When should I shift gears?

[ParkerRocker]

Okay I have a REALLY stupid question, i have a 1992 explorer and the stock tranny, my issue is when i should shift? is it a question of RPM's or is it the speed I am traveling? When I was taught how to drive a manual I was told to shift when the engine starts to whine, but i am starting to feel like maybe that is the wrong information. my dad is the 1 who taught me, and I have thus learned as I learn about my vehicle that he doesn't know what hes talking about...
Below is the general pattern I follow

MPH Gear
0-15......1
15-25....2
25-35....3
35-55....4
55-85+..5

When I am accelerating hard in third and fourth gear my engine tends to stutter, I am assuming that this is because I am lugging the engine?
I have replaced the fuel filter, air filter and spark plug wires, cleaned the MAF and this helped tremendously but it still happens. I'm going to look at the plugs and maybe do a cylinder balance test, I just wanted to make sure i wasn't driving like a noob... :-(

 

[davey2451]

i would say ur doin just fine wit the way u are shifting
and i dont know what the sputter could be from cuz its kind of hard to tell not hearing it my self

 

[steventadams]

I had always thought it was a matter of RPMs... When the engine starts the whine that's usually an indication that its starting to work harder than it needs to. And there really is no advantage to running in high RPMs unless you're racing...

 

[techieman33]

Okay I have a REALLY stupid question, i have a 1992 explorer and the stock tranny, my issue is when i should shift? is it a question of RPM's or is it the speed I am traveling? When I was taught how to drive a manual I was told to shift when the engine starts to whine, but i am starting to feel like maybe that is the wrong information. my dad is the 1 who taught me, and I have thus learned as I learn about my vehicle that he doesnt know what hes talking about...
Below is the general pattern I follow

MPH Gear
0-15......1
15-25....2
25-35....3
35-55....4
55-85+..5

When I am accelerating hard in third and fourth gear my engine tends to stutter, I am assuming that this is because I am lugging the engine?
I have replaced the fuel filter and spark plug wires, this helped tremendously but it still happens. I'm going to look at the plugs and maybe do a cylinder balance test, I just wanted to make sure i wasn't driving like a noob... :-(

It sounds like your lugging the engine in 3rd and 4th. There really isn't a set speed at which to shift it all depends on how your driving. If your going for gas mileage than you want to get up to 4th or 5th gear as fast as you can with out bogging the motor down. But if your trying to accelerate fast then you need to stay in the lower gears longer.

 

[ParkerRocker]

so for acceleration i should keep it in lower gears longer? that makes sense to me...
then i suppose another question to ask is: is it okay to skip gears? also, what is that red line at 55 MPH mean?

 

[djsk8r33]

it depends what you mean by 'skipping gears'

lets say youre in 2nd but you cruise all the way to 45-50... you could go into 4th.. give it a second in nuetral, then shift.. but yeah.

you dont go.. 15mph then go right into 3rd. thats just stupid.

 

[Exploderpilot]

when I'm driving to work, i drive for gas mileage. i shift at 2200 rpms all the way to 5th. your powerband will extend all the way through 4000, but you can shift anywhere over 2000.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I learned to drive in a first gen sport with a 5 speed. I almost always would skip 4th gear, unless running up a hill. I'd run 3rd and 4th a few mph faster.

 

[little x]

The little red line at 55mph is from gas shortages when the US banned all speed limits over 55 mph. Since so many roads were 55 the auto makers figured they'd make 55 a little special. You still see it on some cars, and some car's even have a color differentiation like that at 65 mph now.

As far as shifting it all depends. Are you going up hill or down? Accelerating hard or driving with your grandma in shotgun? shifting from 1st to 2nd or 4th to 5th? they all make a difference. I'd follow what your dad said and just don't rev the engine too much. Your probably shifting just fine. Personally I generally shift very low (1800-2000) while on flat grounds, when in the mountains my shifting point grows in proportion to the grade of the hill I'm climbing.

 

[RhainyC]

Hmmm, I have a '91 Ranger and I shift at about 3000RPM for the most part...but my truck loves to be at 2500 RPM when cruisin and gets the best mileage on the highway at 2500RPM in 5th, which for her is about 65mph or so.

 

[shortstack]

its not the speed you going its the rpms. shift every 2k to 2.5k

 

[Gatorblazer]

what is that red line at 55 MPH mean?

You know your getting old when you hear that question being asked. Now I'm waiting to hear what that square thingy is where the CD player is supposed to be.

 

[ParkerRocker]

The little red line at 55mph is from gas shortages when the US banned all speed limits over 55 mph. Since so many roads were 55 the auto makers figured they'd make 55 a little special. You still see it on some cars, and some car's even have a color differentiation like that at 65 mph now.

As far as shifting it all depends. Are you going up hill or down? Accelerating hard or driving with your grandma in shotgun? shifting from 1st to 2nd or 4th to 5th? they all make a difference. I'd follow what your dad said and just don't rev the engine too much. Your probably shifting just fine. Personally I generally shift very low (1800-2000) while on flat grounds, when in the mountains my shifting point grows in proportion to the grade of the hill I'm climbing.

Thanks for the info, I will keep it in mind, I never really thought about it but it seems like common sense. I feel dumb.

it depends what you mean by 'skipping gears'

lets say youre in 2nd but you cruise all the way to 45-50... you could go into 4th.. give it a second in nuetral, then shift.. but yeah.

you dont go.. 15mph then go right into 3rd. thats just stupid.

Thank you, I wasn't sure if skipping gears would do anything that i was unaware of. ROFL Ya I knew that going into third at 15MPH would be stupid. I guess I should have been more specific. But you nailed the answer i was looking for.

You know your getting old when you hear that question being asked. Now I'm waiting to hear what that square thingy is where the CD player is supposed to be.

I used to have that, but my iPod wouldn't fit into it so i took it out...


So would anybody be concerned if it was skipping when flooring it and accelerating on a flat road when i hit the bottom of third (25MPH) and fourth (35 MPH)?

 

[little x]

Skipping gears is fine. If you floor it in 1st all the way to red line you can throw it straight into 3rd and cruise at 25 no problem. If you going down the interstate and pulling onto an off ramp you can back down straight from 5th to 3rd. You can jump from any gear to any other gear, your truck doesn't care as long as it's not going to over rev or lug the engine. I go from 3rd to 5th or 4th to 2nd all the time.

 

[beauboy]

Listen to Explorerpilot. 2200 is about where you should shift. Not only do you realize better fuel economy, but you get off the line smoother and quicker because you are maximizing the effieciency and HP of your engine at about this point.

Oh, and Dad was probably right, considering what he had to work with when he first learned on a stick. Remember, the majority of cars a good number of years ago didn't come with a tach so everything was by feel or ear. Nowadays, seems just about any car comes with a tach, whether you use it or not.