HypromanGT

Holy cow and I thought I was bogging the car down at times. You guys and your "35mph in 5th gear" are killing me! You're not supposed to be able to feel the individual cylinders fire, right??

The manual has Ford's recommended shifting ranges for optimal fuel economy. I figure anything below that and you're definitely bogging the engine down. I'm usually cruising between 1.5-2k, and shifting between 1.8-2.5k for normal driving. I don't pay too much attention, though; it's mostly by ear/feel at this point.

danzcool

The engine doesn't start to sound right until about 2500 RPMs. When I'm not having fun, I usually shift at 3000 RPMs.

marcuskeeler

You shouldn't shift into 1st on the roll at anytime, there is no synchro on that gear. Makes me cringe inside when I'm a passenger in a car in which the driver forces the tranny into first every time he approaches a Red light or junction.

The 4.6 will happily chug along at 1200 rpm in a low gear so long as you don't expect it to respond to a heavy foot.
2nd gear is good enough for car lot maneuvers and in fact anything faster than walking pace.

howarmat

i hardly use 1st, mostly start in 2nd with 4.10s but shift around 2k

pascal

That's what I do with the old Cougar.
It has 3.55 gears with a 5spd and 1st gear is almost useless.
Shouldn't be that way, but then again, with over 500lbs of torque...

robs

X2.

I'm shocked at the milage I get too. Even around town is 17+

Nuke

When I'm being economy conscious and in no hurry, my shift points are around 1800-2000 RPM (sometimes lower depending on the slope, traffic, etc.). But don't be afraid to push it. You'll know to shift just before the rev limiter kicks in and that means you need to bounce off it a few times to get the "feel" since you're warching the telephone poles whizz by and not looking at the tach...

For my setup, the sweet spot for cruising is about 1800 RPM where I can get about 26-27 MPG hand calculated, highway, pump-to-pump. But that equates to ~65 MPH and who the hell can drive 65 MPH?

Wood > Speed Limit

MTAS

There is no "best way" or "optimal shifting point". What ever you feel like shifting at, shift.

Tylus

I wish...I'm about 13 mpg city...I once squeaked out 15.5 mpg with a little bit of highway driving.

I am a rather spirited driver though

Snakebite64

2000 here