6th gear
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 5,865
Likes: 2
From: Hope, Arkansas - '07 LMB Coupe
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
I usually wait until I'm up to 70 mph to use 6th gear, but I've heard others claim they'll go a low as 65. I do have mn6 tranny and stock rear end gear. If you have the Z51 package then you could probably start 6th gear a bit sooner.
When I'm doing 70 mph in 6th gear, my tach is turning right at 1500 rpm.
When I'm doing 70 mph in 6th gear, my tach is turning right at 1500 rpm.
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 35,769
Likes: 148
From: Northern NYs Adirondack Mountains,http://www.visitsacandaga.com.
On a level road you can go to 50 with no problems. ( on all 3 Vettes I have owned 98 05 07) Just drive the car in different gears at the same speed and you will get the hang of it ok. I use 6th all the time, if you find you need more power a downshift is only a movement away.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,480
Likes: 0
From: Like my city matters here?
GM CAGS will shift you into 4th about 16MPH. That's about 800 RPM
I go as low as 45MPH in 6th @ 1000 RPM. As long as I don't floor it, the engine doesn't complain. Low end torque is a good thing.
I go as low as 45MPH in 6th @ 1000 RPM. As long as I don't floor it, the engine doesn't complain. Low end torque is a good thing.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 35,617
Likes: 167
Tech Contributor
Cruise-In 11 Veteran
NCM Ambassador
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
The only dumb question is the one never asked. 6th gear is a great highway cruising gear and is in it's element 65-75 for a nice lower RPM range highway run. You won't hurt the car below that it just may bog a little on sudden acceleration meaning you won't have the available power to react or pass. The best thing to do is take the car out for a short trip and try different gears at different speeds to see how the car reacts. Enjoy the experience.
Paul
Paul
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2005
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From: Stuttgart
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Moderator emeritus
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 18,599
Likes: 3,954
From: Jacksonville Florida BWO Dayton, Cincinnati, Bloomsbury NJ, Cincinnati
2015 C7 of the Year Finalist
Holy crap! I must be killing the car. I run 6th gear at 35 mph. I DO NOT USE that gear AT THAT SPEED to try and flow with heavy traffic that has speed fluctuations. If I need to "stay" with traffic, I'll use 4th or 5th (or lower). However, when I'm just driving along, I'll go into the highest gear I can to get the best city gas mileage I can. I can accelerate in 6th at 35 mph (done cautiously and very slowly) to flow in light traffic. I won't go below 800 rpm in that gear as you fall into a very heavy load on the engine even with very light acceleration.
Run the "Instant gas mileage" and play with the gears at low speed. The numbers are amazing in 6th gear. You OBVIOUSLY have no power or acceleration in 6th @ 35mph but down-shifting will immediately cure that situation.
Elmer
Run the "Instant gas mileage" and play with the gears at low speed. The numbers are amazing in 6th gear. You OBVIOUSLY have no power or acceleration in 6th @ 35mph but down-shifting will immediately cure that situation.
Elmer
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,000
Likes: 2
From: Misawa
St. Jude Donor '08
I would set the cruise at that all the time an A-1 from spangdahlem to ramstein. I don't think it is so bad. A-60 right by my house is awsome for the high speed times. I was able to see 200 there. It is new and very smooth.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,242
Likes: 0
As has been said, on level ground you can use it in the vicinity of 1000rpm. Because of the sophisticated ECM, the engine won't load up like older high-performance engines. If you accelerate gently, the torque will pull the car, and if the engine starts to buck, just downshift.
The underlying principle is to never accelerate in a manner that will cause the engine to buck or vibrate erratically, regardless of what gear you're in. That can cause internal damage- even in second or third gear.
The underlying principle is to never accelerate in a manner that will cause the engine to buck or vibrate erratically, regardless of what gear you're in. That can cause internal damage- even in second or third gear.
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 40,898
Likes: 4,351
From: Lakewood Ranch, FL
It's in the manual and Experience agrees with the manual:
This chart shows when to shift to the next higher gear
for the best fuel economy.
Manual Transmission Recommended
Shift Speeds in mph (km/h)
Engine
Acceleration Shift Speed
1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5 5 to 6
All
Engines 15 (24) 25 (40) 40 (64) 45 (72) 50 (80)
If your engine speed drops below 900 rpm, or if the
engine is not running smoothly, you should downshift to
the next lower gear. You may have to downshift two or
more gears to keep the engine running smoothly or for
good engine performance.
This chart shows when to shift to the next higher gear
for the best fuel economy.
Manual Transmission Recommended
Shift Speeds in mph (km/h)
Engine
Acceleration Shift Speed
1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5 5 to 6
All
Engines 15 (24) 25 (40) 40 (64) 45 (72) 50 (80)
If your engine speed drops below 900 rpm, or if the
engine is not running smoothly, you should downshift to
the next lower gear. You may have to downshift two or
more gears to keep the engine running smoothly or for
good engine performance.
Retired & lovin' it!
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,475
Likes: 549
From: Jackson NJ
It's not road speed...it's engine RPM. You want to keep your RPMs (in any gear) above 1200-1400....otherwise you'll be "lugging" the engine. Not a real problem since the LS2 (or LS3) has so much low end torque, but why strain when you can just shift to a lower gear.....
Racer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 342
Likes: 0
From: Shrewsbury MA
On a level road you can go to 50 with no problems. ( on all 3 Vettes I have owned 98 05 07) Just drive the car in different gears at the same speed and you will get the hang of it ok. I use 6th all the time, if you find you need more power a downshift is only a movement away.
When trying to squeeze gas mileage in my 01 I would shift to 6th at about 50mph. In my 05, Z51 at about 40mph. As has been said, if I need to accelerate just down shift.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 102
Likes: 0
The bearings in an engine rely on "hydrodynamic lubrication" to do their job. The pressure supplied by the oil pump is much too low to separate the bearing surfaces, which is why the bearings generate their own pressure internally, which, depending on the engine type and rpm, is up to 1000 times higher than the oil pump pressure.
However, they need a certain minimum velocity to do that. If you look at the wear patterns of oscilating parts (piston rings inside the bore for example), you can see wear is a lot more pronounced where the direction is reversed and velocity is low because of the hydrodynamic lubrication collapsing at these points.
Smaller engines often need a minimum of 1800rpm to be able to separate the bearing surfaces effectively, but since LS engines have relatively large diameter bearings, 1500 rpm is probably a safe bet. Coasting at 1200 rpm would not be a big issue, as long as you don't load the engine.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 5,865
Likes: 2
From: Hope, Arkansas - '07 LMB Coupe
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
Sounds like I need to start adjusting my shifting habits. I thought I was doing good holding the revs down to 1,500 rpm. I'm going to start shooting for somwhere in the 1,000 to 1,200 rpm range and see how it behaves. This car just keeps amazing me even after driving it daily for a year. 
Thanks for the corrections everyone.
Thanks for the corrections everyone.