What RPM do you manual guys shift at? My mileage has been rather lousy with my 5AT and I just started shifting it myself at about 3000 RPM and I'm seeing a decent increase in mileage. The weather took a break and I did not have the AC on a few days but I think I was doing better before the cooler days. Thanks for the info!
5MT shift points
- Thread starter twintrbo
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ShelbyGoat
Member
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- trailblazer
I looked in my owners manual and it has recommended shift points. Try that.
I keep it at 2,500 RPM in fuel economy mode and 3,000 RPM in normal driving mode.
If in automatic mode your car is shifting too high, just lay off the gas a bit. Manual mode will give you better results as full throttle and lower RPM shifts will save you more gas than half throttle at higher RPM, at least that's my general observation.
If in automatic mode your car is shifting too high, just lay off the gas a bit. Manual mode will give you better results as full throttle and lower RPM shifts will save you more gas than half throttle at higher RPM, at least that's my general observation.
I think the issue is its shifting too low and lugging the engine. If I shift manually I can accelerate more gently but keep the engine spinning to compensate. I have to accelerate using more throttle opening than I would like to have it shift at 3K rpm on its own. If I shift manually, I can accelerate more gradually and especially with the AC on, it does not fall on its face shifting to third, making me give it more gas to keep accelerating at the rate I want. I also downshift to second for turns so when I finish the turn, I can accelerate without it having to downshift from third. I think that is especially wasteful, you have to feather the pedal to not have it downshift, otherwise it kicks to second and wastes energy with the shift and the extra throttle to tell it to downshift. Then its revving more than it should have to wasting fuel.
I've tried shifting at various RPM's to try to get the best fuel economy. By far, shifting at ~2,200 RPM (with the exception of 1st) gives me the best results. I've tried revving the engine slightly higher with constant throttle (basically just shifting later) to see if I was "lugging" the engine and I always ended up with less mileage.
I just realized that I cant take the info for face value since the gearing is different in the AT. FWIW I think I have noticed an improvement so far but I need to drive a full tank with AC on to know for sure.
My technique is to leave it in D for the first to second gear shift (seems smoother on its own) and then switch it to Manual to hold the gear, I then shift at 3K for all gears til Im up to speed and then go back to D so it drops revs for cruising. If I need to make a turn, I go back to Manual and grab second. This way I also cant forget to shift and put myself in danger being in the wrong gear or running it up on the rev limiter by accident from a stop.
My technique is to leave it in D for the first to second gear shift (seems smoother on its own) and then switch it to Manual to hold the gear, I then shift at 3K for all gears til Im up to speed and then go back to D so it drops revs for cruising. If I need to make a turn, I go back to Manual and grab second. This way I also cant forget to shift and put myself in danger being in the wrong gear or running it up on the rev limiter by accident from a stop.
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5MT 07GT, I'm old school and don't really watch but feels the RPM while shifting. I think I'm shifting at 2500 from 1st to 2nd @ normal driving. 2nd to 3rd a little higher. 3rd to 4th merging on the 401 at about 4000-5000 depends on the situation. I don't watch my gas consumption anymore. The few Kms I should have saved is compensated 3 folds by the fun I get driving my 5 the way I like it. Much the same way I look at gassing up anytime instead of waiting for the price to go down, even if I save 10 cents / ltr. @40 Ltr average per fill up, I only save 4 bucks, at that lower price we usually see a long lineup at the pump and I'm not waiting in line for 20 mins just to save 4 bucks.
southpawboston
Member
i would tend to agree with wmzda5. i don't really ever look at the RPMs but rather shift based on feel, sound, and need. around town if i'm just puttzing about and i know there will be another intersection requiring me to stop, i usually upshift early, around 2500 RPM. if i need to giddyup like all get-out i shift between 5000-6000RPM.
I'm not really big on fuel mileage either, considering how little the 5 needs to fill up and that Ive only put on just over 3000mi since February. However, I bought the 5 for fuel mileage as the #2 reason. I have been getting around 15 mpg all summer and its just awful, if I can get 25% better economy AND have more fun doing it, then its a win/win. I think one of the reasons a stick gets better mileage is because the driver knows how to use the gears better than older style AT's do. For example, if I'm going to pass the slow moving car in front of me, I will be in the passing gear BEFORE I pull out to go, not in top gear hanging out. I will keep tracking my mileage to see how it goes.
