Driving in 5th

[Mallitious]

Hey guys. I have a quick question for ya. I was having a conversation with a co-worker the other day and he said that he drives around town in 5th. I'm talking driving about 30mph-50kms in 5th gear. I told him I thought that was bad for his car and if I was him I wouldn't do that. He claims that driving in 5th gear saves on gas and is beneficial. I could be wrong but isn't that making the engine work harder than it has to? Please help me resolve this as both of us think we are right. Thanks

 

[ppself]

sounds dumb imo.

I usually ride in 3rd gear and coasting in neutral since i gotta hit a red light ever freaking block.

Plus if hes anal bout gas he shoudl just not drive at all.

 

[nate0123]

there's nothing wrong with using 5th, as long as you're just maintaining speed, and not accelerating or climbing hills

 

[justanothermp5]

yea i do that sometimes, i does save gas, and like nate said, unless ur climbing a hill, it makes the engine work less
once u hit a hill, the engine will bog down, and have to work pretty hard unless u downshift

 

[Akaveli]

wow maybe that is pushing it a little. Personally I keep it in 4th when I drive around town. rpms stay bwt 2rpm & 2.5

 

[Mallitious]

I'm still rather confussed on what is true. I think that if you aren't accelerating or going up a hill and making your engine labor you could be ok, but at the same time I think that 4th would be a much smarter gear to be in and have very similar gas gains without adding any strain on the engine. Just my 2 cents anyways!

 

[knowledge007]

Exactly, if he decides to accelerate for instance to pass a car, the engine is going to be spitting out fuel. Which in turn will not be saving him gas...