When do I shift for optimal MPG/FE?

[Brian D.]

This website must be the best place to ask this question. I already know that when driving, it's best to anticipate what lies ahead (hills, red traffic lights, etc). But, even when you've sped up a bit on a downgrade....to get your mojo up for the big hill that lies ahead, you'll still likely run out of speed at some point on the hill. So my question is, once you've started to run out of speed on the incline, when do you decide to drop down a gear? If I'm in 5th gear and just about running out of steam, should I know there's a definite margin of loss if I stay in 5th gear and try to stretch it...since the engine is now working harder to get me over the hill in 5th. But if I shift to 4th gear too soon then I've increased my RPM's...which also may use more power/gas if I downshift too soon. SO, folks, where do I shift? I would imagine this depends upon the engine's power band. I have an '88(F.I.) CRX HF.

**Bonus question: where do you all typically shift when taking off? Do you typically have cars honking behind you?