4,000 RPM and whatever gear that is to be at that speed.

I pretty much keep my motor above 3,500RPM at all times, always have for 30+ years, my other car has a 8,500RPM redline and still runs just fine after 32 years of driving at 4,000RPM so I figure the S can do the same.

Oh of course ONLY after the motor is hot, until then I shift at very low RPMs, don't lug but close.

 

I always thought the less LOAD you put on your engine, the less fuel needed to keep it "cruising" because at WOT aren't you making the car try to burn more gas "faster" in which gives "more" power at the engine? More throttle = More air = More combustion?

Well that's what a reputable someone has told me once. He might be on drugs, or he might be onto something.

 

At the risk of derailing the topic of this thread...

You've neglected to account for the fact that in the second scenario, being in 6th gear, the engine is turning at a lower speed, and therefore you have fuel injection events with less frequency. So you're putting in more fuel per revolution of the engine, but you're doing that less often. And my understanding is that the overall effect is to use less fuel.

 

I usually shift around 4000rpms and get to the top gear as soon as possible. I try not to let the rpms dip below 2500 as it really bogs the engine down. When necessary, I downshift and then work my way back up to 6th. 35mph might be too slow for me to be in 6th without bogging, so probably 5th gear. 40mph and up, I usually cruise in 6th gear.

On a side note, I have read alot of drivers state that braking at a stop light in neutral, or just plain slowing down while having the car in neutral is bad. Can anyone explain why? I'm trying to figure out if its an actual technological/mechanical reason or a safe driving reason? I have been doing that in every manual I have ever had with no issues, but if it's really not recommended, I want to understand why and then change my driving habit.

Thanks!

 

It's most fuel efficient to let the engine decelerate naturally (in gear) with your foot off the gas instead of just braking in neutral from high speed when coming to a stop light. Basically as long as you are engine braking with out pressing the gas the throttle is closed and the injectors are not firing, the engine is only spinning because your car is still rolling in gear! I noticed a 1-2 MPG increase in fuel economy when I started downshifting through the gears and engine braking at least to 3rd gear when coming to a stop and I don't put it in neutral from 3rd until the rpms fall below 1,500 with my foot off the gas at which point I'm only going about 10 mph. I've been steadily getting 28 mpg commuting and light city and 31-34mpg highway and I'm running sticky tires at 32 PSI.

There is another reason to decelerate in gear, down to low rpms and speed. The speed sensor is expecting you to be in gear when the car is rolling so when the rpms go to idle while you're still traveling at 25-50 MPH the ECU doesn't know what is going on so it pumps in extra fuel to be on the safe side and runs a richer curve to idle till the speed comes down close to zero.

 

I would say I generally cruise around town in 5th (30-40mph). I usually only upshift into 6th if I'm around 50mph. To each thier own.

 

3rd sounds sexy any day of the week..
but most of the time 4th for low rpm.

 

I was waiting for someone to pull out their manual and scan that page.
this is what i base my cruising speed on.
is that from an ap2 manual? in the version i have for the ap1, shift into 4th is at 63kph.
which is kinda what i was getting at with this poll.
if the shift is at 63kph but the speed limit is 60kph, your kinda left sitting on the fence about what gear you should be in.

as for fuel economy, once you start moding your s that all goes out the window. but i was always told lower rpm's creates more compression, hence leading to more fuel consumption. but what do i know, i'm just a tiler.

 

Wrong. The pedal on the right controls the throttle butterfly. How much fuel is injected depends on how much air is getting in.

You actually will burn LESS fuel with larger throttle opening at lower rpm in a taller gear than you will at the same cruise speed with a smaller throttle opening at HIGHER rpm. This is because of reduced internal frictional losses per mile at lower rpm and reduced pumping losses with the wider throttle opening.

The pedal on the right does NOT directly control the amount of fuel into the engine.

 

"Normal Acceleration" is NOT the same thing as "cruise".

If you're cruising at 35mph in 3rd gear, all you're doing is wasting fuel (and eliminating need to downshift when/if you do need to accelerate or climb a hill).