
 
I frequently drop from 5th to 3rd when down shifting, say on the approach to a junction or round-a-bout. Done this for years in many different cars and it hasn't seemed to cause any harm to my engine.
 
Sonea Fifer said:
I frequently drop from 5th to 3rd when down shifting, say on the approach to a junction or round-a-bout. Done this for years in many different cars and it hasn't seemed to cause any harm to my engine.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with that as long as you have slowed down enough in 5th to engage third without the engine going wrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeenggg

Rev matching is perfectly acceptable, as sometimes the traffic moves off while you are on the brakes, so you cog the most appropriate gear for the speed you slowed down to and off you go again smoothly.
This is part of smooth driving technique.
I hate it when people go down the box using every gear in the box to slow the car down and making the engine rev unnecessarily. It makes the ride jerky, wears out your clutch and bulk rings (syncros) in the box... Totally pointless.
 
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Scubascorpion said:
Absolutely nothing wrong with that as long as you have slowed down enough in 5th to engage third without the engine going wrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeenggg
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Hah - screwing an engine to the red line either working up or down through the gears isn't something I can ever be accused of. My OH now refers to my driving style as "Miss Daisy" :o

Must admit though - when driving DAvE18's EP3 Civic Type R he was continuously advising me to stay in gear, when you're not used to driving a VTEC every day every fibre in your body is telling you it's time to change up :p
 
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