R56 I've decided: 5th gear is superfluous in the R56 Cooper S
#1
I've decided: 5th gear is superfluous in the R56 Cooper S
I've been noticing that I never, ever use fifth gear. I think it's useless. What's it good for? Fourth can take me way beyond legal speeds. And once I get over about 40mph, I just shift into sixth. I never use fifth. My standard freeway entry takes me from second gear to fourth, then I just shift over to sixth. Slowing down to go through the toll plaza? Drop to fourth. Accelerate, then back to sixth. No fifth.
Just-a-Cooper folks, this probably doesn't make sense to you, but the torquey turbo motor pulls well across the range. I think this many gears are unnecessary. (Bring on the arguments!)
Maybe I'll use fifth at the road race course.
--Dan
Mach V
Just-a-Cooper folks, this probably doesn't make sense to you, but the torquey turbo motor pulls well across the range. I think this many gears are unnecessary. (Bring on the arguments!)
Maybe I'll use fifth at the road race course.
--Dan
Mach V
#2
#3
Looking at the specs, 5th is a mild overdrive, while 6th is a more extreme overdrive. That makes 6th the best for fuel economy, but 5th would result in a higher ultimate top speed, since the lower gear ratio would let the engine speed be higher at the top end, resulting in more horsepower output when the aerodynamic drag is greatest.
#4
I've been noticing that I never, ever use fifth gear. I think it's useless. What's it good for? Fourth can take me way beyond legal speeds. And once I get over about 40mph, I just shift into sixth. I never use fifth. My standard freeway entry takes me from second gear to fourth, then I just shift over to sixth. Slowing down to go through the toll plaza? Drop to fourth. Accelerate, then back to sixth. No fifth.
Just-a-Cooper folks, this probably doesn't make sense to you, but the torquey turbo motor pulls well across the range. I think this many gears are unnecessary. (Bring on the arguments!)
Maybe I'll use fifth at the road race course.
--Dan
Mach V
Just-a-Cooper folks, this probably doesn't make sense to you, but the torquey turbo motor pulls well across the range. I think this many gears are unnecessary. (Bring on the arguments!)
Maybe I'll use fifth at the road race course.
--Dan
Mach V
#7
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#10
I've been noticing that I never, ever use fifth gear. I think it's useless. What's it good for? Fourth can take me way beyond legal speeds. And once I get over about 40mph, I just shift into sixth. I never use fifth. My standard freeway entry takes me from second gear to fourth, then I just shift over to sixth. Slowing down to go through the toll plaza? Drop to fourth. Accelerate, then back to sixth. No fifth.
Just-a-Cooper folks, this probably doesn't make sense to you, but the torquey turbo motor pulls well across the range. I think this many gears are unnecessary. (Bring on the arguments!)
Maybe I'll use fifth at the road race course.
--Dan
Mach V
Just-a-Cooper folks, this probably doesn't make sense to you, but the torquey turbo motor pulls well across the range. I think this many gears are unnecessary. (Bring on the arguments!)
Maybe I'll use fifth at the road race course.
--Dan
Mach V
No i tend to skip it most of the time. From highway cruising to need to pull away/pass and just downshift directly to fourth (followed by 3rd if needed and speed allows). But I would never consider it useless because it can be really helpful for a few reasons:
1. With flat out acceleration every gear is going to help by keeping the rpms up for each gear.
2. 50 in 5th actually gives better mpg than 50 in 6th, mainly because if your speed needs to vary +/- 5 mph here and there, it takes less energy (gas/throttle position) to vary this little deviation rather than trying in 6th.
I have found a sweet spot (at least for the non S). 43-37 mph in 4th even with the AC on can get around 45-47 mpg
#12
I use it most for down-shifting, which I do 90% of the time I'm decelerating. Down shifting to 5th, especialy as I'm doing lane changes in slight congestion / on & off ramps. Scares the hell out of hubby, but...who gets better gas milage, even out of HIS car? Yep, that'd be ME. He has a JC bar to hold on to, what's his problem?
#15
#16
I've been noticing that I never, ever use fifth gear. I think it's useless. What's it good for? Fourth can take me way beyond legal speeds. And once I get over about 40mph, I just shift into sixth. I never use fifth. My standard freeway entry takes me from second gear to fourth, then I just shift over to sixth. Slowing down to go through the toll plaza? Drop to fourth. Accelerate, then back to sixth. No fifth.
In California we have a lot of steep freeway grades. I use 5th quite a bit.
#17
i can down shift pretty hard to 5th on the highway when need be
i dont think im good enough to downshift to 4th yet... but i do find myself downshifting to 5th often. It feels so good when you need that extra power at higher speeds... but then again, ive only driven a civic hybrid and mercedes ml430...
i dont think im good enough to downshift to 4th yet... but i do find myself downshifting to 5th often. It feels so good when you need that extra power at higher speeds... but then again, ive only driven a civic hybrid and mercedes ml430...
#18
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Originally Posted by Mach V Dan
Just-a-Cooper folks, this probably doesn't make sense to you, but the torquey turbo motor pulls well across the range. I think this many gears are unnecessary. (Bring on the arguments!)
With the non-S Cooper, it seemed that I would have to be going extremely fast to ever use 6th gear. At 60 mph, 6th gear would result in such low RPMs, that I'd probably want to stay in 5th unless I was going downhill. But I guess in a MCS, you would go to 6th at the low RPMs, and not use 5th.
I did notice that 4th gear at 60 did not produce nearly as high RPMs as I'm used to in other cars. I've owned 6-speed BMWs in the past, and usually you would cruise in 6th and downshift to 5th to pass, but in the Cooper it seems that I would probably downshift to 4th, thus only using either 5th or 6th, depending on how fast I'm cruising at.
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#24
A lot of the city streets are 35 or 45mph speed limits, which is what I use 5th gear for. I stay out of 6th until I hit 60, but when I hit 35 I go to 5th and I get awesome fuel economy in my S, even in the city. I think taking it on the highway lowers it because I can't help but put my foot down.
#25