I certainly miss my Corolla's 5L/100km on the highway and 7L/100km day to day. We drive 40,000km a year and the extra 3L/100km = $1300 extra spent on gas a year, however I don't notice it as much as I had the Corolla when gas prices were $1.30 to $1.50 a litre and I was spending $55-65 to fill up its 50L tank, and now at $1.05 to $1.15 I'm spending $50 to $60 to fill up the 5's 60L tank.
For what the 5 is, the fuel economy is pretty good. The Corolla certainly can't carry 6 passengers, and the Corolla can't carry myself and 3 teammates and 4 hockey bags.
L/100km/person rating (based on Canadian numbers which use old EPA method, 2012 fuel economy assumed to be unchanged from 2008):
Corolla - 1.5(city)/1.1(hwy)
2008+ 6 passenger Mazda 5 - 1.6(city)/1.2(hwy)
2012+ 7(?) passenger Mazda 5 - 1.4(city)/1.0(hwy)
For what the 5 is, the fuel economy is pretty good. The Corolla certainly can't carry 6 passengers, and the Corolla can't carry myself and 3 teammates and 4 hockey bags.
L/100km/person rating (based on Canadian numbers which use old EPA method, 2012 fuel economy assumed to be unchanged from 2008):
Corolla - 1.5(city)/1.1(hwy)
2008+ 6 passenger Mazda 5 - 1.6(city)/1.2(hwy)
2012+ 7(?) passenger Mazda 5 - 1.4(city)/1.0(hwy)
Sorry the conversion made this all gibberish but I got it figured now (confused)(scratch) 25,000 miles a year is way above average for the US so you would want good mileage. I find it hard to believe a corolla did the equivalent of 47 MPG highway but hey, your mileage may vary and I would love a car that averaged 33 MPG every day too! When we had our prices spike a few years back, I thought it was the end of the SUV as we knew it but it settled back down fast enough to make people forget all about it and keep buying Suburbans for a grocery getter.
Ironically, if you do have a large family or just use all the seats all the time, large SUV's make total sense if you figure the gas used per person. They dont do that here in the US, where did you get that info, I would love to see the chart to compare certain vehicles.
Ironically, if you do have a large family or just use all the seats all the time, large SUV's make total sense if you figure the gas used per person. They dont do that here in the US, where did you get that info, I would love to see the chart to compare certain vehicles.
Actually my best was 4.7L/100km from Edmonton to Kamloops, that's 50MPG. 
This is driving at about 55mph in the 4 lane section and 62mph in the 2 lane section (so I don't hold up traffic), A/C off for half the trip. It was just me and my mini schnauzer so not much weight. The Corolla is just beyond amazing on gas, but the competition is catching up.
I can get 32MPG in my 07 Mazda 5 on the hwy with A/C on (06 and 07 has poorer rated fuel economy than the 08+) and loaded with 5 people and luggage so it's pretty decent.
I calculated the L/100km/person myself. Would probably good to see where each vehicle stands. I think with MPG, you would have to multiply it by the number of people.
Based on new US EPA method:
Mazda 5, 28MPG = 168MPGPP (miles per gallon per person)
Corolla, 35MPG = 175MPGPP
Suburban, 19MPG = 152MPGPP (1.5L/100km/person in Canada)
The Suburban is pretty good on gas if it's fully loaded, but how often is that? And a minivan like a Toyota Sienna can do 192MPGPP if all you're going to do is cruise on the Interstate.
Still I prefer my Mazda 5, it's not too big, it's not too small. For a family that can only have one vehicle, this is the perfect vehicle really. Even though a lot of the time it does carry two to four people, often it's only carrying 1 and 25MPG day to day is a lot better than 17MPG for carrying one, sure 33MPG+ day to day would be better but eh. If I need to transport 8 people and a lot of gear, I can just rent something bigger! This obsession about buying things for the worst case scenario has to stop.
BTW in Google you can query things like 7.1L/100km in MPG or 41MPG in L/100km and it'll give you an answer.
