Manual Driving Question
05-10-2005, 06:30 AM
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Hello All,
I should take delivery of my 5 next month. This will be the first manual that I own, but I do have decent experience driving them as well as motorcycles. I have had many people "teach" me about driving a manual, but I do still have one question...if I am in a 30mph zone, or 40 or whatever, for decent lengths of time, should I shift through all of the gears up to 6th, or should I stay at a lower gear since I am not going that fast? Does it hurt or help one way or another? I have always gone to the top gear no matter how fast (or slow) the "final" speed is, but now I am wondering if that school of thought is correct.
I should take delivery of my 5 next month. This will be the first manual that I own, but I do have decent experience driving them as well as motorcycles. I have had many people "teach" me about driving a manual, but I do still have one question...if I am in a 30mph zone, or 40 or whatever, for decent lengths of time, should I shift through all of the gears up to 6th, or should I stay at a lower gear since I am not going that fast? Does it hurt or help one way or another? I have always gone to the top gear no matter how fast (or slow) the "final" speed is, but now I am wondering if that school of thought is correct.
05-10-2005, 06:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Aaron' date='May 10 2005, 08:30 AM
Hello All,
I should take delivery of my 5 next month.? This will be the first manual that I own, but I do have decent experience driving them as well as motorcycles.? I have had many people "teach" me about driving a manual, but I do still have one question...if I am in a 30mph zone, or 40 or whatever, for decent lengths of time, should I shift through all of the gears up to 6th, or should I stay at a lower gear since I am not going that fast?? Does it hurt or help one way or another?? I have always gone to the top gear no matter how fast (or slow) the "final" speed is, but now I am wondering if that school of thought is correct.
I should take delivery of my 5 next month.? This will be the first manual that I own, but I do have decent experience driving them as well as motorcycles.? I have had many people "teach" me about driving a manual, but I do still have one question...if I am in a 30mph zone, or 40 or whatever, for decent lengths of time, should I shift through all of the gears up to 6th, or should I stay at a lower gear since I am not going that fast?? Does it hurt or help one way or another?? I have always gone to the top gear no matter how fast (or slow) the "final" speed is, but now I am wondering if that school of thought is correct.
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05-10-2005, 06:46 AM
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It's been a number of years since I got rid of my last manual car, but you don't shift all the way up to 6th gear. Leave it the appropriate gear for you speed, so that the RPMs are say around 2,000 or so when cruising. I'm sure manual drivers will add to this, but if you are cruising at say 35 MPH, you'll leave it in what ever gear gives you that roughly 2,000 rpm (or what ever the number is!), so you would keep it in say 3rd gear at 35 MPH. Shifting all the way to 6th at 40 MPH would have the engine running at very low RPMs, heck the computer might not let you do that.
05-10-2005, 06:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Aaron' date='May 10 2005, 09:30 AM
Hello All,
I should take delivery of my 5 next month.? This will be the first manual that I own, but I do have decent experience driving them as well as motorcycles.? I have had many people "teach" me about driving a manual, but I do still have one question...if I am in a 30mph zone, or 40 or whatever, for decent lengths of time, should I shift through all of the gears up to 6th, or should I stay at a lower gear since I am not going that fast?? Does it hurt or help one way or another?? I have always gone to the top gear no matter how fast (or slow) the "final" speed is, but now I am wondering if that school of thought is correct.
I should take delivery of my 5 next month.? This will be the first manual that I own, but I do have decent experience driving them as well as motorcycles.? I have had many people "teach" me about driving a manual, but I do still have one question...if I am in a 30mph zone, or 40 or whatever, for decent lengths of time, should I shift through all of the gears up to 6th, or should I stay at a lower gear since I am not going that fast?? Does it hurt or help one way or another?? I have always gone to the top gear no matter how fast (or slow) the "final" speed is, but now I am wondering if that school of thought is correct.
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05-10-2005, 07:29 AM
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Thanks for the feedback...so I should pay more attention or focus on RPMs rather than the gear. I was thinking about the ability to accel and manuever, as well as gas mileage, but I wasn't sure. Any other recommendations as far as what RPM range manual driver recommend?
