Cruising RPM

[spunkehmunkey]

Thought I would start a pretty simple topic. What RPM do you guys normally sit at when cruising? DO you put it in the highest gear possible or do you like to sit at a higher rpm of 3k? Would love to know, might find a sweet spot of available power and good mpg

[FiddyZed]

Whilst cruising I try to stick to about 2,500 rpm. Sometimes I'll try and put it in a highish gear but prefer to have it at where I think is a good balance of economy and power (If this even exists with a zed).

[-Bradders-]

i stick 68mph (cruise control) which is bang on 2500rpm, i found that best for 34-36mpg on a long run

Edited October 14, 2015 by -Bradders-

[spunkehmunkey]

I tend to stick at about 2500rpm myself aswell. Sometimes I let it climb to around 3k (I do not have a custom exhaust yet so noise isn't an issue). I feel like anything below 2000 would be making the engine work too hard!

[tommoger]

2500rpm gives me 73mph in 6th so sit just below that of course

 

 

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Edited October 14, 2015 by tommoger

[brillomaster]

when literally cruising, probably about 1500rpm, so would normally change up as soon as possible really. Unless I require any kind of acceleration, in which case i'd drop a gear pretty sharpish.

 

i'm pretty sure that if you're stuck in a line of traffic doing 40mph with no prospects of overtaking, the best fuel economy is to put it in 6th.

 

motorway cruising doesn't really count as nobody in their right mind would cruise along a motorway in anything other than 6th gear, just cost that's the highest gear. but ideally i'd be cruising at a lower rpm for better economy.

 

All that said, pick up is pretty poor below 3,000rpm, being an NA engine it does need some revs to make power.

[Quinster]

Mines is an Automatic.

I just let mines do the work.

[jimmy.farrow7]

I more often than not stick around 2500RPM

[HiddenWomble]

Motorway is 6th gear, but at slower speeds I like to stay close to 2K when cruising. Plenty of grunt to change speed in traffic, and always the option to drop a gear if I want her to pull hard.

[-Bradders-]

2500rpm gives me 73mph in 6th so sit just below that of course

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

HR?

[Grundy]

You guys do know, higher gear doesn't mean better MPG...

 

Granted don't be cruising at 70 in 3rd, but doing 40 in 6th is doing you no favours either.

[tommoger]

2500rpm gives me 73mph in 6th so sit just below that of course

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

HR?

 

DE

 

 

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Edited October 15, 2015 by tommoger

[-Bradders-]

:O how? lol i got de its 68mph at 2500 lol

[Kaveney]

most of the time im at 1000 or 900 RPM in 6th is this not the best for fuel saving then ?

 

I thought the lower the RPM the better ?

 

Alan

 

 

You guys do know, higher gear doesn't mean better MPG...

 

Granted don't be cruising at 70 in 3rd, but doing 40 in 6th is doing you no favours either.

[brillomaster]

doing 40mph in 6th is fine for simply cruising... you probably need about 20 bhp to cruise along at 40mph, which 6th gear can comfortably provide. Obviously don't expect much acceleration from 1300rpm, but the engine is perfectly happy with doing sustained running at that speed.

 

theres a reason why autoboxes shuffle up gears as quickly as possible - my beemer driven gently in full auto mode never goes above 1500rpm.

[H1979]

You guys do know, higher gear doesn't mean better MPG...

 

Granted don't be cruising at 70 in 3rd, but doing 40 in 6th is doing you no favours either.

Genuine question, why is it doing you no favours, apart from the obvious that you won't be able to out accelerate anything.

[spunkehmunkey]

My personal thoughts were that a low rpm meant the engine had to work a lot harder but at the same time the idle sits at 700-800rpm so surely the engine is comfortable in this band. Of course I know nothing about how engines work and that is at least partly why I posed this question

[Tom-89]

at idle there is no load on the engine though. it's all about being in the right gear rather than the highest gear possible.

 

I always think if you put your foot down and it doesn't pick up cleanly you're in too high a gear

[Sargara]

My car probably spends 90% of its life between 2000 - 3000 at which point I would normally change down or up. I mainly commute through average speed camera zones In Nottingham so I often use cruise control

[roscopervis]

Think of yourself on a pushbike - one with gears. You wouldn't ride around on the hardest to pedal gear when going slow, it's hard work. Similarly, you wouldn't be in the really easy gear when going fast, It's the same for the engine, it uses more energy thus fuel when accelerating from low revs in a high gear than it would in a comforable to spin gear.

 

When cruising along, this is slightly changed, provided you don't need any kind of acceleration,6th is ok. The amount of throttle dictates how much fuel you use, the time you're using it therefore has an impact - accelerate briskly, without using too much throttle for best mpg.

[monkeybrain1234]

3000 - 4000 rpm for normal driving. I can't imagine bumbling along at 1500 rpm. For me it defeats the object of owning a car like this.

[Rock_Steady]

3000 - 4000 rpm for normal driving. I can't imagine bumbling along at 1500 rpm. For me it defeats the object of owning a car like this.

Really??? I quite like it. You can burble along in 4th doing 30mph and put your foot down for 3.5 litres of torque to waft you along. Use the torque young Jedi!!