Accelerating from stop in 2nd gear....

[Defective]

I'm getting more miles to a tank by starting out in 2nd gear, going to 4th at about 2300-2500 rpm and if needed hitting 5th at about the same rpm. I'm only using 1st and 3rd if I'm on a grade or in traffic and it makes more sense.

Is there somebody out there with a 5-speed, who has been keeping track of their MPG, that can try this for a while and see if their calculated MPG increase? I usually struggle to hit 300 miles per tank, but have hit 400 when shifting like this and it seems like a rather large increase.

 

[darkspork]

I don't measure my fuel economy by the tank. But I do track my fuel economy. It has become much better as the weather has got warmer. I guess to the the tank I average about 325 though, using every gear shifting at about 2500 rpm, sometimes later if I'm merging onto the highway or goofing off. Interesting that skipping gears is helping your gas mileage though. My main concern is this: Wouldn't starting off in 2nd more often than not cause your clutch to wear out sooner?

 

[The purple one]

I am getting 23 MPG with my ranger. 2.3 5 speed 2WD. In my 4.3 Chevy 1500 4WD 5 speed the best I have gotten is 19 MPG this is around town. I shift at 2000 RPM and drive like grandma to get this in the chevy. The ranger I drive harder.

 

[kamps989]

I'm no expert but don't you wanna be careful driving like that because lugging your motor too much is bad news?

 

[LearjetMinako]

I keep track of every fill-up since I owned the Ranger. I could give you the last 10 mpg on the tank or the last 100.

Last 10 fill-up mpg's from newest to oldest:
21.111
24.941
21.740
20.227
23.814
21.323
22.686
23.794
23.598
20.292

Most of my driving consists of speeds below 45mph, 35mph average. With a 10~25% mix of highway speeds. The most MPG I got on my current list is back on 11/20/07 with 26.365mpg. Must have been driving at speeds of 65mph for most of the tank. Also, I usually shift above 2k but below 3k. And shift up one when enough speed premits, 5th gear around 43mph +.

 

[RumpRanger98]

I would think starting in 2nd will eventually put alot of stress on the engine/ tranny/clutch

Maybe try 1st gear to get rolling 5 mph and shift to 2nd ?

Id give your driving a test on my 99 3.0 but I have a misfire problem and probably bog out too much starting in 2nd

 

[Beanmachine7000]

I'm no expert but don't you wanna be careful driving like that because lugging your motor too much is bad news?

+1... Lugging your engine will actually use more fuel than letting the transmission do the work... To get the best fuel mileage you need to drive as close to your engines torque peak and let your transmission accelerate the truck... I use every single gear and drive at 2500 rpm 80% of the time... I accelerate to about 3000-3500 rpm (depending on how I feel) before I shift, letting the transmission do the work... I get 18 mpg... This is driving 60/40 city/highway...

 

[Beanmachine7000]

I would think starting in 2nd will eventually put alot of stress on the engine/ tranny/clutch

Maybe try 1st gear to get rolling 5 mph and shift to 2nd ?

Id give your driving a test on my 99 3.0 but I have a misfire problem and probably bog out too much starting in 2nd

Starting in 2nd would put unnecessary strain your clutch, rings, and pistons, and create much more heat... I would say lugging your engine would be more damaging than running it at higher rpm's for extended periods of time (my 2.5 has run at 3500+ rpm for miles with no troubles at all... 188k miles and still as strong as the day I got it)

 

[Hahnsb2]

I start in 2nd sometimes in my Dakota on flat ground, mainly just because 4:1 1st gear is a bit deep for a V8 most of the time. I don't think I'd do it in an RBV and certainly not any engine other than a 4.0.

 

[Beanmachine7000]

I start in 2nd sometimes in my Dakota on flat ground, mainly just because 4:1 1st gear is a bit deep for a V8 most of the time. I don't think I'd do it in an RBV and certainly not any engine other than a 4.0.

I 'could' in my Explorer... It just takes too much time and work on my part... I'm lazy...

 

[Sunk]

It can be done... but why? I know lugging my engine isn't good for it and produces worse mileage.

 

[justinp21]

O wow didnt know starting off in 2nd actaully put too much stress on your drivetrain. Ive done it since new, cause im too lazy to use all 5 gears lol. I averaged my mpg since brand new (all gas reciets kept) 22 out of a 3.0L 5 speed.

 

[irishblessing]

i have an automatic it shifts hard when i first shift into 2nd and sometimes it kind of jumps into gear i think its from accidently starting in 2nd gear and not realizing it

 

[RumpRanger98]

i have an automatic it shifts hard when i first shift into 2nd and sometimes it kind of jumps into gear i think its from accidently starting in 2nd gear and not realizing it

from my experiences with an automatic. not a ranger tho....you cant force them to start in 2nd, you can put it in 2, but it will start in first, and shift to 2 when speed/rpm/accel are right. but it wont shift higher than 2.

if your talking about when it shifts from 1 to 2, and the first shift is hard, it could be just because your tranny fluid is still cold?

 

[fastpakr]

Many Ford automatics (including all the RBV units I know of) will start in 2nd if you select it.