Driving a standard toyota corolla - question about shifting gears?

Moon on the Water · 22 Sep 2010, 09:25 pm

I have a very old Toyota Corolla. I would like to know how long you can drive in fourth gear if you take it out on the highway. At what point do you have to shift into 5th? 60 mph? Also, when you shift down from fifth do you shift down into fourth, then third, then second again? I just bought this car and haven't driven a stick shift for a long time and am a little scared about driving in fifth and then having to downshift off the highway. Thanks.

don r · 22 Sep 2010, 09:39 pm

Shift into 5th when you are on level ground with a clear road ahead. You can shift to whatever gear you need for the conditions. If you're about to come to a stop and you're in 4th, you can skip to 2nd as long as you've slowed down below- I'd say 25 mph. You don't want your tires screeching, but you don't want to be lugging the engine either. Go on and practice so you get used to the shifting. If you're on the highway and need to accellerate and you're in 5th and the car doesn't have enough torque, then shift down to 4th. The manual transmission gives you control of the car, not gives the car control of you.

Joe · 22 Sep 2010, 09:54 pm

Well, you don't have to use fifth gear at all. But you'll get better fuel economy if you use it.

At a constant speed on level ground, you can probably use fifth gear at or above 45 MPH. If you're accelerating onto a highway, you probably won't want to go into fifth until you reach 50 or 55. Slowing down off a highway, you might downshift from fifth to fourth somewhere around 40 MPH.

Don't panic. It's just another gear, and much easier to deal with than first.

Driving a standard toyota corolla - question about shifting gears?

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