05-10-2005, 07:36 AM
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My Ride: 05 545i, Jet Black, Black Leather, Black Anthracite. Sport Pkg, HUD, NAV, 20-way Comfort Seats, Prem Snd Pkg Logic7, Htd Rear Seats, Rear side impact, Cold Weather Pkg, Fold Down Rear Seat/Ski bag, Soon 2B chromed rims. Picked up in Munich, Drove it to Prague, Vienna, Salburg & Bremerhaven. Put on 1300 miles. Enjoyed driving it 140mph on Autobahn (4,400 rpm).
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You should keep the car in as low of a gear as possible per the speed and the gearing of your vehicle. Being in 6th gear at 40mph will do you no good when a car pulls out in front of you and you try to punch it to get around him. keeping your car at say 2400 rpm or even as high as 3k does not harm the vehicle and will not effect gas mileage...too much. I always try to keep my car well above 2k rpm so there is no lag when I put my foot down.
With the past cars, and when I first got my 545, I always tried to go to the highest gear to keep the RPM's down, but in 3rd gear, keeping the RPM's around 3K while driving in the 30's and 40's will allow the V8 to run more efficiently and get better gas mileage. You'll see when you look at the MPG indicator under your tach. Many people have complained that the car still has one, but I kind of like it.
SveaRike
You should keep the car in as low of a gear as possible per the speed and the gearing of your vehicle. Being in 6th gear at 40mph will do you no good when a car pulls out in front of you and you try to punch it to get around him. keeping your car at say 2400 rpm or even as high as 3k does not harm the vehicle and will not effect gas mileage...too much. I always try to keep my car well above 2k rpm so there is no lag when I put my foot down.
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[/quote]With the past cars, and when I first got my 545, I always tried to go to the highest gear to keep the RPM's down, but in 3rd gear, keeping the RPM's around 3K while driving in the 30's and 40's will allow the V8 to run more efficiently and get better gas mileage. You'll see when you look at the MPG indicator under your tach. Many people have complained that the car still has one, but I kind of like it.
SveaRike
05-10-2005, 08:33 AM
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Aaron, I drove 6-speeds for years. In traffic, I am usually in 6th at 35-40 mph. Consequently, I rarely go through the gears. After third, I usually go straight to 6th. Driving by rpm is OK, too. Run to 2000 in each gear if the situation allows it. No hard fast rules. Just depends on what's best for you. Going through all six is great if you can wind in each gear.
05-10-2005, 08:39 AM
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Aaron:
I agree with the group, it is RPM driven - MPH. I cruise between 2k & 4K RPMs depending on conditions. Below 2k RPMs there is not quick enough response for me. My .02. FYI, I have no problem redlining just for kicks.
I agree with the group, it is RPM driven - MPH. I cruise between 2k & 4K RPMs depending on conditions. Below 2k RPMs there is not quick enough response for me. My .02. FYI, I have no problem redlining just for kicks.
05-10-2005, 09:42 AM
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After driving sticks for sometime, you'll be self-taught. I was instructed by a friend of mine for half an hour to drive manual, and I was on my own from then on. You'll learn new thing every time you drive your car.
Have fun
Have fun
05-10-2005, 09:58 AM
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I am not trying to be a smart ass here but in addition to the posts regarding RPM, for maximum enjoyment you should be driving by feel and ear. After some time you will feel when the engine is comfortable with what you are expecting it to do.
If you are in 6th at 30mph and you try to accelerate and feel the motor is strained you were in the wrong gear. RPMs as shift points are a good rule of thumb but your car and mine (with the identical tranny) will want to shift differently and at different RPMs. It depends what you want to do next.
PS. It is a manual and the computer, thankfully has nothing to do with shift points and will allow you to do whatever you want. Its all up to you. Just have fun.
If you are in 6th at 30mph and you try to accelerate and feel the motor is strained you were in the wrong gear. RPMs as shift points are a good rule of thumb but your car and mine (with the identical tranny) will want to shift differently and at different RPMs. It depends what you want to do next.
PS. It is a manual and the computer, thankfully has nothing to do with shift points and will allow you to do whatever you want. Its all up to you. Just have fun.