What speed do you shift your 5-speed M/T at?

You can really shift by speed all the time. If your going up a grade, or nerging on a short ramp, it will be different every time.

I do know that I rarely, if ever, go over 3k rpm.

 

I shift at 3k rpm usually. If I'm particularly feeling the need to save gas I'll shift at 2.5k

5th depends on so many variables. If I'm on the road going down hill or on a flat road and I could get away with 5th I'll use it. Otherwise if I'm on the high way I go with the same rule as above. If rpm is lower than 2k in 5th I won't be able to maintain the speed

 

I have a 2004 4X4 2.7. The owners manual states the speeds and every one of them amounts to 2500 RPM except for 5 where they say to shift to fifth at 60mph. At the elevation I live at (6500+) that just doesn't work when merging onto an interstate when the on ramp is a hill. I'll take it to 3000 rpm or more before I shift to 5th. Other than that the 2500 rpm shift speed works just fine. I can't remember the speed for 1st (I think 15 mph) but second is 25 mph, 3rd is 40 mph and they say 4th is 60 mph. I basically drive around at 2000-2500 rpm around town and 2500-3000 out on the interstate but we have 75-80 mph speed limits here. I'm a firm nbeliever that lugging an engine is just as bad as revving it all the time so since my truck has almost no power below 2000 rpm I keep it there or above except in 1st or 2nd gear.

 

With where i live its so hilly i cant hardly ever use 5th gear. Theres a hill everywhere you go

 

We drove from Medellin Colombia to Quito Ecuador and to Esmeraldas on the Pacific a couple of weeks ago. My 2003 Hilux DCSB 4x4 has a 2.4 2RZ-FE (that's how they sell them in Colombia) that runs on Gasoline or LNG. First time in the truck on a long trip. In the mountains from Medellin south to the frontier I learned to shift at 3500 so the rpms would not drop below 2000. Under that the motor had zero torque. When passing, sometimes hit 5000 rpm. Truck accelerated a little better in the hills on gasoline. In Ecuador, the highways were world class ... built to US interstate standards. Gasoline was $1.48 USD/gallon !! Everything there was so inexpensive due to the strong dollar (USD is the currency there.) Someone with a $2000/month pension could retire there and live like a king. But it's still Ecuador, and not much else good to say about it. I'll take Colombia anyday.

- JAMES

 

Im looking at this forum cause im new to manual and I I listen to the tranny but the problem is some of use don't have a tac so we're shifting by sound and gauging by speed as well pike for me I generally shift into 2nd around 15-20mph 3rd at around 25-30 mph 4th around 35-40 mph depending on how the transmission sounds but when I go above fourth it sounds fine like I don't need to shift till about 55

 

Shift when the truck tells you to, not an arbitrary number on the speedo or tach. All depends what and where. In no hurry and flat land, I shift a lot sooner. In the hills, in a hurry, under a load, etc. I shift a lot higher. Shift points anywhere from 2000-3600rpm for most driving.

 

This actually helps a lot for my situation thank you my truck do sent have the owners manual anymore so Im like freaking out when I should shift to 5th cause im new to manual so thank you

 

In the owners male the recommended shift speeds are as following:

1st to 2nd: 15mph
2nd to 3rd: 25mph
3rd to 4th: 40mph
4th to 5th: 45mph

I find this is pretty accurate for most occasions, however I do feel shifting from 3rd to 4th at 35mph feels much smoother and better. Your shifts should be based off FEEL and conditions.

 

I drive the shit out of mine, nearly redline for 1/3 of shifts, well into 3-5k rpm 80% of the time. freeway is 75-90 mph and i do 20 mpg. one of the good things about an NA 4 cylinder is that your driving doesnt affect MPG as much. Im only losing 2-3, in a v8 you can lose 5-8 mpg driving like that

 

Really? I hate the feeling of being in high rpms in my Tacoma, I like to keep the rpms low besides when accelerating fast. Usually when I get in high rpms I can smell like a burnt rubber smell. Nothing is wrong with my truck though.

 

I hardly use 5th outside of flat interstate traveling. I used to more but after messing around for awhile I get the same 20-21mpg even when cruising at 3k

 

I down shift when slowing down instead of using brake - I think the motor doesn't use fuel during this - Is this correct ? Thanks for any reply.

 

I always went by sound, feel, and driving conditions.

 

I read the manual for my 90s Toyotas and disagreed with all the suggestions haha

Shift by feel. All day every day.

the idea is to get to top gear as efficiently as possible.

the 4 banger likes revs and doesn’t like to lug. I’d probably shift it 3000 ish or higher.

 

1st- 15 mph
2nd- 30 mph
3rd- 50 mph
4th- 60 mph
5th- 75mph

this is assuming getting on highway/preparing to. Around town I'll short shift every 10 mph or so.

Edit: My truck is 2wd and we think the rear end ratio is roughly 3.12 or whatever that longest geared option was. It'll do 70 in 2nd.

 

I owned a Porsche 944 once.
The only thing they told you were maximums.

But I agree the 2.7 doesn’t like to lug.
I’d say my shift point were closer to 3k than 2k. My Uncle ran a cattle farm, he used Toyota Puckups and Tacomas. He always said, these trucks aren’t tractors. Don’t lug them. All of his had well over 200k one them one was at 310k+ Plus when he sold it.

Obviously he had large diesel trucks for hauling. But 90% of the time, we were in a Toyota.

 

2K on the tach. 55 mph on the interstate occasionally 60 mph. my mpg went from 19 to 24-25 mpg. till gas goes down more than it is now.

 

If I had a 5spd.

Start off in 2nd unless loaded
Shift to 3rd at 4200rpm
3rd to 5th at 4200rpm
5th to 4th at 3500rpm for passing

 

Join the club. I tend to shift a couple miles per hour above what the manual says. It states I believe 37 mph from 3rd to 4th, I typically shift around 40 mph. From 4th to 5th I'll typically closer to 50 mph, I think the manual recommends 45.

Not good to over-rev of course, but probably lugging is worse. Because your uncle didn't lug his Toyotas could be a factor why they got up to those high miles. I do like how the Tacoma 4 cylinder and 5 speed manual are geared tall, at least for a 4 cylinder. Years ago I had a 2.5L Subaru Outback with the 5 speed manual. At 65 mph in 5th it ran at 3200 rpms which was kind of annoying. I don't know why in the world that kind of gearing was chosen.