6th gear

[wormdoggy]

What gear would you say you usually drive at on the highway. Have you guys ever seen 6th gear?

Usually I keep it in 4th and 5th but have yet to see 6th.

Also what RPM do you guys usally shift gear? I try to shift between 3 and 4000RPM. Yeah I know I'm a newbie.....................

 

[HiYoSilver]

Unless you own a gas station the 6th gear is good for those rare long steady-state highway jaunts. I have seen 20 mpg. Some people on the board have even put cruise control in their cars, I haven't gone that far.
Welcome to VCA and enjoy the club and your new wheels.

 

[SRTRICKY]

I haven't even used 6th yet I think I used 5th once

 

[GR8_ASP]

No need for 6th. I purchased the Viper for performance not fuel economy. 6th offers no throttle response, regardless of the speed, and even with the Paxton acceleration in 6th is on par with a minivan!

 

[gthomas]

I've never used 6th speed in any vehicle unless I'm going at least 60/65 continuously, and don't need major acceleration.

 

[Kai SRT10]

6th gear is good for steady-state cruising at 85-90mph. I get about 23mpg on long trips using 6th gear.
That's really all it is good for.

 

[AG98RT10]

Sixth gear is an inducement to upgrade your rear diff to a higher number!
On the highway, I'm usually in sixth above 60 mph with 3.73's. I get around 20 mpg on road trips.

 

[AviP]

I use 6th all the time that I'm on the highway and not driving in performance mode. Why would you pay for the extra gas? And it takes less than a second to shift back to performance mode.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

The most unique mod I have on my car is the Aston Martin 5th and 5th gears that shorten the ratios from .75:1 and .50:1 to .80:1 and .64:1 respectively. It makes the steps from first to sixth nice and even. Now I have a real six speed instead of a four speed with two ridiculously tall overdrives. It is not worth the money to do unless you are rebuilding your tranny anyway, but if you are unfortunate enough to blow your tranny like I did the extra $1,000 is money well spent. Now with the shorter Gen II rear tires and 3.55 gears the redline in 6th = 200 mph and the power peak of 5,200 rpm is right in the mid 170s so I think this is perfect gearing where my top speed would be in 6th gear instead of 5th which only makes sense to me.

I used to have the Gen III size rear tires with 3.07s and I just thought the gearing was stupidly tall. The car is SO MUCH NICER to drive now and is WAY faster to 60 mph.

 

[Ken Lally]

I use it on the hwy- all the time, saves gas, nicer to the motor

Why not use it?

 

[Nader]

Why is it nicer to the motor? I dont know if that is true.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Nader,

The reason it is easier on the motor is that it is turning lower revs and it will usually run alot cooler. This is an old OHV torque motor and going down the highway at 80 in 4th is going to cause more heat buildup and is harder on a big block on a super hot day. The gas mileage will improve greatly using 6th and from 60 on up if you are cruising , you might as well use it. I almost always got 23-24 on the highway driving between 65-80. The engine is loafing, is very efficient ,and it will run cooler. If you need the power just downshift and let er rip!

 

[MAVERICK]

When I had 3.55s I used 6th all the time... now I'm mostly on 5th on the highway unless I hit 90-100 then I shift to 6th.

 

[Viper X]

6th works OK about 80 and up with the 3.07's. We use it every time we drive the car.

 

[29OUTLAW]

I seldom drive over 50mph so no need for 6th (or even 5th). I've noticed that over 50mph is when that nasty, black road dust begins to accumulate on the rear of the car at an exponential rate.

 

[Nader]

Bill - Isnt there a point where the RPMs drop too low and the engine struggles (for the lack of a better word) with the low gearing? At 60mph the car just seems to hate 6th gear, It just sounds and feels like it is geared too low.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

This motor has so much torque what you may think you feel is just that it won't accelerate quickly. I used to take folks up a hill outside the Dealership in 6th gear to show them the grunt the car has. We didn't move quickly ,but up the hill she went in 6th , no pinging, bucking, etc. At 60 mph , 1250 rpm , the engine is loafing and it is definitely not ******* it. Driving a buddy's RT-10 back from the Zone Rendezvous, I was amazed at how comfortable it was at 70mph in 6th. The weather was super hot, and running in 5th to pass, the gauge would go up a bit. To me, if the car is running cooler on a hot day, that is a good indicator that you are in the right gear. I will not disagree that it feels a bit lethargic at lower speeds in 6th, but it is definitely not ******* it, and my personal observance , the difference in gas mileage is worth it.

 

[Viperfreak2]

Knee-braskee has hills?

Colorado, they have hills!

 

[Nader]

I think the car was geared to minimize wheel spin and maximize drivebility and gas mileage. While the only experience I have had at this point is driving my newly purchases 04 Mamba for the last few weeks, I definitely think a new set of gears would put it in a more useable RPM range for all gears, whether normal ordinary driving or aggressive driving.

While I am still getting an understanding of the car, 355's maybe in my future. There are several people on this forum who praise the 355's.

Can someone elaborate again on this?

 

[AviP]

Why is it nicer to the motor? I dont know if that is true.

Because lesser rpm = longer life. A motor's life is measured in rpm-hours. Obviously that doesn't mean you drive in 6th at 750rpm up a hill. The lowest rpm I would use 6th is at 1250rpm on a level road. If you need fast acceleration from 1250rpm, you can always downshift.

 

[Yellow32]

I like the pedal 'resistance' you get while in 3rd or 4th gear (75+mph), putting the car into 5th/6th you don't get any pedal resistance and it is harder to keep the speed where you want unless you really concentrate, easier to let the pedal resistance 'carve out' the speed.

In other words, for me, lower gears equal more even speed (read: keep my nose clean by better staying within the posted limits).

-J

 

[Neil - UK]

I cruise in 6th all the time when on our motorways, helps the fuel economy we need it here ! and its also nice to have a quieter exhaust note on long distance journeys

 

[wormdoggy]

Bill - Isnt there a point where the RPMs drop too low and the engine struggles (for the lack of a better word) with the low gearing? At 60mph the car just seems to hate 6th gear, It just sounds and feels like it is geared too low.

Actually...............A bit off topic but I just started noticing the same thing. What causes this sh**......I spent alot of time cleaning the other day thinking I ran over some newly painted road tar. It pissed me off to no end. Is there any way to avoid this for future drives??????

Cheers

 

[DSR207]

Wait a minute here, Vipers have six gears ?

 

[Black SRT]

For highway driving, the SRT will run 15 degrees cooler, by using 6th gear instead of 5th, with both oil and water staying at 180'. If your taking the car on a fairly lengthy trip, running it 15' hotter than necessary is basically lame.........even if you do own the gas station.

 

[wormdoggy]

I seldom drive over 50mph so no need for 6th (or even 5th). I've noticed that over 50mph is when that nasty, black road dust begins to accumulate on the rear of the car at an exponential rate.

Sorry guys I quoted the wrong response...................again what's the cause of the black road dust on the rear of the cars.

 

[Kai SRT10]

Sorry guys I quoted the wrong response...................again what's the cause of the black road dust on the rear of the cars.

My guess is that there is black dust on the road, and some of it collects on the back of your car when you drive over the road.

 

[Nader]

interesting concept.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Yep, ViperFreak, contrary to popular belief we gottz sum hillz, and Collie-rad-oh has mountaynes!!!

Actually the Eastern part of the State is very hilly , whereas the Western Part is fairly flat ( except for the Sand Hills , which seem small until you drive up one for a couple of miles or more ).

 

[ACR steve]

2000 RPM +100mph use it every time I drive it........damn you guys need to drive harder or buy a Vette