[Absar]

Originally Posted by shazikon

I heard from Ford mechanics that driving in 5th gear at low speeds ie, below 70-80kmph is not good for the diffrentials...i had front differnential wear since i was driving a lot at low speeds 40-50 kmph range.. now i always upshift while at more than 80 -100 kmph..no problems since then..

Bingo! That's true!

I use only the 1st 3 gears in the city . 4th gear comes into the story if I cross 50 and there is a considerable distance ahead to stay above 50 km/h or else I stick to 3rd gear. In city I upshift to 5th if I'm above 70 km/h, and on the highway I upshift to 5th at 100 km/h

Using this way gives me more city FE than before. Currently having a figure of 11.65 L/100 km compared to the previous figure of 14.28 L/100km when having the 4th gear engaged at 40 km/h and 5th at 50 km/h.

A

[DieselFan]

I maintain my car within the range of 1500 to 2300 RPM (Diesel Maruti Swift). I Upshift or downshift when the RPM goes out of this range. For power and quick accelaration I rev. up to 3000-3500 but very rarely go beyond 3500.

I recommend go by the RPM of the engine to downshift and upshift rather than speed of the car.

[rahul_9327]

While out on the highways can i downshift from 5th gear to 4th for overtaking even if i am at a speed of say 110 or 120 ?

Basically i would like to know what's the max speed to downshift from 5th to 4th while out on highways

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by rahul_9327

While out on the highways can i downshift from 5th gear to 4th for overtaking even if i am at a speed of say 110 or 120 ?

Basically i would like to know what's the max speed to downshift from 5th to 4th while out on highways

Which car do you have? Depends on the car, whether it is petrol or diesel, and on the gearing.

[v&v]

It depends on the type of car, your driving mood, road condition, torque, vehicle weight etc.

In safari i shift down around 70 kmph, baleno around 45-50kmph and in my vRS rarely get chance to put 5 gear

[noopster]

40 or so sounds right- I usually go from 5th to 3rd. Never checked the speed, or even the tacho. It's pure FEEL

[90BHP]

Originally Posted by Scuderia

I guess it depends more on

1. Engine RPM
2. The acceleration you expect to have further ahead. You may need to downshift even at 80, in order to make an overtake; or continue in 5th even at 40, if you intend to maintain the speed, with slight or gradual acceleration.

I agree to Scuderia here, it totally depends on RPM.
I am driving a diesel so the minute my car drops below 1200 RPM i downshift from whichever gear it is in. This helps maintain the car in the required torque curve, without losing momentum.

Also, in certain situations where speed is the need, you downshift whenever !

[libranof1987]

This depends mainly on the situaton; the car can cruise on the 5th gear happily at 40 km/hr just as it can at 120 km/hr.

If you need a good acceleration (eg. while over-taking), you would invariably downshift to the 4th or even the 3rd.

Under normal circumstances, I generally downshift from the 5th at about 35-40 km/hr mostly to the 3rd as at that speed, 4th is useless for quick acceleration.

[IronH4WK]

i usually downshift from 5th to 4th when the needle goes 60kmph and below in city driving conditions. on highways, this speed may vary based on the situation.

[kalpeshc]

I do it when my i20's gear shift indicator tells me to do downshift - typically below 1K rpms.

[speedsatya]

Depends on what am i doing .If its on the highway ,I usually slow down using gears ...so if i am at 100 and if i have to slow down its usually 3rd or 4th depending on the urgency .

On what are the lowest speeds that I have driven on in the 5th gear ,I dont look at the speedo ...its the the rpm .

But in all the 3 cars ( mpfi Zen,Lancer and the ANHC) ,it should be around 30 kph .I remember doing 30 kph .

[Gansan]

I downshift to 4th when the speed comes down to 60 KMPH and to 3rd when it hits 50 KMPH in my Alto, when the AC is on. For the same gears it is 50 and 40 KMPH respectively, when the AC is off.

@Rahul
Most cars can be driven till the top speed in 5th as well as 4th gear. Go through your owners' manual, it will be clearly stated there.

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Which car do you have? Depends on the car, whether it is petrol or diesel, and on the gearing.

It also depends on the surface of the road and on traffic conditions. If the road goes uphill, a quicker downshift is needed. When driving in heavy traffic, you might want to drive at a lower gear because of the engine/transmission braking.

[mayankk]

Ford fiest petrol(old).
Downshift from 5th at 2k on a flat road.
sometimes at 2.5-2.8 k into 4th to whizz by someone.

[rahul_9327]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Which car do you have? Depends on the car, whether it is petrol or diesel, and on the gearing.

We have a Swift and a Spark at home. I drive the spark. So would like to know about Spark.

Originally Posted by Gansan

@Rahul
Most cars can be driven till the top speed in 5th as well as 4th gear. Go through your owners' manual, it will be clearly stated there.

I couldn't find that in the manual. So does that mean i can do 130/140 even in 4th gear ?

@ others . Sorry if i wasn't clear. Actually wanted to know about downshifting from 5th to 4th in higher speeds like at 100/110 and not at lower speeds. My fear is, will downshifting at high speeds do any harm to engine or may be get the vehicle to spin.