I was listening to Car Talk this weekend and a caller had a question about getting different gas mileage when she drove the same car on the same city streets than what her fiancé got. So they started talking about driving habits and shifting and all that (it was a manual transmission). Here are some of the conclusions they came to:

  • Downshifting when slowing down for a stop (shifting from 4th to 3rd to 2nd to 1st) is unnecessary. In fact, it might save the brakes but it will wear out the transmission faster (which is much more expensive).
  • Your gas mileage will change the most (with a stick-shift) based on how fast or slowly you shift.
  • The longer you wait to shift, the higher rpm the engine is doing and so the more gas you use.
  • For best results, you should upshift as early as possible.

So there you have it. Advice from the experts. If you want to save gas and you drive a manual, don’t wait for the engine to get higher or louder before shifting. Continually upshift as early as you can in the acceleration process. If you think about it, that’s typically what automatics do anyway. By shifting up each time as soon as your engine allows for it, you slow down the rpm and you burn less gas.

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