On this tank I'm going to try something.
I usually shift at around 3k, but this time I'm going to try and shift around the 2k mark.
I'm not going to ease up on the pedal, I'm just going to short-shift and see if I have higher MPG this tank. Shifting at 2k - it does seem to accelerate a little more slowly, but not all that much.

Any thoughts about this from personal experience?

 

I try to keep my shifts to around 2k if I'm not in anyone's way. My last five tanks have been between 31mpg and 33mpg. I also coast whenever I can, and on my commute to work, I can coast without the engine for over half a mile (it's a backwoods road with nothing but vineyards on either side, so traffic is a non issue). Also helpful on the fuel consumption front, is that the road I live on had it's speed limit changed from 55 to 50 a few weeks ago, so my FE has probably inched up a bit from that, too.

 

3k is not a bad shift point for gas mileage. i have 17" wheels and always shift between 3k-4k (still light on the gas) and get a consistent 34mpg. sometimes a tad more.

 

I shift about 4k and get 32mpg..go figure....

 

yeah this has been mentioned in other posts and I think the jest of it was shifting at lower rpms isnt really going to help much and might even hurt milage a little, I have an auto so I have no choice, just easy on the gas

 

I'm pretty sure keeping the RPMs lower will help your MPG a little, I always shift around 2.5k and I get 39MPG in a rural, hilly area

 

Exactly. Higher RPMs = higher fuel consumption. I wish 5th gear in our cars was taller. There's no reason why I shouldn't be turning 2k RPM at 70mph.

I really need to get a Scangauge.

 

Thats exactly when I shift.

 

so how much would it cost to swap 5th gear for a taller one

 

Yeah, if our xB's had a 6th gear or a better tuned 5th it could easily get 50mpg+ on the highway

 

i just shift at 6500 rpm and enjoy the day.

 

If you have access to a scanguage you will see shifting early does less for your fuel economy than shifting late. Sure rpms plays a role, but more importantly engine load. You need to shift without lugging or loading the engine too much, yet before the vvt starts to apply itsself. 3.5 grand is the sweet spot with oem wheels and tires.

Many have tried taller tires/wheels and I have personally tried smaller ones. Seems toy engineered the exact gearing for highway and optimun fuel economy with their tire/wheel size.

Want to really increase your fiuel economy? Lower your car at least 2 inches, get the windows tinted to use less ac and drive 5mph under the posted limit or draft the slow person in the far right lane vs tailgate the person in the far left doing 90mph.

 

just went o 15's from 18's my scanguage says I am about 34,5 mpg now

 

hahahahaaaa, no way in hell could the xB get 50+ mpg with a 6th gear! you are on some seriously strong stuff to speculate something like that.

when you shift is important, but it also depends on pedal position, and environmental conditions and the load of the car. on flat or declining grades, yeah, 2 grand could be okay, i keep the tC around there, but when going uphill or carrying alot of weight, it is better to keep the rpms up a bit to use more engine power properly.

great mpg doesn't just automatically happen, you can't just say "light on the gas, shift at lower rpms and 40 mpg will be mine!"

it has to do with minimizing the number of times you slow down and have to accelerate back up to speed, which means taking a good legal line through turns to keep your speed up. and trying not to have to come to a complete stop. i do this by slowing down as i approach a red light, hoping it turns green before i come to a complete stop. cars use alot of gas moving away from a complete stop. tricks like that keep me around 30 mpg with a supercharged tC.

also, be aware that shifting too early, too often and gassing it can lead to what they call "lugging" the transmission. which means that the low power from the engine, and load on the drivetrain can lead to the gears really straining to turn one another and actually push eachother apart and that is bad!

also, when coasting, coast in gear, when coasting in gear, the ecu cuts fuel to the engine, so you aren't using any gas at that point, while if your in neutral, the engine is using gas to keep the engine idling.

 

qft

 

that is probably the #1 biggest misconception of everyone on the road today. i've told people this as well... leave it in gear when coasting!... and they still insist that no, they are getting better gas mileage because they are in neutral and the car is coasting.

 

True dat!!!! Keep it over 1700 rpms. All you need to do is plug in a scanguage and it will show your fuel economy as 9999 since the injectors shut off. Engine braking saves your brakes.

Second, its spins your accessories, so you get free power from the alternator, ac as well as steering assist since your previous fuel that was used to move the car that energy is being partly captured to slow it down.

Its easy to think a 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th gear will give better fuel economy, but gearing and fuel economy isnt a linear relatioship. Sure some cars have that many gears others have an infinite number of ratios, but there is a limit and driving style not just shift points makes your fuel economy.The faster you go, you have 4 times the wind resistance to deal with and its always better to error on a gear too low vs too high so you dont screw up the engine or tranny.

 

Exactly. There is no RPM rule for when you should be shifting- do it based on engine load and feel. Drive a vehicle without a tachometer (or cover the xB's) and you pick it pretty quick.

Driving around 3k is optimal for most of where I drive. If I try to maintain a constant speed going up a slight hill @ 2k RPM, the real time MPG readout on the scangauge drop to like 17 MPG. Same hill at 3k RPM will be about 28 MPG. Then there are sections of flat or slightly downhill road where I can chug along at 1200 RPM and the scangauge reading 50-90 MPG.

 

My experience :
1. I shift around 2K and consider it a normal shifting point rather than short shifting.
2. I don't accelerate fast enough to consider that a 2K shift causes slower acceleration.
If I want to accelerate, I would shift later and go faster, but I don't like acceleration and avoid it as much as possible because it causes poor mileage. For the summers of 2006 and 2007 my xB averaged 35 mpg and 2008 will be no different.
http://aatherton06.home.insightbb.co..._xB/xB_MPG.htm

 

I have gotten near 37mpg in my automatic. I roll towards stop signs and redlights and accelerate slowly. It's fun to eek out as many miles as possible.

The drag coefficient is not too great so going under 60 is best.