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      12-28-2005, 10:46 AM   #1
petesamprs
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Non-autobahn drivers: Skip 5th gear?

I find that when I'm driving (US highways) I skip 5th gear and go right to 6th as my cruising gear.

4th is the optimal gear at normal US highway speeds (60-80mph), so I accelerate to the speed I want to in 4th and shift directly to 6th to start cruising (maximize mpg). When I need to pass, I double clutch down to 4th, pass, and shift back to 6th. So, if i want power I like to be in 4th and if I want to cruise i like to be in 6th. Don't need anything in between.

Does anyone else find 5th gear unnecessary?

btw - at 1900 miles, tons of fun, and 0 problems so far (knock on wood ).
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      12-28-2005, 10:50 AM   #2
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I never shift out of 6th on a 350 mile drive at an average 80-90 mph, unless I really need to pass someone quick, then I usually slip it into 3rd, maybe 4th...
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      12-28-2005, 10:54 AM   #3
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I find 6th is optional, even though I would not call it unecessary as it is usefull for lowering engine speed while cruising on highways.

I would never skip as gear while shifting, if anyone needs to do that you were probably in the wrong gear to beginn with.
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      12-28-2005, 10:55 AM   #4
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is skipping gears bad?
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      12-28-2005, 11:00 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bimmerista
I find 6th is optional, even though I would not call it unecessary as it is usefull for lowering engine speed while cruising on highways.

I would never skip as gear while shifting, if anyone needs to do that you were probably in the wrong gear to beginn with.
I was talking about 5th, not 6th. And there's nothing wrong w/ skipping gears since there's so much overlap with the effective speed range of our gears.
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      12-28-2005, 11:00 AM   #6
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there's nothing wrong with skipping gears, and skipping gears is WAY more usefull in a 6 spd than a 5 speed (i never used to skip, now I do quite often)

the only danger would be missing a shift, but other than that it doesn't hurt anything and you don't need to double clutch or do anything out of the oridinary
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      12-28-2005, 11:08 AM   #7
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Skipping gears is (i) dangerous as it incresaes the likelyhood of missing the intended gear; and (ii) I do not find 5th useless, rather 6th, as I am intimating that in fact you should stick to 5th rather than skip it for 6th. Your slight increase in fuel economy by skipping 5th is blown away upon your double gear down to 4th to pass, whereupon thy shall guzzle your gas in a most uneconomical manner .

I still maintain that skipping gears makes no sense. If you're in the right gear for your driving style + traffic combo, there is absolutely no need for it. The car has such good torque over 2500rpm (where you basically should be at all times except first), that if you need to shift down more than one gear you are probably undertaking too risky a passing manouvre anyways.

IMHO
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      12-28-2005, 11:09 AM   #8
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on freeway on-ramps and other roads where I'm going from a stop to 60+ mph I usually do 1st-2nd-4th(accelerate to desired speed)-then 6th

this seems to get me to speed easily and without too much shifting... (I'm Lazy )
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      12-28-2005, 11:11 AM   #9
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That’s why are cars don't have sequential gear boxes. So we can switch it up or down when it deem necessary.
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      12-28-2005, 02:38 PM   #10
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I like 5th gear...it's a nice gear for 100km/h cruising, or if I'm not on a highway...but on a big double carriage way - and don't feel like being in 4th.

I use 6th gear for "long distance". When I'm on a highway and travelling at 120kph and don't plan on slowing down. One other plus of my 320d - if I want to overtake in 6th - I just put my foot down, and the car pulls with amazing ability!!!
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      12-28-2005, 03:12 PM   #11
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- I don't skip 5th gear.... in fact I use 5th more than 6th.
- I use 6th mostly to calm down the engine when I'm cruising.
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      12-28-2005, 05:47 PM   #12
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I never skip gears, 5th gear is awesome.
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      12-29-2005, 09:17 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petesamprs
I find that when I'm driving (US highways) I skip 5th gear and go right to 6th as my cruising gear.

4th is the optimal gear at normal US highway speeds (60-80mph), so I accelerate to the speed I want to in 4th and shift directly to 6th to start cruising (maximize mpg). When I need to pass, I double clutch down to 4th, pass, and shift back to 6th. So, if i want power I like to be in 4th and if I want to cruise i like to be in 6th. Don't need anything in between.

