do u with 5 spds normally shift at? i've always wondered what the recommended speed is. on my first car, a honda, it was right around 3000 rpms. so i did that with my 6 for awhile. but now i've been keepin it at lower RPMs. any input on this?
Brad

Save gas - 2200 to 2500 RPM with a light foot on the accelerator pedal.
Go fast - 4500 to 5500 RPM with heavy foot on the accelerator pedal.

I don't redline the cars as my mechanical skills do not include engine rebuilding. That being said, the engines do get up to 5K RPM at least once or twice almost every trip out. Love those country freeway entries . . . :devillook

Joe M in WV

Yea, thats about what i do to. If im just cruising around i usually hit just under 3k. If im trying to scoot, i really never go over 5500 unless im trying to hit high speeds on the highway.

-Jeff

ditto.

Wimps!!!!:D

Wimps!!!!:D

Ahh, viva the difference between a car fanatic and enthusiast. :drink1

And the sweet spot shift point on the Alpina is . . . ?

Joe M in WV

My car seems to drop off a lot of power anyway haha, more or less just gets louder if i go past 5700 haha

-Jeff

1-3-5 in town driving, use 2 when making a right turn. Keeps things at 1,500. At $3.24/gal this seems prudent, however the rush of getting "up on the cam" above 3,000 is a daily neccessity!

I do like the instruction in the owner's manual to "blow out the carbon" after extended city driving.

1-3-5 in town driving, use 2 when making a right turn. Keeps things at 1,500. At $3.24/gal this seems prudent, however the rush of getting "up on the cam" above 3,000 is a daily neccessity!

I do like the instruction in the owner's manual to "blow out the carbon" after extended city driving.

blow out the carbon??? whats this mean. and you go 5 gear in the city?? thats super low RPMs...which is not good right?

I do like the instruction in the owner's manual to "blow out the carbon" after extended city driving.



That's what the trips to Nashville are all about:redspot

It's also how I got my first speeding ticket.

Alex

My shift points are entirely dependent on how badly I want to hear the M at full song :(

blow out the carbon???
This means going 70mph in 3rd gear for a few minutes.

"After driving for a while in dense city traffic or bumper to bumper, we recommend letting your engine "take a deep breath" by covering the next mile or two at engine speeds of 3000 rpm. This will help eliminate any carbon build-up in the cylinders."

Almost as good as:

"Driving economically does not necessarily mean driving slowly."

"Driving when wearing ski boots is definitely not recommended...."

Gotta love those German engineers (or their translators).

blow out the carbon??? whats this mean. and you go 5 gear in the city?? thats super low RPMs...which is not good right?

I don't run below 1,000 rpm. I'm not concerned with "lugging" an engine as well engineered as the Big Six because the bottom end is almost bullet proof. Now if this were an old MG or Triumph, anything below 1,300 would mean new babbits or inserts from lugging!!

Even my old Corvette would do an automatic lock out of 2 and 3 if you were not pushing the engine from a dead stop. So on that 6 speed in the city you were generally 1-4-5-6.

Most well engineered engines are as comfortable a lower RPM as they are at full howl. I don't push the car to "torque drive" to higher speed from lower RPM, just downshift as necessary.

I would not however subject any car to the Roll Royce test. Seems a woman in the '30's bought a Royce and decided that the car only needed 4th and Reverse. She drove the car for years this way. When the mechanics tore down the gear box, there was no damage to 4, and 1,2, and 3 looked like they just came out of the box.

5500 at least once everytime i drive....for somereason i tend to drive at 3am on dry pavement on an open freeway....and if i dont see tail lights.... welll..... ive been known to get to the manufactuers claimed top speed on occasion and i'll leave it at that...

gotta love that E.A.T chip thanks mr c!

but yeah normaly shift around 2500-3500
punch it every now and then to put a little smirk on my face...shift at around 5-5500
....she just loves to get flogged ;)


...within reason..always within reason...i would never kill her

btw the 6 is the closest car ive ever driven that even comes close to smoothness at high speed on the highway compared to my dads s8... given the v10 s8 is quite a bit faster...

My car seems to drop off a lot of power anyway haha, more or less just gets louder if i go past 5700 haha

-Jeff

They get up on the cam about 3200 RPM's and work good to about 5500RPM's then start dropping off, the governer kicks in about 6500 I believe. You can feel the differance in the way the car pulls when you get over that 3 mark :lol