[mustangGT33]

Just wondering how you guys drive your 6-speed, like what are the standard shift points for best gas mileage? I've only driven my 5-speed '98 GT, which I always shifted at 10-15/25/35/45 for gas mileage, and 37/60/87/122 for best acceleration.

Just don't want to look like a noob at my test drive. Also could be weird since 6th is where I'm used to having reverse. I think reverse is at the top left now?

 

[SeanL]

Reverse is top left, but you have to push the shifter down to get it over. You probably won't need to worry about 6th at all. It is a very tall gear (at least it seems to be for me) and I do not hit it till 65.

I don't know what the speeds are, but you will be fine if you just shift at 3k for the test drive. When I am trying to save gas I just shift around 2k. I get used to how the engine sounds and feels for my shifting, but usually around 2k.

 

[2Rowdy]

If you go to 6th, beware, the first couple of days I had mine, I went from 5th to 4th. All is well now, just takes a getting aquainted to the car. The car ROCKS. I have the 3.73 and I shift depending on what I feel like. You can start in 2nd, I've gone 1-3-5, you name it.

 

[mattr12]

the first few days I sometimes went from 6th to 3rd and from 4th to....1st.... OUCH mg: RPM going from 2000 to 7000 is interesting.. but I finally got the grip of it and everything is fine now. And btw I have 26 years experience in driving manuals.. every car is a bit different and you have to get used to it

 

[Cpt.Carnage]

I have a 11 v6 6st with 3.31s.

I have driven 5 speed standards for most of my life and i will admit that the 6 standard is a bit of a learning curve. The gear ratios are so close it takes a while to get use to. Especially when down shifting and predicting what rpm you are going to be at in the lower gear. The more you use it the more you get use to it. My general rule of thum for slowing down is always skip 1 gears. ex going from 6th to 4th if you are approaching a stop light from far off. Or 5th to 3rd etc. just make sure you "splash" your brakes for the driver behind you.

Also, has anyone noticed a rear end "clunk" when depressing the clutch fairly quickly? its not as bad if you slow the depression but i can still hear it.

 

[zilla8]

you'll be fine,this is a sweet 6spd real easy to get use to.I've only had my GT three days and I'm completely use to all aspects of this transmission.Like others said you can start in 2nd gear no problem.

I have the 3.73's and love it because they are perfect for this 6spd
I dont lugg it but you can cruise in 3rd or 4th and still have plenty of passing power without needing a down shift.I was on the fwy earlier tonight and cruised in 6th at 65-70mph @2300rpm:bigthumbsup

I cant beleive the difference in these new Mustangs compared to my old 5.0 cars.The clutch effort is so easy compared to my old fox Mustangs.The gates are close especially 1st and 3rd but you will not have any trouble with this new 6spd.

 

[adblink]

I have a 11 v6 6st with 3.31s.

I have driven 5 speed standards for most of my life and i will admit that the 6 standard is a bit of a learning curve. The gear ratios are so close it takes a while to get use to. Especially when down shifting and predicting what rpm you are going to be at in the lower gear. The more you use it the more you get use to it. My general rule of thum for slowing down is always skip 1 gears. ex going from 6th to 4th if you are approaching a stop light from far off. Or 5th to 3rd etc. just make sure you "splash" your brakes for the driver behind you.

Also, has anyone noticed a rear end "clunk" when depressing the clutch fairly quickly? its not as bad if you slow the depression but i can still hear it.

YES!!! I have actually! I have a '11 v6 with 3.31s as well. I'm just learning to drive a standard and a few times I had to push the clutch in fairly quickly and did hear some sort of clunk from the rear, no idea what it was

 

[mustangGT33]

Thanks guys, definitely valuable information. I probably would've treated 6th as just the new 5th and got into it around 50 MPH, lol. Glad I asked.

I'll be careful with the missed downshifts. I remember having a similar problem with my '98 GT at the beginning, though that was my first manual trans. However my problem was I was missing 4th coming from 3rd and hitting 2nd instead! Not very good for the engine the couple times I did that after redlining in 3rd. :nono:

 

[adblink]

check the manual, there are charts in there that tell you when to shift for optimal fuel economy based on the engine/gears you have.

 

[TitanRam]

Thanks guys, definitely valuable information. I probably would've treated 6th as just the new 5th and got into it around 50 MPH, lol. Glad I asked.

I'll be careful with the missed downshifts. I remember having a similar problem with my '98 GT at the beginning, though that was my first manual trans. However my problem was I was missing 4th coming from 3rd and hitting 2nd instead! Not very good for the engine the couple times I did that after redlining in 3rd. :nono:

Yeah I did a WOT acceleration and missed 4th, got 2nd instead....that was a very interesting experience. Chirped the tires though not in a good way lol. Slammed the clutch back in and apologized to the car... Car seems fine though, its a pretty robust powertrain.

For what it's worth you can cruise in 4th at 30mph with the 3.73s around a neighborhood. I often times will cruise in 6th doing anything better than 45mph if I'm just going with slow traffic or that's the speed limit. You can very easily start in 2nd gear with no trouble, you also don't deal with the skip-shift this way as well, which is nice. 1st is awesome to press you into your seat/scare anyone with you lol.

 

[mustangGT33]

check the manual, there are charts in there that tell you when to shift for optimal fuel economy based on the engine/gears you have.

I just now looked it up online. They have one chart for the V8 engine, saying to shift at 17/25/40/45/50 for best gas mileage. Also, they have 2 separate charts for the V6: one is for 2.73 gears, and it says the same shift speeds as above. The other is for 3.31s, which says to shift at 13/26/37/43/59. Assuming the chart for the V8 was for 3.31 gears (maybe it's not), why would the 3.31 V6 have higher speed recommendations?

I'm getting 3.73s, didn't mention that before.

 

[mattr12]

1st is awesome to press you into your seat/scare anyone with you lol.

lol yeah a friend who wanted to go on a ride with me was looking for a top handle by the passenger door after I went from 0 to 40 in a few seconds :bigthumbsup I could hear his heart racing :gringreen

 

[LastOwnedA77]

lol yeah a friend who wanted to go on a ride with me was looking for a top handle by the passenger door after I went from 0 to 40 in a few seconds :bigthumbsup I could hear his heart racing :gringreen

My wife did the same thing, only she calls it the "Oh Sh*t Handle"

 

[adblink]

first gear in my v6 seems pretty useless

then again i have only been driving standard for a month now and still can't figure out how to accelerate quickly