Does anyone else find 5th gear unnecessary?

btw - at 1900 miles, tons of fun, and 0 problems so far (knock on wood ).
You describe my driving habits exactly. I find 5th gear useless (I sometimes use it when I want to slowly pass someone -- but that is rare).

I believe marketing has a lot to do with our cars having 6 forward gears.
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      12-29-2005, 09:31 AM   #14
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6 gears helps narrow the torque gap between gears and, most important, helps with fuel economy, rather than be merely marketing driven.
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      12-29-2005, 09:36 AM   #15
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i never skip a gear
i also find that when i really want to push hard in 6th gear the car goes wonderfullly in 6th gear without having to change to 5th or 4th
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      12-29-2005, 09:41 AM   #16
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In my old cars I found that I could be lazy and use just 1st, 3rd and 6th when going up the box - there was enough torque in each higher gear at low revs that skipping a gear even when changing up at a fairly low engine speed gave the transmission no causes for complaint.

In the 320d I can't go from 3rd to 6th as easily as 6th is so high geared (35mph/1000rpm) and the turbo diesel engine is such that it doesn't accelerate well from 1000rpm. Unlike my previous petrol engines with 6 speed manual gearboxes: 1) 22mph/1000rpm for the Peugeot, so that would accelerate from 30mph in 6th happily. 2) 35mph/1000rpm again but from a 4 litre V8, so that did much better at low revs than the E90 320d does.

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      12-29-2005, 09:51 AM   #17
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5th gear is very useful, I use it all the time in the city. The 6th is more for highway use only, or when I want to go over 80 MPH.
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      12-29-2005, 10:14 AM   #18
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ok, a quick experiment (two mile drive in town) has shown I do any or all of the following, depending on speed limits, traffic conditions, inclines, ....
going up:
1-2-3-4-5-6
1-2-3-6 or 1-2-3-4-6 when accelerating to 50mph or more (or 40mph or an urban downhill)
1-2-3-5 when accelerating to 40mph or more
1-2-4 when accelerating to 30mph or more

coming down:
6-5-4-3-2-1
6-4-2-1
6-3-2-1
5-3-2-1

For me, 6th is definitely not for highway only (and nor is cruise control for that matter)
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      12-29-2005, 12:00 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonMad
coming down:
6-5-4-3-2-1
6-4-2-1
6-3-2-1
5-3-2-1
Is there an advantage to downshifting through the gears (6-5-4-3-2-1 or 6-3-2-1 etc.) when coming to a stop from, let's say, from 60-0 mph, over simply putting the car in Neutral from 5th or 6th gear then coasting to a stop (using brakes of course)?
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      12-29-2005, 12:02 PM   #20
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I also skip some gears sometimes depending on acceleration.

The most notable combo is 1st, 2nd, 4th then into 6th, usually when accelerating onto the highway. When accelerating briskly, I find it unnecessary going through all the gears and I don't thing I'm lagging the engine.
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      12-29-2005, 12:09 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YoYo
Is there an advantage to downshifting through the gears (6-5-4-3-2-1 or 6-3-2-1 etc.) when coming to a stop from, let's say, from 60-0 mph, over simply putting the car in Neutral from 5th or 6th gear then coasting to a stop (using brakes of course)?
Well, it's fun for one thing. Also, you're always in the right gear to accelerate quickly in case of emergency.
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      12-29-2005, 12:11 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YoYo
Is there an advantage to downshifting through the gears (6-5-4-3-2-1 or 6-3-2-1 etc.) when coming to a stop from, let's say, from 60-0 mph, over simply putting the car in Neutral from 5th or 6th gear then coasting to a stop (using brakes of course)?
It's preferred that you leave your car in some gear at all times so your wheels have some traction control. but i'm guessing our BMWs have that covered with DTC.

I sometimes skip 5th as well, but not always.. depending on traffic of course.
What kinda gets tricky sometimes is downshifting into the right gear. Sometimes i shift too low, like into 3rd when 4th would be a better choice. At times like that I wish there was a gear indicator to show you which gear you're in. Oh and a nice HUD as well.
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