How often do you use the 6th gear?

[primedomain]

I was driving in the States last week where top speed limit is 75 - 80 MPH.

When I drive my 328i here in Germany, I normally use 5th gear for such speed because there is no need and I also get better gas mileage.

My question is...If you drive in the States, how often do you go to 6th gear.

[boss2k]

at that speed surely i put it in 6th to get good gas mileage. If i want to step on the gas i downshift

[mihalis]

I was driving in the States last week where top speed limit is 75 - 80 MPH.

When I drive my 328i here in Germany, I normally use 5th gear for such speed because there is no need and I also get better gas mileage.

My question is...If you drive in the States, how often do you go to 6th gear.

So, do you ever use 6th gear? I believed it was mostly designed to get better fuel consumption on the highway. When I borrow my friends Cayman S, I use 6th gear at anything above 70mph.

[mryakan]

I use it all the time, even in town at 40mph! As long as the engine is not struggling to lug the car, you can use the highest gear if you are cruising or at constant speed. This provides the best fuel economy. There is no point being in a lower gear when going at a constant speed, and when you need to accelerate, then you downshift into the appropriate gear.

[primedomain]

40 MPH with 6th gear ..hehe. Unless I'm slowing down, I never cruise 40 MPH in 6th

I normally put 6th gear if I pass 80 MPH

Out of topic...I spent 9 days in the States and I didn't see a newer version of BMW Coupe. I wonder why

[mryakan]

40 MPH with 6th gear ..hehe. Unless I'm slowing down, I never cruise 40 MPH in 6th

I normally put 6th gear if I pass 80 MPH
You are wasting gas. No need to be in a lower gear than what maintains forward momentum when not accelerating. Try using cruise control and you'll notice that if you are in a higer gear than is needed, it will tell you to shift. And unless you drop down to around 40mph, or are accelerating or going uphil, it will not be informing you guaranteed. But suite yourself, you asked, we gave answers, no one is forcing you to change your habits.

[Kernel Kurtz]

I bought a manual transmission because I enjoy shifting for myself, but not THAT much. If I used all 6 in the city I would be constantly shifting.

I usually try and keep the revs in the 2000-3000 range for any given cruising speed. Gives an acceptable (to me) level of fuel economy as well as enough torque to be able to move around in traffic without downshifting all the time.

One of the best parts about the car is it's throttle response - but not in overdrive.

[Bammer]

Any time I am on a highway and traffic is moving along I'll use 6th - anything above 52 is 6th gear time. If I want throttle response I'll press in the pedal on the left and use the shifter to select exactly how much response I need. :D

[shazzy04]

Any time I am on a highway and traffic is moving along I'll use 6th - anything above 52 is 6th gear time. If I want throttle response I'll press in the pedal on the left and use the shifter to select exactly how much response I need. :D

+1

[Kevlar]

I use it all the time, even in town at 40mph! As long as the engine is not struggling to lug the car, you can use the highest gear if you are cruising or at constant speed. This provides the best fuel economy. There is no point being in a lower gear when going at a constant speed, and when you need to accelerate, then you downshift into the appropriate gear.
What he said... I'm in 7th once I pass 40.

[Kernel Kurtz]

Seems to me you would have to shift even more with the DCT. At least with the 6 speed manual you can skip gears (ie downshift from 6th directly to 3rd if you need the power).

Don't you have to shift sequentially with the DCT - 7th to 6th to 5th to 4th to 3rd? Or does it have a kickdown on the pedal like a traditional automatic?

[Kevlar]

Seems to me you would have to shift even more with the DCT. At least with the 6 speed manual you can skip gears (ie downshift from 6th directly to 3rd if you need the power).

Don't you have to shift sequentially with the DCT - 7th to 6th to 5th to 4th to 3rd? Or does it have a kickdown on the pedal like a traditional automatic?
In the more aggressive modes... it'll skip gears. In average/slower modes, it will touch every gear on up/downshifts.

[willpeoples]

all the time, i dont know why you wouldnt... i put mine in manual and then hit 6th anytime im on the highway, better on the transmission to keep it from swapping all over the place also.

[Drizzy]

yo i need to learn how to drive a manuel . it looks illl

[aftp302]

I constantly would forget to shift into 6th gear because the 335 ran so well and got to "highway speed" so quickly. I would routinely end up at ~80 in 4th and shift into 5th but then forget about 6th. When I was really cruising on long trips I would be in 6th and never found the need to downshift for passing. The engine had plenty of torque for that.

[TeaRoy]

I'm with mryakan...I use 6th all the time. Gotta long stretch of 45mph speed limit to and from the office...it cruises at about 1500 RPM at 45-50 mph. As long as it's level or downhill and I'm not accelerating quickly...no need for lower gears. You could roll in 2nd gear at 50mpg if you wanted...but why? Choose whichever gear suits your needs best...wanna accelerate?...downshift to whichever gear matches how aggresssively you wanna accelerate.