[JesseB]

Hey guys, I have always wondered what gear (or RPMs) other people cruise around at and what rpm range is the safest to run the car at. I usually keep it around 2k to 2.5k RPMs (shifting around 3k to 3.5k) and im guessing thats lower than most. So, say I have a road that is 50 mph that is twisty and hilly and very fun to drive (no sharp twists) ...what gear would you guys be in for that road ...im usually 4th or 5th. I just always had the thought process that higher RPMs will be worse for the engine, but I honestly have no idea. So what RPM range do you guys normally drive?

 

[rob the elder]

Depends . ..
I never cruise below 2500 RPM. I avoid going to full throttle in 5th gear at RPMs below ~3500. You can get serious ping.

In taking it easy mode I generally shift around 5k RPM and keep it at 2500 or above.

In speedie mode, I generally shift at 5500 RPM.


In OMG mode, I try to avoid the rev limiter.
:devil:

 

[Seltzinator]

3rd is perfect for cruising at 50 on a twisty. The car won't be responsive to throttle input in 4th at that speed. And 5th is really for getting good gas mileage on the highway (or for reaching top speeds), imo.

 

[twowheeladdict]

Just cruising with my 2.4 I typically shift at 3500 RPMs. If I drop below 2000 RPMs I will downshift.

On a hilly curvy road I will keep it in whatever RPMs provide the type of response I am looking for. If I am powering out of the curves I will keep the RPMs up, if I am just maintaining speed I will let the RPMs drop back into the cruising range.

In 6000 miles of ownership I have only hit 6000 RPMs once or twice. It is amazing how different the car is at the higher RPMs.

 

[SolNut]

RPMs For fun

The Rev-Limiter needs tested too! :thumbs: :driving:

 

[mcpigm01]

The entire time I owned my NA solstice (160k miles) I never had it over 4500 RPMs until I taught my wife to drive a stick on it. She decided she was going to forget to shift and redline it then throw it into neutral and freak out. After that experience, I realized how much power that car had. I never redlined it again but I would take it up to 6000 every once in a while and it turned into a totally different car than I was used to. It was such a blast. But just for cruising, I usually just shift whenever, it generally falls in the 2 to 3 range. When joy riding on windy roads, I almost never left 3rd.

 

[JesseB]

Ok, I need to experiment more ...although I do love seeing ~35+ MPG on my trips.
I have only hit the rev limiter once (I didnt even know such a thing existed, I just thought it was "red line" to where its dangerous if you dont shift) ...I was doing a hard acceleration, and when it hit whatever RPM it was (a little over 6k i think?) it kinda bounced and lost some power...does hitting the rev limiter hurt the car in any way more than just having the RPM that high?

 

[Seltzinator]

I don't see how you guys get 35 MPG. I average ~27 when cruising along at 2.5k RPM in 5th gear around 75 mph.

 

[mcpigm01]

I average 24 to 25 so I don't want to hear it lol

 

[JesseB]

I don't get 35+ at 75MPH
my drive to work is 20ish miles (about a 30 min drive) and speed limit from 50 to 40 to 55 .... I have gotten mid 40s when I tried to see how high I could get for the trip. Overall, if I don't mess with my MPG calculator for a whole tank it's around 29 to 32 each time (just cause I like to have fun with it about every other drive than to work and back)

 

[twowheeladdict]

I don't see how you guys get 35 MPG. I average ~27 when cruising along at 2.5k RPM in 5th gear around 75 mph.

50 mph in 5th provides the best MPG I have seen so far which is 34 MPG calculated at the pump. My overall average on the trip to MD and back was 30 MPG. Still 10 MPG lower than my worst motorcycle economy, but much better than I expected.

