When I'm trying to stick third:( Sorry people, i grew up throwing American cars into gear hard and fast. Not very gentleman, but fun.

I hope you're kidding...ignore that "idiot light" :)!

And you will find that it's VERY expensive in these cars if you continue to do so...

I use 5th a lot when covering distances on the highway (I guess the Norwegian definition of a highway is somewhat different than most of yours though...)

I really use 5th a lot. Even when having fun and going for a spin, I find it geat to put it into 5th and feel the car flex its muscle at long straights from lower rpm's...:D The revs come on real fast even then. The gearbox shifts really nice and precise - it really does! 915 in a 10/74S.

When the engine speed will be around 3K rpm in 5th with mild load on the engine. With no load (coasting), slightly lower rpm, or just shift to neutral. It's not necessary to rev the engine when decelerating under normal driving conditions.

Sherwood

I use it all the time on the highway.

Around town, easy driving, no load, 1500 rpm in 5th works for me.


Joe

86 3.2

I don't use 5th.

Even on the front straight of Thunderhill I can not get fast enough to get into 5th.

:p:p:p

Never....I go from 4th straight to 6th. ;)

daily commute, in and out of the city when I have a stretch of h-way , no point in wasting gas if you're just putting along on a straight road for 5+ miles. I do however down shift to 4th or 3rd when I'm within a mile of my exit so to avoid the dogleg shift while merging

oh-and long trips, it makes a huge difference, in 05 we went to hershey from boston, and averaged about 28mpg for the whole trip-800 miles or so, all highway, all in 5th.

The 3.2 has plenty of low end torque, which distinguishes it from the earlier versions. I use 5th any time over 35 or 40 when I'm in "putt" mode around the city. Hey, the German engineers put that little yellow light in there for a reason(the second great energy crisis) and I assume you can safely use it if you want. I know it doesn't sound too sporting, but the car is a daily driver in the summer, and it helps with the gas mileage. And second gear is only a heartbeat away if needed..

+1

+1 :)

3200 RPM in 4th,

ianc

Man, you guys that are shifting at 3K are not even hitting the power band on these cars. You will NOT hurt them by reving up to near redline...in fact, they like it :). I rarely let my car drop below 3200 in any gear and if I was overly concerned with mpg, I'd drive something else, but that's just me.

ps: Even driving like I do, I get decent mileage...better than my truck. I typically don't do "city driving" however.

Love this thread :) When I first got my car in July, the idiot light drove me bonkers. I felt it left me luggy if I shifted as it suggested. When I came here asking how to disconnect it, folks suggested I just tape it over. Or ignore it. I did the latter, and from that point on, pretended I had a 4-speed. Goodbye, lugginess!

The only time I use 5th is when I'm crusing on a highway or interstate. Otherwise, I like having plenty of pull available when I need it driving around town, in traffic, stop & go, etc.

It all depends on the roads one is on. I can't think of any reason to drive along at 3,200 RPM for several miles with nothing but 20 more miles of straight and level road ahead. I LOVE to run to 6250 RPM in lower gears when the road allows. 6,000 RPM in 3rd is about 90 in my car. That is ticket time on any road in the USA. 4th gear at reline is go to jail time.

It's funny to see that old saw trotted out again and again. No engine 'likes' being driven at high RPM for no good reason. If you need acceleration, you can shift higher, and that's fine, but I don't thrash my engine just for the fun of it, or because it 'sounds good'.

We are talking about basic physics here: sustained high RPM operation means decreased service life, whether we're talking about a Porsche or a lawnmower, whether you believe it or not. It's a simple matter of stress and cyclic wear on moving parts.

But keep on running it up to redline on every shift if you like. Whatever you think the engine 'likes'...

ianc

We'll just have to disagree :). 3200 rpms is NOT high rpms for these cars, and is simply not thrashing or abusing your 911. I'm not talking about cruising in the higher ranges, but if you think cruising at 3200 is bad, how do you even drive on the Interstate at all?. I've always driven my cars by going through the power band in each gear for over 30 years, and have never had an issue (even little 4 cylinder econoboxes). There's abuse, and then there's driving a sports car the way it was intended. Driving ALL day long between 3-3.5K is NOT what you are insinuating, and you're simply missing what these cars are all about imo. To each their own...

ps: in fact, some will Pros will suggest that cruising in 5th at low rpms (although the Carreras have the torque to do so) IS detrimential to the tranny.