# What gear should I be in/What RPM is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181 "2004-01-19T07:01:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/1 "2004-01-19T07:01:52Z")
Ok, my question is “What gear do I want to be in to go backwards???” 😉 A while ago I was driving to our local Mall-like shopping area (It’s really more along the lines of a second-rate, covered, strip mall) with a couple friends in the car and I was doing 50 in 4th gear and **justplaindave** says “What gear are you in?” I say “4th, why?” he says “Oh, I would have put it into 5th by now…” It’s a 94 Toyota Tercel…manual, obviously… Unfortunately it doesn’t have a tacometer(SP?)…which bugs the crap out of me because that would just about be one of the most useful gauges to have in a manual…but I digress… So what’s the consenus out there? 4th or 5th gear for going 50 mph in a small, 4-cylinder car…1.4L if I recall correctly… Thanks for your replies ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/2 "2004-01-19T07:38:32Z")
By my personal rule of thumb that I’ve been taught (from a guy that machined transmissions back in the late 30’s and all of the 40’s), I keep my stick in the “teens” of the speed I’m going, unless I’m over 50. So, nowadays, with a 5 speed, I use 1st from 10 - 19, 2nd from 20 - 29, etc. until you get to 50 MPH which 50+ is open to 5th gear. I caveat and make a pun: YMMV. It’s about torque. You _could_ use 4th at 50 MPH, but you may be putting extra demand on that gear when you could be going higher on the tree. But that’s what I was taught, and it hasn’t failed me since. Tripler Aw shit. I drive an automatic now. . . :smack: ---
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/3 "2004-01-19T07:39:44Z")
I’m not the biggest car guy but I’ll tell you what I do. I have a Geo 3 cyl. so it may be a diffferent deal but I usually shift the same no matter what car I’m driving. Unless it’s a high performance car or something. I shift from 3rd to 4th about 35-40 and from 4th to fifth about 45-50 depending on what kind of slope I’m on and what the wind is (something I’m forced to take into account in my Geo!) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/4 "2004-01-19T09:28:16Z")
Depends on the road. If you’re on an open road, you may as well go up to 5th and cruise along, as long as what you’re driving has the torque to do that without straining (which I think your car would). But at that speed in 5th, you’re going to have almost no acceleration. So in an urban situation where you’re probably going to want to speed up a bit here, slow down a bit there, 4th will give you more flexibility. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/5 "2004-01-19T11:22:10Z")
The manual for our Toyota Carina 1.8 recommends shifting to 5th at 49mph. ---
**Author:** ![venterap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@venterap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/venterap)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/6 "2004-01-19T11:28:01Z")
I think y’all missing the point, here. To quote the OP: > [@Call me Frank](#): > > Ok, my question is “What gear do I want to be in to go backwards???” There are at least 3 answers to this: (a) Denims and a sweatshirt would do, maybe a pair of sneakers and a twisted baseball cap. Pair of 'shades and a mobile phone stuck to the ear. All designer labels to be displayed prominently. (b) Any gear, as long as you have depressed the clutch and are on a backward facing slope © You could also try “reverse” - That’s the one that’s usually marked with an “R” (for “racing”?) ---
**Author:** ![Springbok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Springbok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springbok)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/7 "2004-01-19T15:04:30Z")
Now to make use of my feeble mind to do miles to kilometer conversions… damn that metric system with its simple calculations! I’d say everyone here is pretty much in agreement: at that speed you will be doing probably 3000-3250 RPM in 4th (depending on gearing of course) and probably 2000-2250 in 5th which means as soon as you hit any kind of reasonable incline you will have to put a heavy foot on the gas pedal. As along as its flat, you can cruise happy in 5th. I have always wondered about the exclusion of the tachometer in engines smaller than 1.5l Especially since those engines are the ones that will tend to do themselves a lot of damage when the RPM gets too high. ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/8 "2004-01-20T00:52:43Z")