 

[chickenwire]

The entire time I owner my NA solstice (160k miles) I never had it over 4500 RPMs until I taught my wife to drive a stick on it. She decided she was going to forget to shift and redline it then throw it into neutral and freak out. After that experience, I realized how much power that car had. I never redlined it again but I would take it up to 6000 every once in a while and it turned into a totally different car that I was used to. It was such a blast. But just for cruising, I usually just shift whenever, it generally falls in the 2 to 3 range. When joy riding on windy roads, I almost never left 3rd.

lol! Like when I got my wife's brother to take her for a drive in our N/A this summer. She said afterward "I've never heard our car sound like THAT before!" I remember the first time I decided to wind it out a bit and realized "Sh!t - this thing doesn't even start pulling hard until about 4k!"

Have a decent stretch of twistys near us that I will drive occasionally for play (like yesterday when I took an extra day off of work.) twisty sections posted 35 will be taken at 55-60 (if visibility is clear) and in 3rd. Outside of that I'll go into 4th on mellow stretches and 5th when I get behind the old lady.

Speaking of the old lady, mine used to drive her 12 passenger daycare bus about 40 to 45 max. It's funny to see her now get impatient and flat out bummed when she gets behind someone going that slow when she's driving the Solstice!

 

[TX08manualGXP]

If I'm just driving ( the GXP ), I'll shift thru all the gears to 5th. However, if I'm going less than say 40, then I don't use 5th. keep in mind, Houston is flat. Now, if I was in aggressive mode and passing and having fun, 3rd is good up to 70 MPH and nice and responsive. pretty much the same goes for the NA.

 

[rob the elder]

I don't see how you guys get 35 MPG. I average ~27 when cruising along at 2.5k RPM in 5th gear around 75 mph.

Stock 2.0 pre GMPP delivered 30 MPG at 75 with cruise set. Post GMPP tune both cars delivered 32 MPG at same settings on same road. Some have reported mileage as high as 38-40 MPG at highway speeds with very careful throttle control.

When the ECM decides that you are in steady state cruise mode, the engine paramaters will be set to optimize mileage. This is why after an extended cruise period you do not want to hammer the throttle or you will induce ping.

There are several threads on this subject from back around 08 when the GMPP first came out. People were amazed that it gives more overall power and improved mileage.

2.4s on the other hand are notorious for getting much less MPG under just about all operating conditions. They can offset that somewhat by using lower octain fuel however.

 

[TX08manualGXP]

When the ECM decides that you are in steady state cruise mode, the engine paramaters will be set to optimize mileage. This is why after an extended cruise period you do not want to hammer the throttle or you will induce ping.

Interesting. I guess it retards the timing to an optimal setting and if you are running 87 or 89 octane with your stock tune, I bet the chances of ping are even greater. this is good to know.

with my pissy little 3 mile trips I make, I get 18.9 in the GXP and 17.8 in the NA. I have clocked this myself and impressively, the DIC is 99% accurate. However, if I jump on the freeway and make a small trip, the numbers steadily increase but once I get back into my work week schedule, it's back to 18.9.

 

[Somnambulator]

lol at the low rpms and never hitting rev limiter! I drive in 3rd gear whenever possible. I have a tuned gxp and 3rd is really sweet. super responsive and yet long enough to floor it merging onto a highway. it's the gear I hit the rev limiter in the most by far because I floor it getting onto highways and am looking in my mirrors for traffic instead of shifting to 4th. gotta get better at that.

3rd is great for the winding, hilly roads nearby.

I can get 30mph if I keep it in 5th on long highway trips. otherwise my combined mph is 23.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[typhoon]

I usually only use 5th gear at above 50mph.
I average around 40-42mpg on the hiway at 70mph.
I also have not reset my average mpg reading for about 4 years, it's at 24.8 mpg.
I do burnouts and full throttle runs on a daily basis.

 

[R&T]

When I drive I run it up to 4k shifts and cruise around in 5th if I'm over 50. According to the DIC at 45 and 5th gear it says 38-43mpg's depending on the levelness of the road. Never taken it out on a road trip, but the DIC says it has avgeraged 26.9 over 3 years and that is 95% city driving.