gear choice

[GasSavers_worthywads]

It varies greatly but at 40 in 5th and little wind I'm between 33-45. I have several stretches on the way to work. I'll run some tests tomorrow.

[GasSavers_worthywads]

I was pleasantly surprised at my short test, each close to a mile. First one netted 52mpg and the second 57mpg.

So my steady state 40mph in 5th is excellent, it the gas it takes to get this mass up to speed that's killing me. I'm probably a lot more sensitive to wind also.

[MetroMPG]

that's impressive for a pickup!

i think you're right about sensitivity to wind and drag - as your speed climbs any higher than 40 mph, watch out.

have you read the story yet about the toyota pickup owner who improved his aerodynamics and boosted his highway fuel economy by almost 30%?

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=article&storyid=870

[GasSavers_worthywads]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

that's impressive for a pickup!

i think you're right about sensitivity to wind and drag - as your speed climbs any higher than 40 mph, watch out.

have you read the story yet about the toyota pickup owner who improved his aerodynamics and boosted his highway fuel economy by almost 30%?

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=article&storyid=870

Yes I had seen that but thanks for the reminder. Wonder if he's going to market the "topper"? Rear visibility must suffer.

I'm extremely pleased and happy that I chose the 2.7L 2WD. I'll be getting 30+ mpg this summer.

[JanGeo]

I had a little time to test the MPG in a couple of gears at 38mph in 5th 45mpg, 4th 36mpg, 3rd 32mpg on a level road warmed up. Might be more interesting on a down slope in neutral where you maintain a constant speed in neutral coasting and just rev the engine at different RPM - since the net result is to have no change in speed then having it in neutral achieves this - this gives you a no load baseline for engine rpm to fuel economy at a speed that the ScanGauge can operate with.

Next would be in different gears going up a steep long hill to see if light reving or lugging gets better mpg results.

BTW I still see no change in MPG readings in neutral, 5th, 4th, or 3rd going down hill no throttle other than the MPG change due to speed change. I see a reduction in MPG if the engine is reving too high and that threshold rpm needs to be measured more exactly.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I've been warned by a number of people not to lug 5th gear to much, a mechanic friend of mine said was saying that at least on hondas, and I would suspect other light cars, that 5th gear isn't as heavy, because you would figure most people are going to use it for cruseing at higher speeds, that it's loads are more consistant, I've been paying more attention to my shift light, and noticing that on flat roads it will come on untill I'm in 4th gear going 35mph, engine spinning around 1,200rpm, can do 40mph in 5th, but at least for my car it seems a little slow for that high of gearing.

[krousdb]

I'm in 5th approx 90% of the time, shifting from 2nd to 5th at 20 MPH when not hill climbing. At 1200 I'm only at 32MPH.

[diamondlarry]

Originally Posted by krousdb

I'm in 5th approx 90% of the time, shifting from 2nd to 5th at 20 MPH when not hill climbing. At 1200 I'm only at 32MPH.

You sound like you drive a lot like I do in my Saturn. Your gearing also sounds similar. I'll check tonight and see how fast I'm going at 1200rpm in 5th. Once, when it was late at night and there was no traffic, I got into 5th and took my foot clear off the gas to see how fast I would go in 5th at idle. It was awhile ago but it seems like it was around 10-15. It didn't really shudder too much either. ;-)

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Ryland

I've been warned by a number of people not to lug 5th gear to much ... 5th gear isn't as heavy

i wonder if it would be more of a problem for very torquey engines. a friend of mine lost 5th gear on his mustang 5 liter, and the rebuilder suggested it was from driving in 5th at low rpm/high load.

my car hardly has any torque. if i short shift, i just can't accelerate at all. i tend to go for 5th right around 60 km/h (37mph) when accelerating very gently.

[molecule]

just some food for thought
(the summation of what i have to offer on this topic)
both these engines use the same vtec-e technology

the head castings are very different
the vx is unique...with the motorcyle style intake ports
the 3-stage is the same as all the usdm 1996+ hx/ex/cx (y5/y8/y7)

the 92-95 vx 1.5L gets 48-52 mpg stock hwy
it has a 40mm throttlebody
the final drive is 3.25

the 96+ jdm 3-stage 1.5L engine get 48-52 mpg stock hwy
it has 56mm throttlebody
the final drive is 4.058