E36 guys - what gear are you in while cruising at 40mph?

[Penguin-Police]

I always do 4th gear, but with the gas prices, maybe 5th will get me better mileage? :dunno

[E36Bimmer93]

I usually stick it in 5th, and just downshift when needed.

[SilentKIL]

5th would hurt your gas mileage... you should keep it in 4th... at least that way momentum will help keep the engine running instead of the gas pedal

[fastfly]

5th would hurt your gas mileage... you should keep it in 4th... at least that way gravity (your car moving) will help keep the engine running instead of the gas pedal

How does gravity = your car moving? :shifty

[Rakshas]

Whatever gear has me between 2k and 3k rpm.

Running straight up to 5th is just going to put unneeded stress on your engine.

[Bravoaloha]

4th...
I have a friend, who has a e36 M, and sometimes leaves it in 3rd when at about 40, it makes me really mad.

Hes on the boards, and may very well see this...

SHIFT TO FOURTH

[Captain A]

4. 5th is just too low.

I have a friend with a camaro who shifts everytime the tach gets to 2k. Drives me crazy.

[E36Bimmer93]

5th shouldn't hurt your gas mileage unless your on an incline and have to press the pedal to the floor, in that case downshift. On level ground you should be able to cruise 40mph in 5th at like 2k rpm's at 1/3 throttle. <<<those are estimations I don't really pay to much attention when I do it.

[Young Version]

1st.

[UtorVita]

1st.

:D Can't believe it took that long for someone to say that in OT.

[Schwarz328iS]

why are you only going 40mph? :shifty

[sprtwin1]

Anything past 25, I cruise in fifth. You just have to be sure not to attempt to accelerate. My car is rated at 18mpg in the city, and I can get 20+ all city driving even with taking off fast 1/2 the time. Besides cruising in fifth, I always time all the lights, and if I am not going to make a light off in the distance, I will take it out of gear and just coast to the light. Also, be sure to always cruise at a steady speed, any fluctuations=lower gas mileage unless you are hyper-milling.

[Mike F.]

I'm right at the edge between 4th and 5th at 40. At 45, I'm in 5th for sure.

[Lavalamp]

i redline 1st and shift to 5th. believe it or not you get the best mileage that way.
depending on your gearing you may not have to go all the way to redline in 1st, just get to about 42 and shift slowly to 5th and hold a steady speed and you should now be cruising at 40mph in 5th w/o wasting gas.

[ducky328i]

i have a 3.91 rear end, so im pretty much always in fifth or $hifted :rofl

[SilentKIL]

How does gravity = your car moving? :shifty

momentum :(

[A.LACK]

I only drive in reverse.

[joey v]

How does gravity = your car moving? :shifty

obviously you've never driven off a cliff

[fastfly]

obviously you've never driven off a cliff

Well, I believe that is something you can only experience once.

[ducky328i]

i redline 1st and shift to 5th. believe it or not you get the best mileage that way.
depending on your gearing you may not have to go all the way to redline in 1st, just get to about 42 and shift slowly to 5th and hold a steady speed and you should now be cruising at 40mph in 5th w/o wasting gas.42 in FIRST!!!!!!!! thast impossible...I can MAYBE get to 25 and thats 7k :rofl

[Soup Nazi]

1st. What? I like being in the power band. :shifty

[Theodore]

Usually 4th, but if the road is clear, 5th. I've been driving less aggressively lately and it's give me ~5 or 6 mpg back.

[Def]

4th will net you better gas mileage. The BSFC(brake specific fuel consumption) curve will be lower around 2.5k RPM than it will at less than 2k RPM. 3rd is probably getting out of the sweet spot at such a low load, but under greater load it seems like an S52 actually has a peak(best) BSFC around 3.5k RPM.

Lower RPM isn't always better.

[Young Version]

I'm actually in 4th at 40mph, but just barely. 5th gear is left for 50+.

[bmwretard]

2nd, 3rd, or 4th depending on how much gas I feel like saving, how fast I need to accelerate, and how sideways I am.

[TempCK318is]

depends normal driving im in 4th, Spirited 2nd. Kinda a weird question.

[Future95M3]

always use fifth and just accelerate really slow. I've found i get the best gas mileage this way.

[MisterBimmerMan]

1st.

:rofl I miss OT's sardonic humor. :cry

[NAHSAYN]

20-35 2nd gear
35-45 3rd gear
45-50/55 4th gear
50/55+ 5th gear

I drive like an idiot. I like the high rpm's. My car seems to like it? Woop Woop.

[DJDD]

2nd, 3rd, or 4th depending on how much gas I feel like saving, how fast I need to accelerate, and how sideways I am.


+1 :D

[Consonance]

i have a 3.91 rear end, so im pretty much always in fifth or :rofl

Is the 3.91 lsd a good improvement? I've got the 3.23 but don't find the need to do 145 everywhere :evil2. 0-100 is plenty.

[thedude60126]

I used to always use 4th but recently have discovered get a little bit better gas cruising in 5th

[Morontron]

Okay when the speed limit is 40, who goes 50 so that they can be comfortably in 5th gear? That's usually what ends up happening with me.

[CT Sean]

20-35 2nd gear
35-45 3rd gear
45-50/55 4th gear
50/55+ 5th gear


this right around what i do. at 40 in 4th my car's at like 2200 RPM's that's too low for me

[E36Bimmer93]

I tested it today, and found that in 5th at 40mph you'll be around 1700 rpm's. I was getting 40-50 mpg according to the obc. In 4th at 40mph I was at around 2200 rpm's getting 35-45 mpg according to obc. This is all on level ground at a constant throttle pressure or the info. is void

[sprtwin1]

I tested it today, and found that in 5th at 40mph you'll be around 1700 rpm's. I was getting 40-50 mpg according to the obc. In 4th at 40mph I was at around 2200 rpm's getting 35-45 mpg according to obc. This is all on level ground at a constant throttle pressure or the info. is void

That is the reason I cruise at fifth at all times greater than 25mph. I have done this same test and fifth always yields the best gas mileage.

[bjm442]

I'm in D

[deanbruhn]

5th will result in better milage until you have to aply pressure or find any sort of incline, then it will take more power to produce the same desired result. I don't know about where you are but a flat spot in a road is usually good for about 100 ft unless I am in downtown minneapolis.