I guess that answers it. I’ve experimented with shifting to 5th at 50 on a flat road and it sounds ok…and it’s alright going up a medium-slope hill… but I think I’ll stick to 4th gear for the most part. I live in rural PA (yeah I know, we’re the only state who refers to itself with it’s genuine US Postal Service Approved 2-Letter Abbreviation) and there aren’t too many straight, flat roads, so shifting is a frequent thing in my neighborhood. As for the exclusion of a tac, what really gets my goat (I wish I had a goat…wouldn’t have to worry about shifting with that) is that my mother got an '03 Accord in August and _it_ has a tac! It’s an automatic! ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/9 "2004-01-20T02:14:27Z")
Funny…I generally don’t shift into _third_ until about 50 mph. But I like to climb high on the tach. I generally only shift into fifth at interstate speeds (70-80 mph). On an open road at 50, i’ll probably be in fourth. Sure, it’s not the best for fuel economy, but it helps keep the throttle response. Fifth is a pretty tall gear in my car, and I prefer to keep it in a useable power range. But again, I’m not telling you to do as I do. As I said, I enjoy running up the engine speed on nearly every shift. My tach plunges deep into the redline more times in a day than most conservative drivers’ cars ever do. I’m not a role model. Tachs in American cars are an interesting story. I had quite a few friends back in college with early-to-mid 90s Chevys. Cavaliers, Berettas, etc. Without exception, everyone that had a manual was without a tachometer, and everyone with an auto had one. Completely backwards. What were the idiots in Detriot thinking? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/10 "2004-01-20T02:38:48Z")
> [@audilover](#): > > Funny…I generally don’t shift into _third_ until about 50 mph. But I like to climb high on the tach. > > I generally only shift into fifth at interstate speeds (70-80 mph). On an open road at 50, i’ll probably be in fourth. Sure, it’s not the best for fuel economy, but it helps keep the throttle response. Fifth is a pretty tall gear in my car, and I prefer to keep it in a useable power range. > > But again, I’m not telling you to do as I do. As I said, I enjoy running up the engine speed on nearly every shift. My tach plunges deep into the redline more times in a day than most conservative drivers’ cars ever do. I’m not a role model. > > Tachs in American cars are an interesting story. I had quite a few friends back in college with early-to-mid 90s Chevys. Cavaliers, Berettas, etc. Without exception, everyone that had a manual was without a tachometer, and everyone with an auto had one. Completely backwards. What were the idiots in Detriot thinking? Do most of you guys actually use the tach? Unless you’re redlining it, what’s the point? I’ve never found it necessary, and I don’t know anyone who has – you can usually tell which gear your car is supposed to be in. ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/11 "2004-01-20T03:46:25Z")
The tach is handy for situations such as mine, here. You’re generally supposed to shift somewhere between 3000-3500RPM, IIRC. I know that in 4th gear at 50mph my car is getting up there in the RPM’s, I just don’t know how high… it doesn’t sound like when I’ve been in 2nd too long, but it doesn’t sound like good ol’ comfortable 35mph either. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/12 "2004-01-20T03:54:29Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Do most of you guys actually use the tach? Unless you’re redlining it, what’s the point? I’ve never found it necessary, and I don’t know anyone who has – you can usually tell which gear your car is supposed to be in. I didn’t say I needed the tach. It’s often for entertainment value. It can be helpful for rev-matching in a strange car you’re not quite adapted to yet. And it does serve a useful purpose when you’re purposely trying to get right up to the rev limiter without hitting it. But no, it’s not necessary in normal conditions. It’s just that it’s about the coolest guage in the car. (Except for the boost guage, if applicable) ---
**Author:** ![Ice97531](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@Ice97531](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice97531)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/13 "2004-01-20T04:20:09Z")
Hey, Why don’t you just go buy a tach? :wally [www.jcwhitney.com](http://www.jcwhitney.com) ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/14 "2004-01-20T04:54:46Z")
