6th gear highway
01-13-2010, 12:07 AM
#41
01-13-2010, 12:25 AM
#42
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Evansville, IN
Posts: 1,199
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Anyways, for a stock car its completely fine to go into 6th around 50-55 as long as you arent hard on the throttle. The main road in my town has a speed limit of 50 and crusing along it is a breeze in 6th. No need to turn 1700-1800 when I can be at 1200-1300 @ 55 and not waste the extra gas. However, I dont do that until the car is completely warmed up and blowing hot air through the vents.
.......OMG!!!!........
I give up!...LOL!!!
01-13-2010, 09:24 AM
#44
TECH Senior Member
iTrader: (96)
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
Posts: 24,241
Likes: 0
Received 81 Likes
on
72 Posts
There was a big thread I remember a while back on this very subject of torquey motors. I figured the same as yall, the LS was as torquey as any. Well after a few pages of reading from guys with experience, they enlightened all of us to the fact that not many motors now a days are torquey like they used to be. I wont speak of motors that I havent driven but here's a thought. If you are familiar with autos, LT1 cars come with a 1200 or so torque converter, LS1s come with a 17-1800 converter. So torque starting is at least 500 rpm higher then then LT cars.
01-13-2010, 05:43 PM
#45
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Indianapolis/Louisville
Posts: 378
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
its not a matter of can you drive at 45 in 6th gear, no that wont hurt a thing.... but i guarantee your NOT getting the best MPG in doing soo. yes an LS1 makes enough power to accelerate in 6th doing 1200 rpm but it takes WAY more gas to do it than it would if you just downshifted. its all about mechanical advantage.
its just my opinion, but i would bet good money that your wasting alot of gas cruising around at 1200 rpm than if you were in a gear that allowed you to operate closer to the powerband.
its just my opinion, but i would bet good money that your wasting alot of gas cruising around at 1200 rpm than if you were in a gear that allowed you to operate closer to the powerband.
01-13-2010, 06:19 PM
#46
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Evansville, IN
Posts: 1,199
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I got 26 MPG last fill up. That is all city 13 miles one way and 13 back. There are about 25 stop lights on my route and if Im lucky Ill only hit half of them. Not to mention, Ive done the 5th gear comparison and got around 23 MPG just using 5th gear.
The road is literally all flat and the few places that do have a hill I downshift.
The road is literally all flat and the few places that do have a hill I downshift.
01-14-2010, 08:36 PM
#47
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (7)
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Hannibal ,MO
Posts: 393
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
damn for real people cruise at 800 rpm's and its still not goin to hurt anything although you would get worthless mileage. lugging is not going to hurt a dam thing. i feel like its all being way over analyzed you gennerally have 55, 65, and 70 cruising speed limits. for the 55 zones use 5th, on the 65 and 70 drive a little over the limit and use 6th its not a novel idea. as far as ls1 not being above average on torque i guess i didnt know a little under 300 ft lbs between 1500-2000 rpms was just 'average'.
01-15-2010, 06:23 AM
#49
do alittle experiment the next time your cruising along in 6th at a low rpm,,, with out changing the amount of throttle you have, just keep the right foot pressure constant on the gas pedal, downshift to 5th and ease the clutch out. dont be surprised to find the car accelerating with the same throttle input. this means that you can cruise at a slightly higher rpm using less throttle input (less gas=higher mpg). I try not to drive in 6th at anything less than 1500 rpm just for fuel milage reasons, simply put it takes more gas to produce the power to accelerate the car at a lower rpm (because of the lower mechanical advantage) than it does at a moderately higher rpm. the sweet spot for me is about 2100 rpm, 6th gear about 78-80 mph = best mpg,,, supposedly its the "sweet spot" in the rpm range for a stockish LS1.
Im surprised no one has brought up the obvious reason you shouldn't "lug" your engine,,,, DETONATION!! putting to much of a load on an engine at a low rpm is a primary cause and has horrible consequences to the internals!!
Im surprised no one has brought up the obvious reason you shouldn't "lug" your engine,,,, DETONATION!! putting to much of a load on an engine at a low rpm is a primary cause and has horrible consequences to the internals!!
