How do I drive my 5-speed car to get the best gas mileage?

I just bought a 1999 Nissan Maxima SE with a V6 and a 5-speed transmission. I know how to drive a standard and I have always been told that you can get better gas mileage with a standard if you drive it right. With this car how do I want to drive it, when to shift, how to accelerate, how to brake or downshift, ect, in order to get the best gas mileage possible?How do I drive my 5-speed car to get the best gas mileage?
The great advantage of a manual car is it allows you to use large throttle openings with low revs. This minimizes pumping loses. To get the best gas mileage use first gear to get you going then shift into the highest gear you can where you won't lug the engine. Put your foot to the floor accelerate a bit and then up shift again. It's odd to think about but if your in the right gear you actually get the best gas mileage if the gas pedal is floored. Just don't let the engine rev up too high. If you can do it without lugging the engine shift into the next gear at 2000rpm. If you can't do that raise your shift rpm until you find the right point. Every car is different but 2000rpm seems to work the best on my car. Also in rush hour traffic that is stop and go it is best to find a speed (even if it is only 1 or 2 mph) where you can just keep moving. this will really save your leg and your clutch as well as your gas mileage. For braking leave the engine in gear until right before you stop. If you want to engine brake just downshift into the lower gear.



Also when passing on the highway try not to downshift if you don't need to. Just floor it. If that's enough great. Otherwise downshift as most automatics would do.



Just remember when driving a manual for maximum fuel economy that High revs(2500+ for these purposes) are bad but having the pedal to the floor is good(minimizes pumping losses). You'll have to learn how to drive your car best under these conditions.
With Japanese engineering you already got an advantage of relaebility and performance , but their is a littel trick to improve the way you operate your manual. Well when you upshift try to hold gas pedal just a tiny bit longer before you realise the clutch.

As for down shift, realise gas pedal all the way ,before you step on the clutch,and let the car roll for a littel, then down shift using the same steps as upshift.How do I drive my 5-speed car to get the best gas mileage?
The key is to keep the RPM's in the engines happy spot, where it runs at the best efficiency.



Your happy spot where torque and hp meet for the best efficiency is from 3500-5000 rpm. Your looking at 175hp at 5k rpm and 210tq at 3.5k rpm.



Volumetric efficiency is 85% at 4k rpm, keep shift points around 3k or so and dont get on gas alot.



I drive a Geo Metro which has a shift light built into dash, shift points are 3k to save gas from factory, it helps to attain 50mpg in it.



Just take it easy accel and decel, let it coast (clutch in) to a stop if you see red light ahead and at small down hill parts.Kill the engine at long railroad crossings or waiting for someone. If you are idling more than 20secs you will use more gas than restarting car again to go.
I can remember when some cars had a light on the dash ,it would flash to tell you when to shift for the best gas mileage....The big thing to remember is not to lug the motor...You also don,t want to tach it out too much...You can tune your ear for the sound of the motor,,,I can do this and you can too...You got to listen to the motor.....You can tell when it,s purring happily...How do I drive my 5-speed car to get the best gas mileage?
Drive it like you have a load of eggs. Easy starts, smooth shifting, and easy braking. Drive in 5th gear when on the open highway. Keep your foot out of the fuel.
i have a 2000 camaro z28 with a 6 speed...



when i haul *** (or drive like it feels like it should be driven) i get about 19 mpg...



so that gives a little perspective for what i'm about to tell you..



when i really want to conserve fuel, i never let my car go above 2,000 rpm.



in 1st i switch to 2nd at 2k..... in 2nd i switch to 3rd at 2k, and by 4th, i'm going highway speed...



at 6th gear at 70, i'm at 1400 rpm...



when i do this, i get closer to 29mpg...



Downshifting is good because it puts less strain on your brakes, making them last a lot longer... as long as you don't slam the gears down and wear out your tranny / clutch etc....



but.. downshifting forces the rpm's UP in the motor, thus wasting more fuel.... so...



put it in NEUTRAL as often as you can.... when coming to a stop, coast into it for as long and as far as conveniently possible, and roll to a smooth stop.... when accelerating do what i stated above.



Here's the thing though. Your car has a different gear ratio. so 2,000 may not be high enough to get you going.



so... find what rpm you can realistically stick to in your car in order to get to speed smoothly without over accelerating, and don't shift beyond that..



in your car it may be 2500 or 3000..... whatever you CURRENTLY do, make it less by some significant number...



and like i said.. cost as much as possible.



the last job i had, i lived about 6 miles from. it was really cool because it was down hill the entire way to my house. I would literally cut the engine, put it in neutral and coast the majority of the way home after getting the car up to speed, as long as i could catch all of the lights in perfect time. it took me close to 2 months to get through a tank of gas ............. with a 415 horsepower v8.... (its not stock)



oh.... tire pressure helps too...



don't use acetone no matter what people say.... it eats up your fuel lines and tears up your injectors and other crap like that.



also, use the gas that your car requires.



aside from that, do a full out tune up... spark plugs, wires, filters, pcv valve, and what not..



if you want to be extreme about it, make sure to grease all your wheel bushings so there is less resistance for the car to push against etc.



lastly, gas conservation is about smooth actions... if your head jerks back when you take off, you're going too fast....



however, it really does piss the people behind me off when i'm at a stop light and the mini van next to me takes off faster than i do. but whatever... they aren't buying my gas....



good luck



p.s.....



you don't necessarily need to use all of your gears....



you can go from first to 3rd to 5th when it "feels" like it should be in those gears...



or 1 2 4 5 etc.... as long as you arent bogging the engine...



there is a sweet spot in every car where it runs with barely any resistance. every car is at a different speed... in my car, the sweet spot in 6th gear is about 80... there is no resistance on the engine.. it's straining to slow down and not straining to speed up.. it's a perfect balance..



(inconvenient in my case since the speed limit on average is 65)



most smaller motors have that sweet spot around 55 or 60.... so.... whatever that sweetspot is, find it and use it during long distance / highway driving