My personal belief is that 6th gear is appropriate to use when cruising on level ground at speeds above 55 mph. I won't shift into 6th until I have reached that speed, and if the speed drops to close to 50, I will drop back to 5th. Just for the sake of curiosity, I have tried 6th on level ground at speeds as low as 35 mph, and the engine runs smoothly and seems to tolerate a gentle throttle without complaint, but I still think the right minimum for 6th is 55 mph. The engine sounds more 'interesting' in 5th, but I believe I am saving fuel and saving wear and tear by using 6th.

Having said all this, I was curious to get feedback from my fellow S2ki members on their usage of 6th.

 

I'm just like you on this one. Anything 55 mph and over, I'll go into 6th BUT, I will always downshift before attempting any brisk acceleration.

 

Pretty much agree with your post completely, Joe. Sixth is totally an "overdrive" for cruising at consistent speed and only very gentle accel. in revs below 4K.

I almost never use 6th. Highway cruising only, really.

I don't really worry about wear & tear too much, Joe. In fact, during the breakin, I've always tried to use the engine's full range. Now that I'm getting close to 10K, and I've stopped burning any oil, I intend to switch to synthetic... After that, I see even less reason to worry about wear.

Gawd, I love this car!

 

jelliotlevy: When do you use 6th Gear?


uhmmm...after 5th?

 

When I hit redline in 5th, around 137 MPH or somewhere close to that.

 

Geez, vananron... I doubt I'll ever get anywhere near redline in 5th...

 

is there anything wrong with cruising at 35 in 6th. I have never thought about leaving it in 5th at that speed.

 

Just avoid lugging. Don't load the engine with the revs that low. Definitely downshift to accel.

 

I'm in 6th gear every day; but of course - mine's a daily and I drive the freeways around here from San Francisco to Sacramento. I use cruise control while I'm doing 75-80 mph in 6th gear and can get over 300 miles per tank. Not bad mileage!

 

On the freeway cruising, I use 6th. But I would put it in 5th when I see/sense a competition is coming up, getting ready to throw it to 3rd.