01-15-2010, 06:40 AM
#50
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (20)
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: KCMO
Posts: 338
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I just use those low gear ratios as an excuse to speed..."but officer, I had to drive 95 so I could use 6th gear. I'm just trying to do my part in saving the planet by getting the best MPGs possible."
As far as the torque output of an LS1, I don't think it's a secret that these things were not built to be torque monsters...I mean, come on, a 3.62" stroke? That's why god invented the 383. And the intake, again, not so much for torque. Hell the TPI motors (comparatively for their time) had way more torque than the LS1...again, check out those intakes. But still, better than average torque, and watch out on the top end.
As far as the torque output of an LS1, I don't think it's a secret that these things were not built to be torque monsters...I mean, come on, a 3.62" stroke? That's why god invented the 383. And the intake, again, not so much for torque. Hell the TPI motors (comparatively for their time) had way more torque than the LS1...again, check out those intakes. But still, better than average torque, and watch out on the top end.
01-15-2010, 11:55 PM
#52
Teching In
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
well iam the original poster and i found the problem...It deff was electrical. My crank shaft position sensor went bad causing my car to die. I drove it for awhile after the first time it died probly 2 weeks then on the way back from florida it died and didnt want to even start. hooked obd up to it threw the crankshaft position sensor. replaced it...back on the road again running strong. I guess extreme heat or head problems can cause this sensor to go bad. I dont have head problems so i dunno...11 year old sensor i guess
01-16-2010, 01:02 AM
#54
Teching In
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: massillon , ohio
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
wow, such a big arguement cause some guys car died out...oh, and to you torque guys, cummins = 600 ftlbs @ 800 rpms, thats above average. and honestly for a manual cruising speed and gear selection is and always has been a personal preference. my dad always cruised 5th gear (in his truck) going down a 60mph highway where id cruise 4th. gas mileage between us wasnt really that different until i put my foot into it as i love to do. never destroyed an engine from lugging it, never blown a tranny cause my rpms were too low. and all of my vehicles have had atleast 180k before i got rid of them. but seriously, its a sports car, not a smart car. these cars were made to be fast and powerful, not fuel efficent. i mean i can understand guys garaging their cars for winter, but if you only pull it out once a year and you baby it at that whats the point? these cars were made to be driven. if you have a 500 hp 6 speed ss, and your complaining that your getting crappy mileage, you dont deserve the car, sell it and buy a hybrid civic. yes my cars only a v6 right now, no its not a cool ceta. but i didnt get a v6 cause "its great on gas". its what i could afford. just the same im not swapping a v8 into it cause i want better mileage, im doing it to have the power to backup the handling and the cars true nature. so while you all argue about rpms and gas mileage, im gunna go get 15mpg and bury my speedo cause i love it and thats what the car was built for
01-16-2010, 02:21 AM
#56
Implosion.
wow, such a big arguement cause some guys car died out...oh, and to you torque guys, cummins = 600 ftlbs @ 800 rpms, thats above average. and honestly for a manual cruising speed and gear selection is and always has been a personal preference. my dad always cruised 5th gear (in his truck) going down a 60mph highway where id cruise 4th. gas mileage between us wasnt really that different until i put my foot into it as i love to do. never destroyed an engine from lugging it, never blown a tranny cause my rpms were too low. and all of my vehicles have had atleast 180k before i got rid of them. but seriously, its a sports car, not a smart car. these cars were made to be fast and powerful, not fuel efficent. i mean i can understand guys garaging their cars for winter, but if you only pull it out once a year and you baby it at that whats the point? these cars were made to be driven. if you have a 500 hp 6 speed ss, and your complaining that your getting crappy mileage, you dont deserve the car, sell it and buy a hybrid civic. yes my cars only a v6 right now, no its not a cool ceta. but i didnt get a v6 cause "its great on gas". its what i could afford. just the same im not swapping a v8 into it cause i want better mileage, im doing it to have the power to backup the handling and the cars true nature. so while you all argue about rpms and gas mileage, im gunna go get 15mpg and bury my speedo cause i love it and thats what the car was built for
