this is my first 6 spd manual. always had 5, once even drove a 4 (1970's 260z) a few times. to me it seems like the gears are all spaced pretty well, not sure what i'm trying to say here, there's not a big drop in rpms when you shift up. even from 5th to 6th. is this how most 6 speeds are or is it because this is a performance car. is it specific to the gt? or a result of my gearing being the 3.55 vs. the others available?

 

6th gear is very tall in this car, meant to give you the best highway mpg. Overall, I find the ratios to be about right (me having 3.73's anyway). Although, coming from an Acura TSX, I'm used to short ratios to compensate for the low torque.

 

I always skip my 5th gear, i never use it (v6 not 5.0) It's just a hassle. I'm around 2.3k in 4th gear around 40 mph so I just go straight to 6th and it drops down to 1.2k and I cruise.

 

sounds right to me. I have 3.73's in my boss (std on the boss). While you might be used to 4th being 1:1 5th in the new cars is 1:1 and 6th being the sole overdrive gear.

 

40 mph seems awful slow for 6th gear..I don't use 6th until I get up to 50 to 55 or more....that low would seem to lug the engine...

 

I was thinking the same thing when I read his engine was at 1.2K and 40 MPH. Lugging is not good either; puts a load on the engine. Use 5th.

 

I dont use 6th untill I am at least at 65-70 but thats just me

 

My 1:1 is 4th

 

Ok I will clarify the MT82 1:1 is 5th gear

 

Well im used to little german cars and the car cruises at 1.5-1.8k for good mpg. So i do that or attempt to with this car

 

yeah i don't use 6th until i'm 45mph+ or 2,000rpm+. anyway, it all feels right, i guess my expectations were that you'd have some type of 1500 rpm at 85mph gear

 

I wish haha. Even with 3:31 gears im at 1.5k in 6th at around 40ish :/

I dont let the engine bog at all. I mean it has once or twice but i downshift automatically.

 

With the 5.0 6 speed stick, at 20mph do you use 2nd or 3rd? think 3rd would lug the engine?

 

I have the 3.31s in 12 GT vert (only way they come on the GT vert). The 5.0 has so much torque you can use whatever gear suits you at any time. It's wonderful. The last MT I had was an 86 VW GTI. There was no such thing as skipping gears in that. Now In traffic I might do 1,3,5. I find I can engage 6 at 40 with no strain on the engine. But I appreciate revving higher and running through all gears - such a joy. Only problem is I sometimes find myself going 100.

 

You can easily shift to 4th at 20 mph. Not a problem for these motors.

 

When all else fails, go to the owners manual. Assuming the OP has a GT (he mentions this in his first post), the owners manual says (for best fuel economy):

5.0 V8

Shift from:

1 - 2 at 17 MPH
2 - 3 at 25 mph
3 - 4 at 40 mph
4 - 5 at 45 mph
5 - 6 at 50 mph

 

yep i have the gt. the owners manual though seemed a little high for what i tried to do the 1st 1,000 miles. i was about 5mph lower on each of those. i think OM is about 2500 rpm shift points? i'll have to test that again. but i always tried to shift close to 2000 rpm for some reason - maybe gas milage maybe break in. now i'm about 1400 miles and love going up to 3000 rpm when i shift of course 4k+ is a commensurately more fun! and speaking of that, everything tightens up so much when you rev a little more. it's like two different cars. the 5.0 does a _great_ job of being a lazy sunday driver.

oh, i see everyone else has a little make and model of their car or a drop-down link under their names and # of posts. how come i don't? i probably filled out the wrong thing.

 

Mine doesn't 'lug' in 6th unless it's under load. Just fine at 40-45 MPH cruising speed.

 

I can do 1k @ 40mph without bog, but I'm not at 3:31.

Basically if I want to save gas I do this;
1st = 0-10 mph
2nd = 10-20 mph
4th = 30-40 mph
5th = 40-45 mph
6th = 45+

Sometimes I'll be in 2nd before 10mph and sometimes I skip 5th entirely. Produces 22-23 mpg city and no bog, but close. I think it's close to 5-7 mph lower than owners manual recommendations depending on the gear

 

For me:

1st to 3rd @ 10mph
3rd to 5th @ 30mph
5th to 6th @ 40mph

That is if I am maximizing fuel economy. I am accelerating so slowly that engine lugging is not a concern. I use the cabin sound-piper as a vacuum gauge. If I can hear the intake noise being piped in, I am lugging the engine and need to shift down.

Usually, however, I start in 2nd, so it looks more like:

2nd to 4th @ 20mph
4th to 5th @ 30mph
5th to 6th @ 40mph

Sometimes I will skip 6th and go 2-4-6. It works well as a three-speed.