Which Gear For Motorway Cruising

[The_Stig]

Hi Folks,

As I posted on here before I had some trouble with a gearbox not that long ago and the nice folks at Lexus Derby kindly swapped it out with another to get rid of the noise and vibration in 6th which I'm very pleased to say has gone. What has surprised me however is that regularly using 6th on the motorway doesnt appear to have improved my fuel enconomy...in fact...it seems to have made it worse

I've found that below 75...6th is pretty useless and seems to labour up any sections of motorway. I've also noticed at 70mph if I have the car in 5th the mpg needle fluctuates between 25 and 40mpg...where as if I put it in 6th at the same speed it seems to stay consistently on 25mpg. What's more it seems worse on fuel this way too...I can usually do 210 miles on half a tank of fuel on a motorway run, but using 6th at the moment I'll be 30 miles short of that before I hit the halfway mark (from the run I did tonight).

Doing 70 the engine is doing about 3600rpm. Am I likely to do it any harm sticking to 5th...or is this excessive over-revving? Has anyone else experienced higher fuel consumption using 6th on the motorway or is there something wrong with my driving style?

I'd be curious to know what everyone else's experiences are :)

Thanks

Stiggy :)

[VVProtocolVV]

I always thought 6th gear is the most economic..i even miss out 5th gear and go from 4th to 6th. I will check when i next use the car on motor way and see where the mpg is on when im doing 60-70mph. I don't really pay much attention to the mpg gauge tbh as i always though its too eractic...i prefer the one on my toyota...a green eco light comes on lol j/k

[Rob]

wouldnt pay any attention to the MPG gauga as its just an "indication" and not exact by any means.- on a motorway run averaging about 80 mph using6th i get about 400 - 430 miles

[KnightUnit]

I always use 6th and get about 400 - 425 a tank. Also do 4th - 6th alot and am normally in sixth after 35-40mph.

[LexusIs200Sport]

Always said it could have done with a 7th gear, cos the engine is screaming at 70mph+

[TomCooper]

Hi Folks,

As I posted on here before I had some trouble with a gearbox not that long ago and the nice folks at Lexus Derby kindly swapped it out with another to get rid of the noise and vibration in 6th which I'm very pleased to say has gone. What has surprised me however is that regularly using 6th on the motorway doesnt appear to have improved my fuel enconomy...in fact...it seems to have made it worse

I've found that below 75...6th is pretty useless and seems to labour up any sections of motorway. I've also noticed at 70mph if I have the car in 5th the mpg needle fluctuates between 25 and 40mpg...where as if I put it in 6th at the same speed it seems to stay consistently on 25mpg. What's more it seems worse on fuel this way too...I can usually do 210 miles on half a tank of fuel on a motorway run, but using 6th at the moment I'll be 30 miles short of that before I hit the halfway mark (from the run I did tonight).

Doing 70 the engine is doing about 3600rpm. Am I likely to do it any harm sticking to 5th...or is this excessive over-revving? Has anyone else experienced higher fuel consumption using 6th on the motorway or is there something wrong with my driving style?

I'd be curious to know what everyone else's experiences are :)

Thanks

Stiggy :)

hmm if you accelerate in 6th gear it kills my mpg (on the gauge) but cruising from 60 - 80 it stays around 30 - 40mpg...

[TomCooper]

Always said it could have done with a 7th gear, cos the engine is screaming at 70mph+

engine really needs a lil more power and longer range gears, the car is a heavy, and underpowered not that its a big deal, i love it still

[ibby]

Ive been doing some tests...

up hills on motorway in 5th..

driving down.. or on a flat plane 6th.

and those who are dropping form 3rth or 4th to the 6th gear..

arnt going the transmition or the engine nay favours.

To be honest the problem with the lexus is200.. Power.. and TOURQE lower down the rev range,

I think the gearbox in the IS200 is suited more to an engine which produces 200HP..

rather then 150..

The gear ratio from 5th to 6th makes minimal diffrence. Next time you chnage.. have a look at the revs.

The 6th gear should really have been dropping us alot lower into the rev range..

Iam sure the supercharger/turbo guys will tell you what kind of diffrence it does make, especially on the motorway.

having that grunt..

Only if Lexus.... gave us some more HP :(