I usually drive my xA between 2 and 3k rpm. that the best or should I be driving 2.5 to 3.5 or something different for the best gas mileage?

 

Can you really dictate what RPM band you drive in? Doing 80 on the interstate my xA does about 4K, I can't control that... but I suppose at lower speeds you could do something about it. Honestly I don't think you're gonna get a huge difference b/w 2-3K and 2.5-3.5K. Just drive it however you feel comfortable, you'll get 32mpg or more just cause of how the engine is built.

 

Well i woudn't recomend to drive like 65 in 4th gear lol Like some people DO ! *stupid* . But if you want to make a difference drive the car as it tells you in manual book and thats the way to save some gas milage. Sometimes also driving 30 with 5th gear is not smart.

My driving
1gear- [15-20mph]
2gear- [20-25mph]
3gear- [25-29mph]
4gear- [29-45mhp]
5gear- [45-90mhp]

 

I shift at 3.5 - 4k RPM.

The car is a bit slow when you shift any lower than that.

 

redline al lthe way for me yo!

no, just kidding.. .. i try to get to 5th gear as soon as possible.. florida is so flat, doesn't really matter ..

 

Scorp nailed it. Following those shift patterns (which is
what the car is disigned to work at), I get about 33MPG
consistantly with my xB.

at least until I put my big heavy wheels on. I've dropped
down quite a bit (I'm still figuring out exactly how much.

 

i just checked how many miles i get, thats why i asked, i got about 28 mpg. started with a full tank that couldnt take anymore gas. and counted the gallons it took to fill it up again. enging gallons VS. how many miles since i started with the trip options, gave me about 29 mpg. that includes highway and freeway driving. and then.............. i walked out to go to work one day and i noticed my rear right tire was flat ( i guess theyre seriouse when they say set the tire PSI at 3000 miles) and it took about a gallon of gas to get to work. bout 7 or so miles

 

i also have a 2005 bsp xa and when i first bought the car, i only got about 32 to 34 mpg. recently, i have been watching the shifting and instead of waiting until it gets to the 3.5 or 4k mark, i'll shift around two or so with each gear. kooky sounding though it may be, you can also feel the engine vibration rev through the throttle pedal and that helps me decide as well and i acheived about 37.5 or 38 mpg. by the way is yours standard or auto, mines standard.

 

Outside of my house is a school zone, where the speed limit is 20mph. I drive that road in third gear, and it stays at about 1600rpm. In town, the highest speed limit is 30, and like some others have said already, it is best to get to fifth gear as quickly as possible. Generally, I shift before reaching 2500 rpm, because there's never enough traffic for me to have to accelerate any faster than that.

 

If you are after gas mileage on the highway... I hate to say it but 3-3500k is about where you want to be for the advertised hwy mpg. It's too damn hard to stay there for long though.

 

I am sorry to revive such an old thread,but... after reading all these post's and seeing so many people saying they shift so low I have to ask,isn't shifting into higher gear at low RPM's kind of bad for your engine in the long run? I have always heard that when you leave first gear you should always be above at least 2k RPM's. Shifting into 4th at 29 mph? This really seems to get better gas mileage but the stress you are putting on your engine to keep your car going,at low RPM's,at low speed,in a high gear can't be good. Any thoughts?

Also,I drive my 05 xA in Columbus,Ohio(Dublin) delivering pizzas everyday(no highway,all in town) and get a consistent 35 mpg,I shift whenever I feel like it but never below 3k RPM's,how do you explain this?

 

This is also what I thought. I don't try to shift at certain mph, but usually shift anywhere between 3000 and 4000 rpm. I'm still getting about 34 mpg driving like this.

 

shifting at low rpms constantly will foul spark plugs and leave bad carbon deposits in the cylinders. When the engine lags, knocks and pings it is because of incomplete combustion. Bad. But I doubt anybody is shifting at that low of an RPM range.

 

I suggest that you change your oil every 2000 miles instead of 3000.

 

If nobody is pushing me from behind & I'm not in a hurry
I"ll shift around 2k. Got used to that with my VW Golf TDI
(diesel)... it ain't fast but if you want mpg's... thats the answer..

 

NO! The answer is...shift at or above 3k. I stated in a previous post that I get more mpg shifting at higher RPM's than you guys shifting at lower RPM's,why? Because you guys are stressing your little engine thinking less rpm's = more mileage. Why not just shift at 1k....that has to be better gas mileage,doesn't it?Some people need to learn how to drive a (small displacement) car.

 

If I'm driving for mileage, I shift around 2500 or so and get a consistent 40 mpg. Care to retract your statement?

I don't get any engine hesitation or the like, because I go pretty easy on the throttle. Sure, if you try and mash the throttle at 2300 rpm, your engine is going to bog down, and the mileage will be ____. But the key is to not bog down the engine.