Who uses 5th gear?

[larryn]

I just bypass it when upshifting or downshifting, and have probably only used it less than 5 times in the past 4+ months. It just seems like a not needed gear ratio. Anybody else think so?

[Yoot1]

I use it when cruising 45-50 mph on local country roads.

[Dr_Jones]

Yup. Getting on highway usually 4th straight to six

i wish 6th was taller :wink:

[mikead_99]

Heh, this car is my 3rd 6MT in a row and I still tend to neglect 6th in favor of 5th. Not so much on the highway or anything, but on roads you can still get decent speed I guess I think putting it in 6th is committing to staying over the speed limit. On the highways I do tend to hop right over 5th too though.

[mistermojorizin]

on my g35 i used to skip 5th, and then 6th started to grind a little on the 3->6 shift. So I had to retrain myself to use 4th 5th, and then the grind went away.

now i just use it out of habit. also, to get good gasmileage on streets that are too slow for 6th.

[stampchez]

I never use fifth either.

[jeremyc74]

I was just thinking this same thing on a road trip last week. I've started making an effort to use it just so it's not sitting there like new when the car has 200k on it and every other gear is worn out. I wish 6th was a little taller as well.

[rick23]

haha i thought i was the only one....

[JTdrivin1]

i use it cruising at 60mph... seems to get better gas mileage than being in 6th. then again i'm a 28i so maybe it's different.

[Bizall]

Same here. If I'm at anything over 45mph, I use 6th. Sometimes, if I slow down, I keep it there until around 35 or so then I'll downshift. I love 6th!

[Redbeemer]

I think BMW made a decision regarding 6th gear in this car; they decided not to make it too tall which would relegate it to a highway only useage. Instead they geared it so it can be used around town pretty frequently once the traffic is moving. I think they did this to improve gas mileage. If they had gone with the taller gearing, the mileage around town would suffer, although you might gain a bit on the highway. I am glad it is geared like it is as I can actually use 6th gear all the time and I get great mileage as a result (for a 300 hp car). I tend to skip 3rd gear just like I did in my previous Bimmer. I seldom use 3rd gear as I really see no need for it the way I drive.

[135iPSU]

can u skip 5th or 4th if you have a tiptronic? will it work just as effectively?

[mistermojorizin]

i think in D is geared for best gas milage and does skip gears when it feels its warranted. or you can use M mode.

[x97Melbourne]

i use it for crusing on roads with a sp limit if 45-50....
but when getting up to the highway speeds....yeah i skip 5th

[drand]

I either skip 4th or 5th. I will go 3rd to 5th on local roads and 4th to 6th on highways.

[esses]

The direct ratio gear? I use it all the time for highway driving.

Any difference in fuel consumption while cruising between 5th and 6th is negligible. The difference in passing acceleration is huge.

Now my definition of cruising and passing speeds may be different than others' but unless you regularly cruise at 115 I just dont see enough acceleration in 6th gear. Stating what I consider cruising and passing speeds would certainly violate 1addicts policy so I dont exactly drive slow.. :iono:

[Gray135i]

Heck, I tend to skip 3rd, 4th and 5th a lot of the time... 2nd usually gets me far enough above the speed limit that I need to just cruise from there and not accelerate more. 1st->2nd->6th If I'm feeling really lazy, I'll just start in 2nd and only use two gears.

[TP 135i]

I'm also a FIFTH SKIPPER..........only use it when I'm cruzing at 35-40 mph or on long uphills 35-50 mph.....I mostly skip it and go right from 3rd or 4th to 6th.

[damian]

i use 5th all the time for low speed cruising (45ish), and also to pass at about 80 mph when 4th is unnecessary.

[Oregon]

I prefer 5th in stretches of uphill highway marked 55mph.

[1speedbike]

i use it all the time when steptronic forces it down from 6th to 5th in slapstick mode at exactly 35 mph. and of course everyone needs to hover at exactly around 35 around town, no matter what the speed limit, making it impossible to just keep it in 6th. i have no use for 5th, i don't need the acceleration since i'm always stuck behind a giant truck anyway

[TazioNYC]

I use 5th generally when on the highway going 80+ in light traffic.