How many gears is too many? Random Ramblings.

[ClutchFork]

When I started driving stick the typical manual tranny car had a 3 speed. I had two 3 speeds, then my next vehicle was a 4 speed, then the next two are 5 speed. I yearn for a drive in that old 3 speed, especially since it was a find-em-and-grind-em column shifter. But of course the ideal situation is a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner with a 440 V8 and a 4 speed floor shifter.

In my 5 speeds I only use the top gear (overdrive) on the highway. In town I drive it like a 4 speed. Now they are coming out with 6 speeds and 7 speeds. I really don't want to go there. If I had a heavy duty pickup I might like a 6 speed with a creeper first and OD 6th, and again would be driving 4 speeds in normal driving.

Actually a creeper gear would be nice an any car because in traffic jams you could creep along at half a mile per hour or so instead of doing many stop and starts.

A note on column shifters. While they are archaic and complex, if well maintained they are a blast to drive and if you had one today it would simply freak people out when you give them a ride. Many today don't even realize there are manual transmissions, let alone a column shifter. They might think you are jacking the PRNDL lever around because you don't know how to drive.

Now a couple automatic thoughts: I recall GM used to have 2 speed automatics. My automatic '71 Ford became a 2 speed when I nailed the accelerator for a yellow light. It kicked down into first just as it hit a big bump in the intersection and after that, no more second gear. I always thought that the hard downshift combined with the big bump is what did it.

[theholycow]

There will never be enough gears for me. I love shifting and I love having a reason to. If I ever felt like driving something as if it was a 3-speed, I could skip some gears...but I've never felt that way.

The 2008 VW I had, it had 5 speeds (all of them very short) and I ran out gears by the time I hit 30mph. If it had 5 more I probably would have been satisfied. It was easy enough to drive as a 2-speed but much less fun.

[DKaz]

I'd love to own an old car with a column shifter one day, looks like a hoot to drive.

I like my six speed manual though. Sometimes I'll skip a gear or two but I'm in sixth gear by the time I hit 40 mph.

[tankinbeans]

When I had a 6 speed I rarely used all 6 of them because some of them just felt redundant. I used to drive 1-2-3-6 or 1-2-4-6, but I did like having a lower cruising RPM on the highway. Clifford only has 5 speeds and spins right around 3000 on the highway; however, he still gets better mileage and is quite quiet.

If I were to religiously follow the shift light I'd run out of gear at about 35mph. The light adjusts with throttle input, but in general poodling around it is a bit too aggressive. I have that idiotic EcoMode driver training thingy and last I looked I had zero pedal jobbers for optimal shifting.

[ClutchFork]

While I sometimes skip gears it is not something I would want to regularly do. I like fewer gears as I like to wind the engine through each gear. Too many gears and you'll always be short shifting which to me is no fun.

On the topic of gears, there is a special beauty to a three speed in a pickup truck. The following article has many merits in it's explanation of the three speed pickup truck of the 1960s and 1970s, and while I don't condone the excessive drinking, there is much valuable info in this article, besides it will have you laughing. It doesn't take beer to make many of these things happen, just a snow packed road surface:
http://nctr.net/Campfire%20tails/Pickup%20Trucks.htm

[Shadow]

In my opinion, seven gears is really too many. I don't think anything beyond six is even necessary....and actually, I'd probably be perfectly happy with five. The vast majority of the cars I've owned have been 5-speeds and they've been just fine. Never have I found myself wishing for "just one more gear" with any of my 5-speeds.

Still though, the 7-speed manual transmission is already here. Both Porsche and Chevrolet (in the new Corvette) have them, and I'm sure there will be even more 7-speeds in the future. The question is a good one though--at what point do they stop adding gear ratios? I really think seven is the upper limit. These are street cars we're talking about, not big rigs.

[Shadow]

Clifford only has 5 speeds and spins right around 3000 on the highway....

What speed are you going at 3000 RPM in 5th gear?

I'm just asking because I checked the same thing on my car today. When I'm 3000 RPM in 6th gear, I'm going an indicated 91 mph.

Hmm....now that I think about it, this would be a great thread topic for those who want to participate. I think I'll start a new thread....

[tankinbeans]

Clifford only has 5 speeds and spins right around 3000 on the highway....

What speed are you going at 3000 RPM in 5th gear?

I'm just asking because I checked the same thing on my car today. When I'm 3000 RPM in 6th gear, I'm going an indicated 91 mph.
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Hmm....now that I think about it, this would be a great thread topic for those who want to participate. I think I'll start a new thread....

70 mph or right around there. I'm hardly on 70 mph roads anymore so I'm not entirely sure.

[Squint]

I'd like 6 gears. In reality, I would use 5 of them often, and 6th for cruising at 60+ mph, like overdrive. I have 5, and while it's fine for the Fiesta, I don't know that I'd want 10+ like cow said

[DKaz]

Your 215/55R16 tires revolve 797 times per mile. Fifth gear ratio is 0.81 and final drive is 3.81.

(FGR) * (FDR) * (TRPM) = (ERPM)

At 60 MPH, you're going a mile a minute(1) so 797 tire revolutions per minute, so 0.81 * 3.81 * 797 = 2,456RPM

You can find speed @ 3,000 RPM by first finding TRPM.

TRPM = ERPM / FGR / FDR = 3000 / .81 / 3.81 = 972

The power of ratios:

V2 / V1 = TRPM2 / TRPM1

V2 / 60 = 972 / 797

V2 = (972 / 797) * 60

V2 = 73 MPH

So you're going 73 MPH @ 3,000 RPM.

(1) If you're like this bright young woman however, then actual distance traveled in a set amount of time at a set speed depends on a number of factors.

[Squint]

Doing that math on my Fiesta:

5th: 0.756
Final: 4.01 to 1
60 mph TRPM:
3000 RPM: 975 tire revolutions per minute.

An online calculator told me that my tires do approx. 850 revolutions per mile with 185/60R15's that I'm fairly certain I have.

(975/850) * 60 = 68.82 mph for 3000 RPM. I wasn't far off in my other thread where I said that ~65 or so was 3000 RPM.

Side note: this is the type of math I like, nerdy yet productive. Screw that 3D calculus stuff..

[theholycow]

While I sometimes skip gears it is not something I would want to regularly do. I like fewer gears as I like to wind the engine through each gear. Too many gears and you'll always be short shifting which to me is no fun.

This is a point of view I'm having difficulty understanding. You wouldn't want to skip gears regularly, but you enjoy fewer gears. Is it the different shift pattern that would bother you about having more gears than you prefer to use?

[tankinbeans]

(1) If you're like this bright young woman however, then actual distance traveled in a set amount of time at a set speed depends on a number of factors.

Uh...wut?

[tankinbeans]

Is it bad that it took me a minute to figure out what all the variables meant?

How would one go about finding the tire rotations per minute for a tire that's a different size? I'm sure it's a simple algebra/geometry thing but it's been years since I've had to use any of it.

[Rope-Pusher]

Eyed liek a real creepy gear - nod sew munch for fursed, butt fore Reverse. Eyed liek too phullie releese the cludge when slowlie backing a trailer, eggs specialty when backing up a hill ore on soggy growned. Normalie, eye phether the cludge when backing up slowlie, bud when pushing the trailer uphill oar wear tires R dragon in sawpht train, the cludge hits up two munch.

I don't realize how often I skip-shift from 4th to 6th until I go back to driving a 5-speed and catch myself heading from 4th toward Reverse.