> [@Ice97531](#): > > Hey, > Why don’t you just go buy a tach? :wally > [www.jcwhitney.com](http://www.jcwhitney.com) 1. I don’t want to spend money on one 2. I can’t install it myself, which leads to: 3. I don’t want to walk into a garage and ask a mechanic to install a tach in a _Metallic blue, '94, Toyota Tercel_ 4. I don’t want to spend money on 3, lol 5. Eh, I’m not that interested 6. But thanks for your link…that’s one of the great things about the SDMB, always someone willing to provide a relevant link. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/15 "2004-01-20T17:32:44Z")
Here’s a good test: try shifting into 5th gear and see if you can still accelerate ok at that speed. If you’re in too high a gear, everything will still generally work, but your car will feel gutless (and yes, I understand that it’s a '94 Tercel, but I mean more gutless than _normal_ 😉 ). The best gear for cruising at a given speed is probably the highest gear in which the engine is not bogging down. ---
**Author:** ![Nils](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Nils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nils)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/16 "2004-01-21T01:08:49Z")
I live in a rather flat area, no steep hill or anything. Usually when I have reached my desired cruise speed I will shift into 5th gear, both in town (50-60 kmph/~30 mph) or out of town (for me mostly 90-110 kmph/~60mph). Of course only if I’m quite sure that I will be able to maintain this speed for some time. If traffic is dense I use a gear that will allow me more flexibility (accelerate/decelarate), which would mean 3rd or 4th gear in town, 4th out of town. I refer to driving small engine cars like Nissan Micra or VW Lupo (both 1 litre, 4 cylinders). ---
**Author:** ![Sonyadora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sonyadora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonyadora)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/17 "2004-01-21T01:40:26Z")
Am I the only person who shifts gears based on the way the engine sounds (with the exception of situations where I want more power…well, and tractors)? I’ve done this with every manual I’ve ever driven, and never so much as glanced at the tach (maybe not such a good thing…) ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/18 "2004-01-21T01:51:56Z")
> [@Sonyadora](#): > > Am I the only person who shifts gears based on the way the engine sounds (with the exception of situations where I want more power…well, and tractors)? I’ve done this with every manual I’ve ever driven, and never so much as glanced at the tach (maybe not such a good thing…) I generally shift based on sound unless the radio’s too loud or some other noise is covering the engine sounds. Then I use the tach. As far as the OP is concerned, I’d have to ask if you’re going uphill or accelerating. If so, 4th is probably OK, if not, then use 5th. ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/19 "2004-01-21T04:05:29Z")
> [@WVmom](#): > > As far as the OP is concerned, I’d have to ask if you’re going uphill or accelerating. If so, 4th is probably OK, if not, then use 5th. Like I said earlier…rural PA…plenty of hills and relatively sharp turns to go around. I mean, many of the roads out in the boonies are old cow paths that have been paved, essentially… ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181/20 "2004-01-21T04:32:09Z")
> [@ntucker](#): > > Here’s a good test: try shifting into 5th gear and see if you can still accelerate ok at that speed. If you’re in too high a gear, everything will still generally work, but your car will feel gutless (and yes, I understand that it’s a '94 Tercel, but I mean more gutless than _normal_ 😉 ). The best gear for cruising at a given speed is probably the highest gear in which the engine is not bogging down. That is exactly right. I drive a 2L 4 cylinder and I’m in fifth at about 55 kph and the car will pull smoothly from 55 at about 1400 rpm to 120 at about 3000 rpm. My experience is that most people who drive manuals use the top gears far too little and unnecessarily piss away fuel. I could stay in fourth at about 1700 rpm and do 55. 55 kph is about 34mph. It is slightly over the urban limit (50) but the car objects to pulling under load in fifth at that speed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gear-should-i-be-in-what-rpm-is-this/225181.md?page=2)