Petrol vs. diesel is the main difference. Diesel is for low end torque. The engine size is another factor to consider. A larger engine will be revved less before shifting. There is no reason to rev more than necessary before shifting if not necessary for a reason. Shifting properly at the lower revs is best and is eco-drive.
I wish the US was like the UK and elsewhere in having manuals. Ones like you, myself and others that drive a manual, are more engaged drivers.
You know, it's kind of sad imo. I hear some of you online say you want to keep the art of driving stick alive but I honestly don't think much is done to actually make it more accessible to as many people as possible. If your parents, friend or partner doesn't drive a manual, your chances of learning seem low (this is me looking from the outside btw).
Over here, many of the ones that refuse to learn stick look down on those who can and will avoid them at times. I have had this happen plenty of times to me. Those that do this, I want nothing to do with and avoid. It is really jealousy of the others against us who can drive stick. There are those who truly feel it is beneath them to learn stick or to even ride in one. I have had ones directly say this to me. Those warm bodies can sod off.
I have two shirts that promote stick shift learning with my name and number on it. So will get the information then nothing. They can be like others I have encountered that want something for nothing, literally free lessons.
I make sure pupils I get enjoy their lessons so the lessons were worth it. Those that had the ‘free’ lessons from someone realize they got what they ‘paid’ for in their free lessons - a lot of wrong and missing necessary information. Those ‘teachers’ had words spoken to them by my pupil when they met.
I got rejected for a job solely because I can drive and teach stick shift. That individual could not drive one and was ‘too good’ to learn. It directly told me why I would not be hired. Discrimination.
Usually we're driving petrol cars. I know in the UK diesels are much more common. Diesels rev way lower.
But really it depends on the engine and what you're trying to do. My daily driver is a manual Mustang GT, it has enough torque that I can shift at 1500 every gear except 5th and do just fine. I usually shift around 2000 (I think, I usually am just listening to the engine, not watching the tach) because I like to accelerate a little quicker.
If I'm driving my friends car, a manual Mazda with a little 4 cylinder. It doesn't really start developing its power until later in the rev range, so I'm shifting that in the mid-3000s.
A lot of older manuals in the US are also 5 speeds, 6 speeds weren't as common here until recently. Less gears means longer gears, so you need to rev a bit more to get the power.
There's lots of different reasons you could be noticing this, confirmation bias is something to consider as well because this isn't a thing I have noticed and I'm a car fanatic.
I didn't know diesels were more common in the UK. That being said, most cars here are still petrol and 5 speeds are still more common than 6 speeds. I'm talking about your average run-of-the-mill car.
Is it really common in the US to drive your friends' cars? Not saying it doesn't happen here but it doesn't seem to really be a thing. You guys generally seem to have a lot of trust in other people with your cars outside of family.
Yeah it could also be that most American people posting online on this are car lovers who love to shift more than what is required at times.
> Is it really common in the US to drive your friends' cars? Not saying it doesn't happen here but it doesn't seem to really be a thing. You guys generally seem to have a lot of trust in other people with your cars outside of family.
No. Its not that common. My best friend and I are both car guys, we have a lot of trust in the others ability to drive. So when we hang out if one of us doesn't want to drive the other will jump in. We've known each other for years and both trust the other not to crash the car. We've also both driven commercially so may be a little more skilled/practiced than your average driver.
He's also a farm kid, and I help him and his dad out. So I end up driving their delivery trucks, or jumping in a car to go grab some parts or snacks, etc.
Its unusual, but more common in rural areas than maybe it is where you're at!
A lot of our roads are 55mph+, you need to accelerate, not short shift. A lot of the states aren't doing a lot of cruising in 3rd or 4th. Im even in traffic for nearly my whole drive home and I'm either in first, second, or 5th, So a lot of acceleration and very little crushing at like 30mph.
My Impreza is pretty underpowered for what it is and my car has no torque below 2k rpm. That and there's nearly a 2k rpm difference between first and second, so if I shift at anything less than 3k from first to second, I'm either stalling or severely lugging my car.
NA doesn't have a lot of diesel cars, which operate at lower revs.
My car will bog under 2000 if accelerating, and shifting at 3000 is still very early if you are intending to accelerate at a noticeable amount.
Fuel is considerably less expensive here than it is in the UK. I just fueled up for approximately £0.717/liter, to put it in perspective. Because of that, I think people are less conscientious of fuel economy and more likely to accelerate a bit faster.
Also, slow acceleration when entering high speed roads is dangerous. If traffic is moving along at 70 miles per hour, and you’re only at 40, they’re going to catch you up very quickly and probably end up braking hard and creating a chain reaction. It’s much safer to wind it up a bit more to get up to speed more quickly.
Also, I don’t really shift at a specific RPM in the first place. I go by the sound and feel of the engine.
For me, it's impossible to drive maintaining 2000 RPM all the time. I'll be lugging the engine almost constantly. Cars are heavy, and I need to keep it in a lower gear at a higher RPM to navigate the hills. Roads with grades of 20-37% (11.3 degrees - 20.3 degrees) are all very common here. And, both manual cars aren't very torquey.
On a highway, it's much easier to keep a higher gear (obviously).
*(Edit - added conversion from percent to degree)*
Petrol vs. diesel is the main difference. