Originally Posted by mikesta21
im a 4th gen driver(93si) , and for fuel economy i constantly use fifth gear at speeds like 34-40 mph and up and the rpms are at 1500-2000 and i dont get any problem(i dont have a lot of power in that rpm for acceleration --but i could just drop down to 4th, but im not lugging or stalling?)
is there a problem using fifth gear like that? I thought using the higher gear always yielded the best gas mileage.
thanks any help would be appreciated
Actually your RPMs have nothing to do with fuel economy, fuel economy has to do with throttle position, If you're using 5th at a low rpm to get yourself up to speed (w/o downshifting) u'll require the engine to work hard thus consuming more fuel (i.e. starting the car from a stop, compared to downshifting to slow down)