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Manual Transmission Newbie’s

RomerDawg65

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Its been about 20 plus years since I last drove a stick as a daily driver, Having fun with the manual but have a question what gear is the best for normal highway driving 4th or 5th gear? I’m usually going about 65
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Rodeoflyer

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It really depends on the grade/incline you're driving.. sometimes you need to let it rip up to 5k rpm which the pentastar can handle just fine for extended periods. I would run 65mpg all the time in 4th gear with the stock 4.10 gears and even now with the 5.13 gears (only about 200 rpm difference).

If you're on totally flat ground, then 5th but you'll be idling along at 2k rpm lol.
 

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Its been about 20 plus years since I last drove a stick as a daily driver, Having fun with the manual but have a question what gear is the best for normal highway driving 4th or 5th gear? I’m usually going about 65
Before I respond, I feel the need to mention that I have a Rubicon with 4:10 gearing. Most of the time, when I am running 65, I am in 5th gear, just so I don't bog down too much on hills and such. 6th gear is saved for the interstate where I get above 65-70.
 

Rodeoflyer

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I really wish they wouldn't have given us two overdrives in this trans... 6th is barely usable even with the stock 31's on a non-rubi.
 

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fdFifty

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Took quite a while for me to get a feel for gear selection in the JL. In my experience there are just so many factors at play. When it comes to highway driving I find wind and road inclination is a huge factor. On top of that, the engine is constantly adjusting parameters like fuel mixture, timing, etc. while we drive. It's just too dynamic to have a steadfast rule for what gear you should be in for a certain speed, etc.

I like to keep the real time mpg monitor up on the dash and use it as a strain gauge for the engine. May not be the most accurate for actual mpg but I find that it gives you a good look at whether the engine is happy or seeing too much load. I shift around a bit until I see a good number on the gauge and then go off of that.

I'm pretty sure these engines are essentially tuned for the 8 speed auto and then they just bolted the 6 speed on and sent it out the door. So it naturally wants us to move through the gears a lot more often than we would in a vehicle built around/ tuned for a manual trans. I even went as far as test driving an auto just to get a feel for shift timing / rpm preferences and it helped me figure things out a bit.
 

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Generally I stay in 4th until 55 mph. 5th until 65 (if very flat and no passing) but usually 67 mph. Almost always need to downshift to pass. That said, I get ~22 mpg lifetime on ~11k miles so I'm fine with needing to manage my gears in exchange for pretty good gas mileage considering it's a 2 ton brick.
 

CAP77

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I'm finding that if you need torque between 50 and 65, stay in 4th. This helps in hilly roads and in heavy traffic if you might need to accelerate fast. If it's flat or light traffic in the same range, I use 5th. I experiment with 6th, but mostly it seems to be best at flat highways over 75, although not by much. And like fdFifty, I tend to use the MPG display as a rough guideline.
 

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Its been about 20 plus years since I last drove a stick as a daily driver, Having fun with the manual but have a question what gear is the best for normal highway driving 4th or 5th gear? I’m usually going about 65
Cruising at 65 is 5th. Getting there is 4th.
 

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Its been about 20 plus years since I last drove a stick as a daily driver, Having fun with the manual but have a question what gear is the best for normal highway driving 4th or 5th gear? I’m usually going about 65
It depends on what engine and final drive ratio you have. In general, it would be 6th gear for the manual transmission.
 

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Kllrbee

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Rubi 4.10. Flatland Illinois. I almost never go 65 cuz I almost never take interstate where I live. But Im in 6th at 65, set the cruise and good to go. For you hill people (LOL, you know what I mean), I imagine 5th would be best at 65.
 

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Sport with stock tires, 5th gear for 65 for me. Only ever go 6th on the highway at 70+
 

TheDukeofLark

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Took quite a while for me to get a feel for gear selection in the JL. In my experience there are just so many factors at play. When it comes to highway driving I find wind and road inclination is a huge factor. On top of that, the engine is constantly adjusting parameters like fuel mixture, timing, etc. while we drive. It's just too dynamic to have a steadfast rule for what gear you should be in for a certain speed, etc.

I like to keep the real time mpg monitor up on the dash and use it as a strain gauge for the engine. May not be the most accurate for actual mpg but I find that it gives you a good look at whether the engine is happy or seeing too much load. I shift around a bit until I see a good number on the gauge and then go off of that.

I'm pretty sure these engines are essentially tuned for the 8 speed auto and then they just bolted the 6 speed on and sent it out the door. So it naturally wants us to move through the gears a lot more often than we would in a vehicle built around/ tuned for a manual trans. I even went as far as test driving an auto just to get a feel for shift timing / rpm preferences and it helped me figure things out a bit.
I think this is the answer. You are going to see contradictory answers based on the different gearing between a Rubicon and everything else, on top of personal preference, so you almost need to use info from your exact Jeep as a guide.

I watch the MPG monitor in the same way and for the same reason as above. Sixth gear is really really rare for me. 2k RPMs is also pretty low for my Jeep. It doesn't respond well at those RPMs, nor does the efficiency tell me I should stay there. I don't like to wind it up much past 4k for really any reason ever, but I know many on here will happily ride around at 4k, I've just never seen the need. I know once I started shifting a bit later (just over 3k normally) I could feel the jeep was always in a more responsive RPM range, which makes for a better experience and better MPGs as a byproduct.
 

LastMango

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I really wish they wouldn't have given us two overdrives in this trans... 6th is barely usable even with the stock 31's on a non-rubi.
Right? Been saying that for years! I've been in 6th once—ONCE, and I live in Florida... nuthin' but flat. Sport; 33's.
 

mackh4x0r

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I don't get the hatred towards 6th. But it's also why I don't ask people their preferred way of driving a manual.

Unless you're on steep hills, there's no reason to not use 6th. It's your cruising gear. If it were automatic you'd be in 8th...
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