View Poll Results: Which gear do you drive in from 55mph to about 62 mph on the highway.
I drive in 5th gear
197
24.35%
I drive in 6th gear
612
75.65%
Voters: 809. You may not vote on this poll
5th or 6th gear on highway??
04-18-2006, 08:27 PM
#82
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Originally Posted by orangeapeel
You definitely dont want to run too low RPM's under a load though. It causes some crank stress if I am not mistaken.
Originally Posted by Wesmanw02
There's no harm in that at all, so long as the engine isn't bogging/struggling.
Originally Posted by GETGONE
According to your philosophy, the car idling at 800rpm or so is bad for it then? Oh..and I dont' skip 4 gears..I skip 5. I'll full throttle to 40-45mph in first then drop it in 6th and cruise along. 18K miles and not a hiccup yet. No oil use, no heistation, just great power and mileage. I'm not trying to skip any load. I get it up to speed and then cruise in 6th. If/when something breaks or goes wrong I'll be sure you're the first to know ok? 
04-18-2006, 09:28 PM
#83
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I generally won't go into 6th until I'm going 70, it bogs entirely too much and honestly I think it puts more engine load in 6th at too low of rpms rather than 5th at higher rpms.
04-18-2006, 11:19 PM
#84
Originally Posted by mdma z28
I generally won't go into 6th until I'm going 70, it bogs entirely too much and honestly I think it puts more engine load in 6th at too low of rpms rather than 5th at higher rpms.
However, if you have to give it more than just light throttle input to maintain speed, definitely downshift
04-28-2006, 12:21 PM
#85
thumping noise
Originally Posted by tappy
I drive mine in 5th because i have that tricky thumping noise i cant figure out at 1500rpm
a Front Torque Arm (BTW - Use lots of lube on this one! It's Tight!)
Pan Rod
Lower Control Arm
The addition of these 7 bushings eliminated 95% of my Formula's thumping and low rpm / high gear driveline shake.
MIKE
05-06-2006, 05:00 PM
#87
I didn't read through all of this, but it says in the manual that you can shift into 6th at 49mph. Now I am not saying this is the end all way to do it, but on a stock or bolt on car it's not gonna hurt it to cruise at this lower rpm. Now a cammed car is a diff story. I say go by the feel, and don't let it lug too hard. I use 6th at 55 and if it's flat at even slower speeds, like in the 40s when I am grandpa'ing around 
05-10-2006, 10:06 PM
#88
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Originally Posted by 87Fake
I just go by feel. If it feels like its chugging in 6th, then its too much load and probobly eating more fuel than if it were in a lower gear. For me, on the highway I'm in 6th, like 60-65 and above. But with my cam and stock gears I can't hold 6th to lower speeds.
05-16-2006, 06:49 PM
#91
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Originally Posted by 2000WhiteTA
I am in 6th gear everywhere I go. I have 4.11 gears and I shift into 6th at 45 mph. I like to get good gas mileage so it is always in 6th gear.
07-24-2006, 02:10 PM
#94
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For me it all depends. Right now I'm kind in the Las Vegas/LA area and when going up hill I usually drop down to 5th. But when crusing about 65 on pretty level ground I'll stay in 6th.
07-28-2006, 05:42 PM
#95
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Doesn't the tune of the car effect how it runs at low RPMS? I have a 1998, the year with the supposedly "defective" knock sensors and I always have to wait until 65MPH to go to 6th otherwise it feels very sluggish.
Could faulty knock sensors cause the computer to pull timing and reduce my low RPM torque?
I don't have EFI Live or any other software to monitor knock, so I don't know if my Knock Sensors are even working correctly.
Could faulty knock sensors cause the computer to pull timing and reduce my low RPM torque?
I don't have EFI Live or any other software to monitor knock, so I don't know if my Knock Sensors are even working correctly.
07-30-2006, 01:14 AM
#96
Originally Posted by gun5l1ng3r
Doesn't the tune of the car effect how it runs at low RPMS? I have a 1998, the year with the supposedly "defective" knock sensors and I always have to wait until 65MPH to go to 6th otherwise it feels very sluggish.
Could faulty knock sensors cause the computer to pull timing and reduce my low RPM torque?
I don't have EFI Live or any other software to monitor knock, so I don't know if my Knock Sensors are even working correctly.
Could faulty knock sensors cause the computer to pull timing and reduce my low RPM torque?
I don't have EFI Live or any other software to monitor knock, so I don't know if my Knock Sensors are even working correctly.
I always look at the MAF reading before and after changing gears to determine which gear I am using. If it reads too high I downshift and I was actually suprised to find out how many times I saved fuel from downshifting.
08-08-2006, 12:32 PM
#97
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I drive in 6th since I have 4.11's 
Pretty pointless to ride at such a high RPM in 5th.
But when I had my 3.42's in there, I would be in 5th at those speeds since it would be putting too much stress on everything seeing that it was only a few 100 RPM higher than idle
Pretty pointless to ride at such a high RPM in 5th.But when I had my 3.42's in there, I would be in 5th at those speeds since it would be putting too much stress on everything seeing that it was only a few 100 RPM higher than idle
