When Im driving around town I find a tendency to upshift all the way to 5th gear and just drive around at 1.5kRPM. Now, if I was to leave it in 4th I would be riding at around 2 thow. The pickup would be nicer, thats for sure, but with gas prices going through the roof and leaking into my wallet I find it easier on the conscience to just leave it in 5th. Am I doing much to improve my MPG or am I just praying to the penny pinching gods?

Thanks!

 

I do the same thing. It's a habbit. If i'm just cruising normal I will jump from 2nd to 5th and stay at 1.5k or above. If it goes under 35 mph I drop it down to 4th.

 

You shouldn't be driving in 5th gear at less than 43 mph. Driving at 1,500 rpm will just lug the engine and ultimately do more harm than good!

 

Driving like that will put a lot of strain on your Drive train.

 

If you try to accelerate with it that low then of course. It will chew up the bearings with that much load. Not if your just cruising and I did notice a slight increase in gas milage.

 

Don't wanna jump your thread or anything but....I got a 97 Auto and when it shifts to 4th? at 40mph then the car feels like it bogz and feels like it shouldn't be in that gear yet cuz itz not at the rite speed, and it feels like itz losing power and I gotta hit the gas a little more for the rpms to shoot up and to pick up speed quicker. What could be causing this? and am I doing any damage like you guyz were talking about not driving in 5th if your under 43mph and at 1.5K rpms in a 5 speed. What should I do to fix ma lil problem.
....sorry bout the long post but just wanted to get some help and smooth things out.....Thanks a lot

 

Press the little button on the gear shift that turns the o/d off. You will no longer have to worry about 4th gear

 

i dont think itll lug the engine. according to a couple articles ive read, the vq engine makes 90% of its peak torque at 1600rpms, so i would think thats plenty of torque

 

I would say you shouldn't be trying to accelerate aggressively from that speed but nothing wrong with idling/light throttle when cruising or in traffic at those speeds in 5th.

 

lol....yeh I do do that sometimes when it pissez me off but there's got to be something wrong with it....like the computer is getting confused of the shift point or something??....it shifts at 40mph or somtimes a lil before that and then revs at like 1200-1300 rpm n feels like the car is dragging....???
I don't know can someone gimme a idea of whas goin on??
....Thanks guyz