Cruising at 5th and 6th gears MPG results - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Heelhook22 · 02-04-2010, 01:58 PM

Hello Team,

I posed the question a little while back on which gear to cruise at, so for MPG sake I decided to perform a little test. I commute to work everyday and cruise at 70-75 mph. I didn't change any other aspects of my driving style (when not on the freeway) and the only mods to my car are a K & N drop in filter and Maganaflow exhaust (16483). These results are the results of 2 tanks of gas per test, that is 2 full tanks while crusing at 5th gear and 2 full tanks while cruising at 6th gear:

5th gear average MPG- 16.7 MPG
6th gear average MPG- 18.1 MPG

Of course 5th gear offers the better powerband, but I'd thought I'd share my own results.

Cheers,

Heelhook

ljustin293 · 02-04-2010, 01:59 PM

cool, may 6th gear average is about 18.5...need to check 5th sometime

Brokinarrow · 02-04-2010, 02:02 PM

good intel and all, but was there ever any doubt as to if you'd get better mileage in 6th gear over 5th?

That would seem like common sense to me.

Steve Dallas · 02-04-2010, 02:16 PM

When I was still breaking my car in, I didn't want to lug the engine. Here in Washington State, much of the highway driving I do has hills, so I pretty much kept it out of 6th. For shorter hops, I tend not to put it in 6th now, but if I'm doing a long hop, I will. I do like having the powerband available.

67MellowYellow · 02-04-2010, 02:26 PM

The delta looks about right but your averages seem low for cruising at 70mph. I'd expect closer to 24 with that type of driving. I get 20 mpg just doing mixed hwy/city.

ffrcobra_65 · 02-04-2010, 04:04 PM

so how far did you get on 1 tank full in 5th gear and same ? for 6th?

If you really wanna know the definite mpg answer in 5th or 6th gear....when you get to 70mph in 5th gear, set your cruise control on, reset your mpg counter, and cruise for at least 5 miles and note your mpg. Do same for 6th gear.

Your test has too many driving variables to be definitive. Unless you did your test just driving in 5th gear using a tank full and did the same in 6th. But I doubt that is what you did. You had a some street driving, stop and go, and freeway cruising, different weather conditions, etc all mixed in. You gotta be extremely anal retentive to remember exactly how you drove and where you went in the 1st tank full, to do the very same (except cruising more in 6th gear) driving patterns in the 2nd tank full to come to a conclusive result in mpg.

EMB135Driver · 02-04-2010, 04:30 PM

Averages seem very low....unless you guys are talking about reseting the DIC average MPG at fill up and then posting results at your next fill up of course. I was on the highway the other night at 70 in 6th gear, reset the average mpg, and after about 15 minutes it was stabilized at 23.8 mpg

DarricSS · 02-04-2010, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EMB135Driver

Averages seem very low....unless you guys are talking about reseting the DIC average MPG at fill up and then posting results at your next fill up of course. I was on the highway the other night at 70 in 6th gear, reset the average mpg, and after about 15 minutes it was stabilized at 23.8 mpg

I have seen as high as 25mpg on a flat 25 mile stretch through the AZ Desert in the summer. Right now i average 18-19 in the winter with 50/50 city highway.

Bryan · 02-04-2010, 05:12 PM

I am averaging 9.3mpg all city driving. average speed about 34mph. The fact that I drive it like I stole it probably has something to do with it...

slick rick · 02-04-2010, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan

I am averaging 9.3mpg all city driving. average speed about 34mph. The fact that I drive it like I stole it probably has something to do with it...

TommyTSquared · 02-04-2010, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Dallas

When I was still breaking my car in, I didn't want to lug the engine. Here in Washington State, much of the highway driving I do has hills, so I pretty much kept it out of 6th. For shorter hops, I tend not to put it in 6th now, but if I'm doing a long hop, I will. I do like having the powerband available.

During my break in I RARELY went to 6th even if I was 70 or above. Now, I'm shifting into the next gear at these speeds:

So at 10-12 mph I would shift INTO 2nd.

