Afternoon.

I recently lent my friend my octy for a trip to IKEA cos it's got a bigger boot than his prelude.

Once he'd completed the trip, he said "seems a little ruff in 5th at 30mph", at which point i reminded him it was only the 90BHP version.

So the question is, what gear do you guys stay in for 30mph, presuming a flatish road ahead?

Please post your BHP as well

My 110 tdi would roll along happily enough in 5th at an indicated 35 mph (true 32).

For a genuine 30mph on the dot 4th would have been more sensible choice , especially if there were hills.

same as Dr Z

4th in my 110TDi, but would drop to 3rd if I wanted to overtake anything quick sharpish, otherwise a long gentle overtake in 4th.

What gear at 30...................Jean's and a Tee shirt should be OK.........

On a 110 Tdi for best fuel ecomony at 30 mph AND response for overtaking etc, is staying in third. Personally I tend to get a good 4-5 mpg difference running in third instead of 4th.

IMHO in 5th the engine will only be running just above idle rpm, below its peak torque band and the engine management will tend to just overfuel to keep the engine from stalling.

Hey what about 6th ?? Obviously in a PD 130.

3rd for me too

Chris

PD110 Elegance - varies, sometimes 4th, and sometimes top. For the guys commenting on fuel consumption, I've got the computer running in spot mpg mode, and the quoted return is about 90mpg either way. I've not tried 3rd yet, so watch this space tomorrow.

2nd or 3rd for me - I'm a yob

Gives me good acceleration to hit the pedestrians trying to cross the road outside the local school

3rd

Erm, whatever gear feels right given the conditions, you cannot state that when at xx mph you should be in xx gear, it varys depending on what you are trying to get out of the car.

Well, as promised yesterday I experimented with running in 3rd gear, and got the anticipated increase in engine noise, and spot figures in the high 60s.

All of which said, I agree with johnjohn that you can't make an absolute statement. All my quoted figures are on level road.

You didn't offer reverse for the ladies.

Every time I hear a car being hooned backwards, going "ying-yiNG-YING-YING-YING-Ying-ying" it's a woman driving.

Erm, whatever gear feels right given the conditions, you cannot state that when at xx mph you should be in xx gear, it varys depending on what you are trying to get out of the car.

Of course, i know that.Some people prefer to keep the option of instant power ( 2nd/3rd ) over noise & economy ( 4th/5th), so it's just a sample that won't be taken seriously.however, thanks to those that responded