All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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How does everyone drive while in town (30mph limit). What gear do you drive in and whats ur RPM?
I use 5th gear(!) in the polo at about 12k rpm (idle is 10k!!) and then stay in 5th to accelerate to 60mph on nation speed limit. Is this bad? i know the low rpm is good but when accelerating am i using more fuel than driving in 3rd at 20k rpm and then changing up?
Any help welcome
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JadeM
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Registered: 9th Feb 06
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5th gear doing 30 will not be very economical....4th would be better surely.
also 10k rpm idle....hope you mean 1k
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James_DT
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Registered: 9th Apr 04
Location: Cambridgeshire
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I thought this was a take the piss post when I saw it was a Polo idling at 10k.
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James_DT
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Registered: 9th Apr 04
Location: Cambridgeshire
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quote: Originally posted by JadeM
5th gear doing 30 will not be very economical
Indeed, you'll labour the engine and it'll use much more fuel.
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JadeM
Premium Member
Registered: 9th Feb 06
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quote: Originally posted by James_DT
I thought this was a take the piss post when I saw it was a Polo idling at 10k.
Bet its thrown a few pistons
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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damn i meant 1000 rpm. sorry lads. anyway its diesel so its gonna be harder to stall.
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CorsAsh
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Registered: 19th Apr 02
Location: Munich
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I have a vid of a polo going upto 10k on a dyno,
I'm usually in 3rd for town driving...
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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quote: Originally posted by James_DT
quote: Originally posted by JadeM
5th gear doing 30 will not be very economical
Indeed, you'll labour the engine and it'll use much more fuel.
True and i see ur point, i only do that when the road is clear so i can just keep going. But if it was in a lower gear with higher rpms would it use more or less fuel?
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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quote: Originally posted by CorsAsh
I have a vid of a polo going upto 10k on a dyno,
Is it by any change that 660 Bhp Carbon bodied one?
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CorsAsh
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Registered: 19th Apr 02
Location: Munich
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No, it's one of the really old ones, mk1 I think?
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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quote: Originally posted by CorsAsh
No, it's one of the really old ones, mk1 I think?
Aaaah they're bomb proof
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James_DT
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Registered: 9th Apr 04
Location: Cambridgeshire
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quote: Originally posted by All Torque
quote: Originally posted by James_DT
quote: Originally posted by JadeM
5th gear doing 30 will not be very economical
Indeed, you'll labour the engine and it'll use much more fuel.
True and i see ur point, i only do that when the road is clear so i can just keep going. But if it was in a lower gear with higher rpms would it use more or less fuel?
If you were in a gear that allowed the engine to sit around the 2/2.2k mark, it would mean the engine was doing less work to keep the car moving, and when you needed to accelerate wouldn't need to work as hard, so you'd save fuel. I try to use whichever gear lets the engine run at closest to 2.2k on the 306, as that seems optimum. It's also before the torque peaks, and the power comes in (and then pisses off again by 4.5k ).
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CorsAsh
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Registered: 19th Apr 02
Location: Munich
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quote: Originally posted by All Torque
quote: Originally posted by CorsAsh
No, it's one of the really old ones, mk1 I think?
Aaaah they're bomb proof
Yeah, it wasn't standard
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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quote: Originally posted by CorsAsh
quote: Originally posted by All Torque
quote: Originally posted by CorsAsh
No, it's one of the really old ones, mk1 I think?
Aaaah they're bomb proof
Yeah, it wasn't standard
Lmao! I'd hope so too! Any idea what the engine was?
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Ry_B
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Registered: 1st Dec 05
Location: Solihull, W Mids Drives: 45BHP beast!
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I always use 5th for driving at 30mph, surely the lower the revs the less petrol is uses. It doesn't sound like it's labouring....
BTW it's a 1.2 8 valve.
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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quote: Originally posted by Rcb
I always use 5th for driving at 30mph, surely the lower the revs the less petrol is uses. It doesn't sound like it's labouring....
BTW it's a 1.2 8 valve.
Thats not good
If I'm doing 30 on a flat long piece of road where I dont need to accelerate I put in 4th so its sat at just under 2k. Otherwise 3rd gear for 30 zones if its a bit hilly
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Ry_B
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Registered: 1st Dec 05
Location: Solihull, W Mids Drives: 45BHP beast!
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quote: Originally posted by Matty G
quote: Originally posted by Rcb
I always use 5th for driving at 30mph, surely the lower the revs the less petrol is uses. It doesn't sound like it's labouring....
BTW it's a 1.2 8 valve.
Thats not good
If I'm doing 30 on a flat long piece of road where I dont need to accelerate I put in 4th so its sat at just under 2k. Otherwise 3rd gear for 30 zones if its a bit hilly
Why aint it good...it doesn't sound like it's labouring
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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5th gear... at 30mph... little 1.2 8v engine with no torque... will be putting it under alot of strain. Do more harm than good IMO
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Skylined
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Registered: 27th Sep 05
Location: Sideways, Surrey
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I use 5th if i'm going down a hill at 30mph but otherwise 4th as can hear engine labouring.
Use 5th wen i'm doing 40mph tho seems to cope fine
on a 1.2 8v corsa btw
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JadeM
Premium Member
Registered: 9th Feb 06
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quote: Originally posted by Rcb
I always use 5th for driving at 30mph, surely the lower the revs the less petrol is uses. It doesn't sound like it's labouring....
BTW it's a 1.2 8 valve.
Think back to when you used to ride a bike, 21 gears - what caused you more work at a steady low speed (say 10mph), low end gearing you would be peddling away like a dafty really fast to get anywhere, top end you would struggle to turn the peddles at a lower speed - mid gears = happy days, nice smooth peddle work, you could go all day
Now these same principles can sort of be applied to a car - too high or low a gearing will cause more work thus use more fuel
[Edited on 01-03-2006 by JadeM]
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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Your Polo idles at 10k
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Ally
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Registered: 2nd Jul 03
Location: Pontypool Drives: a Skoda
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3rd or 4th, 4th for going down hills and on straight bits and 3rd for windey housing estates etc
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