2nd: 10-12
3rd: 17-18
4th: 25
5th: 30
6th: 45

Engine cruises fine as these speeds never drop it down to below 1k rpm and keep really good mileage. My shifting is completely different in I'm in a spirited mood.

02-04-2010, 01:58 PM	#1
Heelhook22 Drives: 2010 Black SS Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento Posts: 49	Cruising at 5th and 6th gears MPG results Hello Team, I posed the question a little while back on which gear to cruise at, so for MPG sake I decided to perform a little test. I commute to work everyday and cruise at 70-75 mph. I didn't change any other aspects of my driving style (when not on the freeway) and the only mods to my car are a K & N drop in filter and Maganaflow exhaust (16483). These results are the results of 2 tanks of gas per test, that is 2 full tanks while crusing at 5th gear and 2 full tanks while cruising at 6th gear: 5th gear average MPG- 16.7 MPG 6th gear average MPG- 18.1 MPG Of course 5th gear offers the better powerband, but I'd thought I'd share my own results. Cheers, Heelhook

02-04-2010, 02:02 PM	#3
Brokinarrow Drives: 2012 Honda NC700x Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Indianola, IA Posts: 5,317 View My Garage	good intel and all, but was there ever any doubt as to if you'd get better mileage in 6th gear over 5th? That would seem like common sense to me. __________________

02-04-2010, 02:16 PM	#4
Steve Dallas Commits weekly crime Drives: 2017 Camaro 1LT Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Camano Island, WA Posts: 9,513 View My Garage	When I was still breaking my car in, I didn't want to lug the engine. Here in Washington State, much of the highway driving I do has hills, so I pretty much kept it out of 6th. For shorter hops, I tend not to put it in 6th now, but if I'm doing a long hop, I will. I do like having the powerband available. __________________ 2017 Camaro 1LT - Blue Barchetta IV I fire up the willing engine, responding with a roar. Tires spitting gravel I commit my weekly crime.

02-04-2010, 04:30 PM	#7
EMB135Driver Jedi Master Drives: Boeing 757/767+2010 IBM 2SS Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangor, ME and Palm Coast, FL Posts: 1,120	Averages seem very low....unless you guys are talking about reseting the DIC average MPG at fill up and then posting results at your next fill up of course. I was on the highway the other night at 70 in 6th gear, reset the average mpg, and after about 15 minutes it was stabilized at 23.8 mpg __________________

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02-04-2010, 01:59 PM	#2
ljustin293 Drives: 2010 VR CAMARO 2SS/RS Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: GA Posts: 15,060 View My Garage	cool, may 6th gear average is about 18.5...need to check 5th sometime

02-04-2010, 02:26 PM	#5
67MellowYellow Drives: 2010 SS/RS ABM M6 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: East of Seattle Posts: 85	The delta looks about right but your averages seem low for cruising at 70mph. I'd expect closer to 24 with that type of driving. I get 20 mpg just doing mixed hwy/city.

02-04-2010, 04:04 PM	#6
ffrcobra_65 Account Suspended Drives: SuperCharged 2SS/RS IOM MN6 Join Date: May 2009 Location: CA Posts: 5,094	so how far did you get on 1 tank full in 5th gear and same ? for 6th? If you really wanna know the definite mpg answer in 5th or 6th gear....when you get to 70mph in 5th gear, set your cruise control on, reset your mpg counter, and cruise for at least 5 miles and note your mpg. Do same for 6th gear. Your test has too many driving variables to be definitive. Unless you did your test just driving in 5th gear using a tank full and did the same in 6th. But I doubt that is what you did. You had a some street driving, stop and go, and freeway cruising, different weather conditions, etc all mixed in. You gotta be extremely anal retentive to remember exactly how you drove and where you went in the 1st tank full, to do the very same (except cruising more in 6th gear) driving patterns in the 2nd tank full to come to a conclusive result in mpg.

02-04-2010, 05:12 PM	#9
Bryan Drives: SIM 2SS/RS M6 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 279	I am averaging 9.3mpg all city driving. average speed about 34mph. The fact that I drive it like I stole it probably has something to do with it...