I have a 2007 mustang v6 which I love, but I normally shift up every 10 MPH so my tachometer is always running at or below 2,000 RPM.

My tachometer says 7,000 RPM and my gauges show up to 120MPH so my question is what is my optimal shift point on the tachometer for a 2007 4.0? I normally stay in 1st until 20 MPH, 2nd until 30 MPH, 3rd until 40 MPH, 4th until 50 MPH, and 5th on 60-70 MPH.

Thanks guy, I'm very curious of where the optimum shift point is in relation to the tachometer and speeds.

 

It all depends on about a dozen factors. There's no black and white answer to that question. Even if I'm driving lazy granny style, my shift points will depend on if I'm on level ground, going up hill or going downhill. And if I'm the only person in the car with no other load to speak of. But in general, as long as I'm not going to hold up traffic and I'm trying to watch my fuel mileage (as silly as that sounds, driving a Stang), I'll typically shift my 4.6L around 2k RPM. But there are those times when I should have shifted before hitting my 6500 RPM rev limiter setting...

 

What Nuke says is true. There really isn't a "perfect" shift point. It depends heavily on road/environment conditions, and what your shifting goals are. The shift points if you're trying to squeeze maximum fuel economy out, will be much different than say a full bore drag strip run.

In general, for economy you want to shift at the lowest RPM that will provide a smooth transition to the lower end of the power band in the next gear, without dropping the RPMs so low that the engine is lugging (struggling to produce power due to too low an RPM)

For performance you want to keep the engine in the strong part of the power band constantly if possible, so you'll generally be shifting at higher RPMs so the the next gear will be more in the center of the maximum power production for the engine.

 

i shift at those same points for the most part when ever im driving conservatively on surface streets. although my rpm's are probably higher because of my gears. also i dont drive too conservatively anymore since i dont daily drive the car lol