Shifting Sweet Spot

I agree that from the standpoint of syncing the engine speed to the vehicle speed after you shift, winding it out more helps you do that better and more smoothly. I also find that it helps to give it just a little extra shot of throttle right before you let off the gas to push in the clutch. That holds the RPMs higher during the shift and usually makes it just about perfect RPM to go into the next gear. I find that shifting at low RPMs with this Tacoma's engine / transmission / clutch combination makes for rougher shifts because it's harder to perfectly match the RPMs to vehicle speed when you release the clutch.

 

Hey man i just wanna know where did you buy your shift knob?

 

2500 - 3500 seems to be the sweet spot for me. Merging into traffic I like to ride out 3rd a bit

 

Usually just above 3k unless im driftin then more like 4500.

 

1st to 2nd = 3000 - 3500 RPM
2nd to 3rd = 2000 - 2500 RPM
3rd to 4th = 2000 - 2500 RPM
4th to 5th = 2000 - 2500 RPM

For best fuel economy and speed, drive in the gear that keeps the RPM around 2000. And don't accelerate too fast. Drive like there is an egg under the gas pedal.

 

05 4 cyl 5 speed. I shift like this
1st to 2nd - 3000
2nd to 3rd - 2500
3rd to 4th -2500
4th to 5th - 2000
I like to shift and when I let the clutch out be at 1500 rpm. Anything lower then 1500 and the truck growls at me. I try to cruise at 1500 or near that on flat ground. Driving in the hills I keep it closer to 2000.

 

I don't know if it makes a difference but I have a first gen and that is what the owners manual says. It makes sense too since if you shift to 5th below 60mph it almost falls flat on it's face. I don't know if the gear ratios are different from 1st to 2nd gen or not but many times I'll shift at 65 or 70 if I'm merging into heavy traffic.

 

Haha at 40mph I'm already in 5th gear!

 

"By ear" for me usually equates to "by butt" . You can feel the engine as easily as hear it when the radio is up. I don't often get to 5th gear unless I'm on the interstate or have a long stretch of 65 ahead of me and it doesn't matter if the engine pulls or not. I'm a bit undergeared though.

I don't worry much about mpg. If I have weight I need moved I use my f250 and get 10-13mpg, loaded/unloaded doesn't seem to matter. If it's good weather I drop the top on the mustang and get about 21mpg, mixed and driving hard. When the weather isn't good, I drive the taco and get about 18'ish. It's weird to me but my 'go fast' vehicle that doesn't get babied, also gets probably the best mpg of any vehicle I've ever owned.

 

Really all depends, when pulling out into traffic, I'll wind out the gears to about 3.5k~ish. If no one is behind me, and I can take it slow, i'll shift at about 2k-2.5k.