This is driving at about 55mph in the 4 lane section and 62mph in the 2 lane section (so I don't hold up traffic), A/C off for half the trip. It was just me and my mini schnauzer so not much weight. The Corolla is just beyond amazing on gas, but the competition is catching up.I can get 32MPG in my 07 Mazda 5 on the hwy with A/C on (06 and 07 has poorer rated fuel economy than the 08+) and loaded with 5 people and luggage so it's pretty decent.
I calculated the L/100km/person myself. Would probably good to see where each vehicle stands. I think with MPG, you would have to multiply it by the number of people.
Based on new US EPA method:
Mazda 5, 28MPG = 168MPGPP (miles per gallon per person)
Corolla, 35MPG = 175MPGPP
Suburban, 19MPG = 152MPGPP (1.5L/100km/person in Canada)
The Suburban is pretty good on gas if it's fully loaded, but how often is that? And a minivan like a Toyota Sienna can do 192MPGPP if all you're going to do is cruise on the Interstate.
Still I prefer my Mazda 5, it's not too big, it's not too small. For a family that can only have one vehicle, this is the perfect vehicle really. Even though a lot of the time it does carry two to four people, often it's only carrying 1 and 25MPG day to day is a lot better than 17MPG for carrying one, sure 33MPG+ day to day would be better but eh. If I need to transport 8 people and a lot of gear, I can just rent something bigger! This obsession about buying things for the worst case scenario has to stop.
BTW in Google you can query things like 7.1L/100km in MPG or 41MPG in L/100km and it'll give you an answer.
As noted the gearing is diff, but that affects rpms vs mph (or kph for you guys up North)
Since the 5MT is close ratio, it is REALLY easy to get it past 3500 in 1st without any thought. But after 1st gear, I try to keep shifts near 2500. But here, we have no hills, so starting from a stoplight is always on level ground, so the hp is not really necc unless you need to merge.
Since the 5MT is close ratio, it is REALLY easy to get it past 3500 in 1st without any thought. But after 1st gear, I try to keep shifts near 2500. But here, we have no hills, so starting from a stoplight is always on level ground, so the hp is not really necc unless you need to merge.
The Suburban can seat 9, so its theoretically 171MPGPP
My point exactly......If you figure 3 families of 3 people going to the same place instead of using 3 separate cars, not only does it make sense, it starts to look downright responsible lol
Amen Brother! I rented a Minivan to take 7 people to my sisters wedding way before I had the 5, I used priceline and paid $60 for the night. I think I got 17 mpg and boy was I glad to give that one back!
You didn't think I sat down to try to convert it myself did you? lolBTW in Google you can query things like 7.1L/100km in MPG or 41MPG in L/100km and it'll give you an answer.
As you can see by my sig, I get 10.4L/100km (27mpg imp, 22.7mpg US) average fuel economy over the past year and about 18000km/11000 miles.
My technique is to generally drive like an ass (full throttle, redline shifts) when I'm alone and to light-throttle/low rpm shift with passengers. I also skip-shift to third from first, shut off the engine at red lights, and start out in second gear on a down-slope.
Go figure
My technique is to generally drive like an ass (full throttle, redline shifts) when I'm alone and to light-throttle/low rpm shift with passengers. I also skip-shift to third from first, shut off the engine at red lights, and start out in second gear on a down-slope.
Go figure
Huh interesting! Is the front row 3 across? When I was in Vietnam, they would cram 14 people and gear into something that was like an extended old school Toyota van. At 18mpg, that would be 252 MPGPP.
I used to. (first) Divide 100 by L/100km to get kms per litre, then multiply by 3.7795 for US gallons, or 4.5 for imperial gallons, then divide by 1.6. Reverse for converting MPG to L/100km. lol.
What makes it more confusing is that MPG figures in Canada is imperial MPG, so our MPG figures are 19% higher. (An 08+ Mazda 5 gets 40 Imperial MPG vs. 34 US MPG)
17MPG would bug me. 10L/100km (23 mpg) average is really the most I want to go with. My old Civic wagon got 10L/100mm in the city so my Mazda 5 in comparison is REALLY good considering it has over 50% more interior capacity and power everything and A/C. Gas is going to get more expensive over time. If North America gets a 2.5L with i-Stop technology, I would be all over it.
