6th gear

[scub]

i never said you had to drive around at 4k-5000rpm.. for example... typically at 30-40mph on 4 gear my revs are around 2,500-2,700.. that is what i consider to be a sweet spot, and not straining the engine at 1,500 RPM in 6th gear at 20mph..

there are a few good articles on the internet which explains a little about proper shift points and rpm range.. example:
http://www.discusseconomics.com/energy/ ... atic-tips/

sure you can drive around in practically any gear, but its false to say drive in 6th for fuel savings... at least for city driving.

[DrGold]

Might have been 30 years ago that engines were strained by low speeds in high gears - not these days especially in an RS4. For me, taking it easy = change up quickly 1st, 3rd ,6th; Having fun = rev to red line and enjoy through gearbox!

Each to their own

[fiberoptic]

personally, it feels better to get into 6th when i'm doing at least 60. I don't care about saving fuel. I want to save the engine.

[aidanjaye]

I'm sometimes just happy sitting in the car in the drive.....but then I'm a tad sad.
Seriously, each to there own but tottling around at 40 in 6th won't do the car any damage - a neither will red line (hopefully) in every gear - although you may loss you licence!

[BlingBling]

i never said you had to drive around at 4k-5000rpm.. for example... typically at 30-40mph on 4 gear my revs are around 2,500-2,700.. that is what i consider to be a sweet spot, and not straining the engine at 1,500 RPM in 6th gear at 20mph..

there are a few good articles on the internet which explains a little about proper shift points and rpm range.. example:
http://www.discusseconomics.com/energy/ ... atic-tips/

sure you can drive around in practically any gear, but its false to say drive in 6th for fuel savings... at least for city driving.

I'm sorry but that is the 4th post of utter nonesense that you have posted. I can assure you of one thing. When manufacturers obtain their consumption figures they do not do so in 4th with the engine revving at 4-500rpm

Also I would not go around saying that your 2yrs as ownership is justification. There are many members on here who have had many years more experience of the 4.2L lump through ownershp of the S4 ownership prior to the RS4. PetrolDave is one example.

In the meantime I will potter around in 6th without a care in the world

[bye bye]

Thanks for your opinions. Wow I never thought it is quite normal to change into 6th when doing 20 30 40 or 50 mph.

I only change to the 6th when doing 70mph.

I'm still in third at 70mph!!!

[ArthurPE]

now my 951...gutless down low
it's a car where 1st is actually a driving gear
and starting in 2nd...be prepared to buy a clutch very soon, if you can get it rolling...

the RS4, you can putter or you can wring it out, the flexibility is one of the engines main strengths...
get on the highway, slow down to 30 or so, drop into 6th, and squeeze the throttle...start counting...1000, 2000, .....
let me know how high you get before common sense prevails

[Dom81]

I'm still in third at 70mph!!!

That's more like it!

[Porky]

I drive around town in 1st, you can do the speed limit and it sounds cool!

My RS drinks fuel no matter how I drive it, so I might as well drive it how I like, I tend to cruise in 6th from about 40-50, I barely use 5th to be honest. If I need a bit of uumph I can change gear, but as has been said, the engine is so torquey that sometimes I don't bother.

My car...

[PetrolDave]

i've been driving the RS for more than 2 years.

Is that all?

I've been driving my RS4 for over 3 years, and a V8 S4 for 3 years before that - so think again about your expertise. Oh and I've been driving for nearly 35 years too... Plus I spent several years as a senior engineer at a sports car design and manufacturing company, often deriving cars with even more performance than the RS4 (and some prototypes valued at several MILLION pounds)...

Driving for economy is all about using the torque and not the revs. Just try watching the instantaneous fuel economy readout in the DIS when doing 30mph in 6th on a level road - you'll see 40+mpg.

As to the argument of labouring, even an engine this size will let you know in no uncertain terms (by surging etc.) when you are running it at too low rpm for the load you're putting on it.

Don't think I potter around in high gears all the time - just when there so much traffic around that the sheer performance of the RS4 is not only not needed but possibly even a liability.

There's two things the RS4 can do that I love:
1) pull out from a side turning onto a 40 mph limit - redline in 1st and straight to 6th. Standstill to being part of the traffic in less than 4 seconds.

2) sitting in 6th doing 40-50mph behind a car waiting for a safe overtaking opportunity to arise, change straight down to 3rd (watch my wife adopt what she calls "the brace position") and overtake with ease and a minimum TED (Time Exposed to Danger) before pulling back in and changing back into 6th, now doing 60mph(!).

[Mahyar]

Wow, I guess this car is much the same as a 2CV in town when driving in 6th at 20MPH. Why did I buy an RS4 with a red line of 8200 rpm when 2000 was enough? Could have saved a lot of money, but then again, the £ 500 of savings per year by driving in such a manner is not worth it. Instant power when ever I need it, be in the right gear at all times given traffic conditions, roads driving on, etc. If I have to save this amount of fuel then I would not buy this car, maybe I would walk, I have plenty of torque and 0.25 HP.

[Outtlaw]

I dont think this thread was about saving petrol and money more about When to use 6th gear, these cars aren't about fuel economy but i change up early and have pretty good mpg saying that you lose all that savings when you floor it. Does it really matter when someone uses 6th gear

[reevesroadster]

I dont beleive PetrolDave has been wrong on anything yet, and I typically drive more enthusiastically than 20mph in 6th - so im going to try it at the weekend and see for myself.
Anybody else doubting should probably do the same, and we'll meet back here on Monday.

[Dom81]

and we'll meet back here on Monday.

Or Tuesday if you're stuck in 6th

[HYFR]

higher gear does not mean fuel saving plain and simple. search around or take a Audi driving course, they will explain the "sweet" spot you should be in RPM zone.

good luck.

its not rocket science

Best economic performance is when a car reaches maximum torque

Isnt this available under 2k revs? and therefore 6th gear ensures optimum fuel economy on a straight road?

There are so many people out there who dont seem to realise their car has more gears !

My girlfriend used to use 5th in her little A2 so late, then wondered why she was getting so crap MPG !

I challenged her to make a concious effort to change earlier for a tank, and she got over 50 miles more to the tank !