Most uncool post ever - speeds and gears

B

BobbyB

Member
Hi all,

At the risk of being billy no mates on here so early in my Z4 ownership I'll ask this question, as struggling to understand the cars gearing and speeds.

Twice I've been out in the new beast now and I have mixed feelings, 3.0si Coupe. The noise is great, it seems to pull hard enough when pushed but when it is driving about town, 20, 30, 40 speed limits, I just don't get it - what gear am I supposed to be using?

Last car was a remapped Fabia VRS diesel MK1, not very cool but shed loads of torque with 170BHP and 300ftlb of torque (400NM in new money) to the front wheels. It was easy to hear what gear you needed when pootling about in town, the car was either labouring and shaking everything, on-boost and happy, or really screaming which was rare as not that kind of driver.

I now have 7000 RPM to play with, not 4500 and 4th seems to go anywhere from 20 - 70 and equally happy anywhere in the rev range - might not be torquey but certainly not unhappy or labouring.

Anyone provide a rough guide for economical driving please? - i.e. 0-20 1st, 20-30 2nd.......

Please don't all disown me ;)
 
hard to say exactly as the Z is the first BMW I've driven that didn't have the MPG needle in the cluster but basically you want to be at the lowest revs you can be where the car doesn't feel to be labouring if that makes sense

Probably between 2-3.5k is the economy sweet spot but if you give it some gas and the car doesn't just pick up and go then you8 are in too high a gear and are getting worse economy for it
 
Pootling around town I usually change up to 6th unless there's a sheepish hill. offen it's 1st 3rd 6th away from the lights . Can't imagine the 30si is much different at town speeds to the ///M but I mat get educated on that from this thread. :wink:
 
Economical driving then change up before it gets to 3k revs. If you're on country lanes constantly moving between 40 and 50 mph then keep her in 3rd gear mostly with the odd push into 4th and 5th if its a 60 speed limit and enjoy :driving: :thumbsup: (I only use 6th gear when I'm at 70+ mph)
 
I'm usually in 5th in my coupe at around 30mph. Up to 6th for 40mph. Block changing is the way to go when pootling/commuting. 1st - 3rd most common for me, unless I really feel like stirring the 'box. I'm getting 33-34 with a 50:5- mix of country/town commuting.

I usually keep the revs' under 3k for economy and *always* until the oils' warm. :thumbsup:
 
I like being in 6th as the exhaust gets throaty and burbly at low revs. Childish, I know. :oops:
 
Guys, amazing, thanks so much, will read these over a few times and try a few approaches, seems below 3k but maybe above 1500 might be a good shout, skipping the odd gear as I go. Thanks all.
 
And all the ///M drivers are silent lol.......... economical and sports car in the same sentence... missed something there
 
BobbyB said:
Hi all,

At the risk of being billy no mates on here so early in my Z4 ownership I'll ask this question, as struggling to understand the cars gearing and speeds.

Twice I've been out in the new beast now and I have mixed feelings, 3.0si Coupe. The noise is great, it seems to pull hard enough when pushed but when it is driving about town, 20, 30, 40 speed limits, I just don't get it - what gear am I supposed to be using?

Last car was a remapped Fabia VRS diesel MK1, not very cool but shed loads of torque with 170BHP and 300ftlb of torque (400NM in new money) to the front wheels. It was easy to hear what gear you needed when pootling about in town, the car was either labouring and shaking everything, on-boost and happy, or really screaming which was rare as not that kind of driver.

I now have 7000 RPM to play with, not 4500 and 4th seems to go anywhere from 20 - 70 and equally happy anywhere in the rev range - might not be torquey but certainly not unhappy or labouring.

Anyone provide a rough guide for economical driving please? - i.e. 0-20 1st, 20-30 2nd.......

Please don't all disown me ;)
Click to expand...
Don't ask me as I only get 25 mpg from my Zeds, but I do enjoy them and use sports mode most of the time! :roll:
 
I'm usually sat in 3rd at 20/30 and then 4th for 30/40. 5th I hardly ever use. Just skip it for normal driving and if I'm going quick 4th is fast enough.
 
Rorybeanbutler said:
I'm usually sat in 3rd at 20/30 and then 4th for 30/40. 5th I hardly ever use. Just skip it for normal driving and if I'm going quick 4th is fast enough.
Click to expand...
Going fast is another scenario all together. Just 3rd & 4th and never let the revs drop below 4.5k simples. :driving: :lol: :D

That wasn't the OP's question though. :wink:
 
The real issue you have is moving from diesel to petrol. Buckets full of torque and all at low revs. Result is in a petrol you always feel you're revving it to make any progress and with much less torque you need to change down more often.
In a diesel you rarely need to be above 2k to make progress in a petrol rarely below it unless at steady state speed.

I hate the diesel I have in Spain, if only for the fact that at 120k it's running at <2k rpm and delivering 80+ mpg. Pull off the main road and it'll drag me up our mountainside in any of the lower 5 gears with ease... But it's about as much fun as watching paint dry.

Just change your driving style to suit it.
 
Listen to cj10jeeper; as usual he's bang on the money - like he said its the transition from VRS diesel to petrol thats thrown you :thumbsup:
 
My Shed is a Seat Ibiza Sport (same 1.9PD engine/box as the VRS). Kinda understand what you mean, but i drive my Zed very similarly.

When gently accelerating, i shift up at ~2000 in the Zed, ~2000-2200 In the TDi. When cruising on the flat, just pick highest gear gives 1100RPM+. I can get 42MPG with the roof down cruising like this.

The TDi's huge turbo lag does make the Zed 'feel' a bit slow, but realistically it'll be left for dead :)
 
Thanks for the advice. I sacked off trying to drive slowly and economically tonight and took it up on t'hills near me for a good work out. Sport mode, fun pedal to floor and from about 4.5K RPM to 7K the fun really starts!

Then I pulled over, listened to the exhaust ticking away as she cooled and took this of her...

yb56amu-1s.jpg

Then I fell in love and forgot all about my diesel friend of 9 years previous.

The end.
 
Nice looking coupe - sound like you had a good run in it! :thumbsup:

And it looks like you've answered your question!

But if it's any help, on good clear roads when I am out for a blast at least 4,000 rpm works well (means I don't ever get past 4th in that mode, but it's fun)!

Bumbling around built-up areas at 30ish I'll usually be in 4th because I'm not going to need instant urge. In 40 limits I'm generally in 5th and on the M3 with 50 mph average speed cameras it's 6th and cruise in operation!

That was one of the things that impressed me when I got my first E86 (and I had a 123d before it so expected it to feel a bit lifeless at low revs)! The N52 engine pulls pretty well from 1,500 rpm - maybe without the instant grunt of a turbo-diesel, but unlike the tdis it keeps pulling right round to the red line. :driving:
 
Yeah agree fully, I think it pulls harder when nearing 4k through to 6k+ presumably the valve timing. Drove an Ariel Atom a couple of weeks back with the vtec in it and that was incredible in the higher rev range, noise changed and the pull was very strong. Then the instructor took me around in the supercharged version which left me shaking all the way home! 150 quid well spent.
 
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