so what rpm does everyone shift at for daily driving?

i got bored this morning and spent some time reading the manual over breakfast, and realized that the shift point recommendations in the manual are pretty low... like, 2K rpm or so...

i personally shift at about 3000-4000 rpm in the city... which is WAY off from the manual's recommended shift point

so am I being too aggressive?? or is the book being too conservative?? 2K seems REALLY low to me

 

We'll most of the speed limits around here at 45mph, so i will go to 4k rpm's in 1, 2, and 3rd and im at abotu 50 and ill just throw her in 6th from 3rd, is this ok? Also I usually cruise in 6th but go bring her around the corner back to 4th when i make a pass or something, is this ok also?

 

In traffic I usually try to shift between 3500 and 4000 RPM, but more times than not I seem to level out around 3500 and shift at that end of the range.

 

Wow, I really need to read the manual. I rarely shift under 3K and it's usually at 3.5K. I've only had my car for a little over a month and have the shift light set at 3800 rpm. I came to the Z from a high revving, peaky 6. Maybe that's why 2K seems low.

 

never read the manual.........

no wonder why im getting 15.5 MPG. I usually always shift 3500-4500.

Knowledge is power! keke

 

around 2500 for regular driving. i get easily over 21 pure city and close to 29 on the highway. keep your foot out of the throttle as much as possible while accelerating. going over 3K is quite excessive and unnecessary.

 

the manual is bull. if you drove by it, you'd go through 4 gears between 0 and 35 mph.
in normal driving, i generally shift at around 4k. lower in first gear, especially if i have a passenger. 4000 is easy, because in every upshift except 1st to 2nd, the ratio is approximately 4:3, so just watch the needle drop to 3000 rpm, drop the clutch, and you have a perfect rev match.

for general driving, i keep it between 2500-4000, for the most part, and get about 18 mpg (of course, i do floor it quite often, too). if you look at the dyno sheets of most people, 3000-4000 is the torque peak of the z.

 

I shift around 2500 also. Like FLY BY, I also easily get 21 MPG and 29 HWY. And that's even with a little fooling around included I hate to be a parrot, but he's right, going over 3k is definitely excessive and unnecessary. Spirited driving on the weekend, etc, is of course another case.

I have a 92 blazer with a plow on it I'm using for a winter rat. I don't know what RPM I shift at because there's no tachometer!

 

If i wanted to shift at 2k rpm I would have bought a minivan...

 

When I am not fooling around I shift by 2500 rpm usually. When I had my GTI and my 240SX I would shift at 4000 RPM at every shift, but the Z has enough torque that you don't need to wind it out to get good acceleration. I am also usually in 6th gear by 35 mph. I get between 21 and 23 mpg city and I've topped 32 mpg on a long highway trip. No need to give my car any excessive wear when I am driving to work, I save the high rpm shifts for when I am out having some fun.

 

I usually shift into second at 7-8 mph, third at 15-16mph, 4th at 22mph, 5th about 32mph and 6th around 45mph.

 

well in the morning.. i shift around 2k... then usually 2.5-3k when it gets up to optimal temps. there's enough power shifting under 2.5k for me.. and also gas is $2+ a gallon so i try to drive conservatively. i only shift above 4k when entering the freeway... ok ok its more like 6200rpm BTW, i'm getting 18mpg, mostly city driving

 

I shift 1-4 at between 3 & 4 5th & 6th about 3 and I'm getting 18.6 around town and 32 on the highway. Shifting at lower RPM has netted me worse milage

 

for the city i shift between 2k-2.5k, i get good gas milage, whne i wanna have fun i punch it and shift aroound 6k-6.5k (redline)
and kiss the gas milage good bye

 

I'm always punchin' it. Damm traffic get me all agressive. But I usually shift around 4K rpm.

 

2k~3k when cruising, no need to bring it up to 3k+ when cruising in town I think, but I do floor it sometimes

 

For typical driving, try to keep rpms in the engine's mid-range, between about 2,200 rpm and 4,400 rpm to avoid engine wear. This minimizes engine wear by avoiding slogging at the low end and avoiding higher inertial stress at the high end. Except in low gear (1-2), don't floor it below 2,200 rpm, this builds high gas pressure in the engine and causes slogging and stress. AAt the high end, inertial force increases with the square of the rpms and produces high stress, so keep it typically below 4,400 rpm. When the engine's cold, keep it under 3,000 rpm until the oil pressure settles at 30 when idling.

Greatest engine efficiency is usually achieved around the range of maximum torque. However, maximum torque occurs at 4,800 rpm and this is above the ideal operating range for engine wear. In general, with a gasoine engine, fuel consumption decreases as the load on the engine increases. So, for a given velocity, the engine uses less gas when you run at lower rpms (higher gear) and wider throttle opening (more pedal) than it does higher rpms (lower gear) and smaller throttle opening (less pedal). The engine efficiency does fall off at low speeds and staying above 2,000 rpm should minimize that problem. Variable valve timing should also help avoid efficiency loss at low rpms.

If you want maximum performance (acceleration), you want to be shifting at or just above maximum torque.

You can always get what you want, but not always at once.

 

I usually shift in the rpm range where clutchless shifting is possible. (2600-3000rpm) I don't neccessarily drive my car that hard but I have a BAD gas milege. My trip meter usually don't go over 13mpg in the city, and it tops out at around 24mpg in the highway. Highway mpg looks fine to me but city mpg is just waayy off from what other people have.
And I have no idea what's wrong with my engine. It runs like a champ, but it also drinks like a champ.
Anyone has any ideas?

 

Great, informative post! Thanks...

Just wondering about the slogging part though - i know slogging/lugging used to be a problem w/ older cars, but with modern engine design and drive by wire throttle... is that really a problem anymore? could that be why the manual recommends shifting at such a low RPM?

 

I have the 5AT, but I use the manual shift mode mostly, and I shift at a little over 4000rpm. The engine sound keys it for me in each gear and its usually over 4K. I don't track my mileage,its probably around 20mpg and I rarely use 5th gear except on the highway. 5th in town is too high for me, unless the road is especially rough, then I leave it in 5th to lessen the jolts. In full auto mode, it feels like a Taurus in town and I avoid that. I know its more efficient to change lower, but I don't drive a Taurus.