6th Gear
- Thread starter mehuk
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Fair enough, but top gear is for motorway cruising isn't it?
That reminds me of the first time I drove a 6 speed car actually. Was the Civic Type R pool car we use in work and I was a bit nervous about going into 6th in case I chose reverse instead
Very stupid I know but an irrational nervousness
Irrational indeed, as the EP3 has an electro-mechanical lockout making it impossible to shift into reverse when conditions satisfy certain criteria, i.e. when going forward above a certain speed.
Eh?
I rarely get into 6th on the RX8, 70 im still in 5th 80 i would change to 6th, top speed is in 5th though 6th is too long a gear.
It totally depends on what your doing, the RX8 likes to cruise around 3500-4000rpm so what ever gear achieves that, but for overtaking i usually drop to 3rd or 4th.
It totally depends on what your doing, the RX8 likes to cruise around 3500-4000rpm so what ever gear achieves that, but for overtaking i usually drop to 3rd or 4th.
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Lots of people is saying 6th is meant as a cruising gear, but in my experience every car I have driven with a 6th (or 7th!) gear isn't really any taller in top gear than a car with a 5 speed box. The difference is more in the spacing of the ratios rather than them adding a mega tall ratio at the top.
Case in point... 7th gear in my M5 gives about the same rpm at a given speed as 6th gear in my old m5 and neither are particularly tall. If anything both could have done with an additional/taller top gear to help with cruising at motorway speeds.
Case in point... 7th gear in my M5 gives about the same rpm at a given speed as 6th gear in my old m5 and neither are particularly tall. If anything both could have done with an additional/taller top gear to help with cruising at motorway speeds.
If I'm on a relatively flat, relatively straight road I'll be in 5th at 40mph.
Sorry to be the pedant, but it's power rather than torque that is allowing you to overtake. Yes, I know the two are related, but ultimately it is power that is the rate of doing work.
Low revs at higher speed on a Diesel gives super MPG.
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Some cars seem to use 6th as if it were a conventional 5th gear whilst others its an extra tall ratio. My jag will do it's top speed (160mph or so ignoring the limiter), in either 5th or 6th but struggles to do it in 6th and 70mph is just 1750rpm, and that's a petrol, big executive diesels must barely turn over in 6th at high speeds!
In contrast I drove a 1.6 petrol Grand Scenic which was still doing over 3000rpm at 70 in 6th and 6th at 31/32mph was possible, you could shift from 1st to 6th in that thing!
In contrast I drove a 1.6 petrol Grand Scenic which was still doing over 3000rpm at 70 in 6th and 6th at 31/32mph was possible, you could shift from 1st to 6th in that thing!
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I'm genuinely amazed at some people in this thread, I think there is some basic education missing here, not that I think anyone is stupid, but honestly some people must be wasting a shedload of money on unnecessary fuel..
The golden rule is to get into the highest gear (figuratively) as soon as possible..
The only reasons you wouldn't get into 6th would be things like
- It would take you below 1000-1200 RPM
- You are on an incline where the torque at this RPM is causing excessive load on the engine
- You want more/maximum acceleration (But then drop back into 6th once the manoevre is completed)
I've not driven a car yet that at 40MPH in normal flattish city roads you wouldn't be in 6th at very low RPM (But still above 1000RPM) and would be getting very high MPG.. Mine will just cruise (literally with the cruise control on) at 35MPH in 6th, and that returns 85MPG+ on a flat, in 5th at 35MPH it drops into the 70's.. And it still pulls cleanly enough in 6th, if I suddenly wanted to make progress, I obviously select the right gear and cover everyone in diesel soot..
I even manage to get into 6th and cruise most of the time in the legendary 'no-torque(tm)' Honda S2000.
The golden rule is to get into the highest gear (figuratively) as soon as possible..
The only reasons you wouldn't get into 6th would be things like
- It would take you below 1000-1200 RPM
- You are on an incline where the torque at this RPM is causing excessive load on the engine
- You want more/maximum acceleration (But then drop back into 6th once the manoevre is completed)
I've not driven a car yet that at 40MPH in normal flattish city roads you wouldn't be in 6th at very low RPM (But still above 1000RPM) and would be getting very high MPG.. Mine will just cruise (literally with the cruise control on) at 35MPH in 6th, and that returns 85MPG+ on a flat, in 5th at 35MPH it drops into the 70's.. And it still pulls cleanly enough in 6th, if I suddenly wanted to make progress, I obviously select the right gear and cover everyone in diesel soot..
I even manage to get into 6th and cruise most of the time in the legendary 'no-torque(tm)' Honda S2000.
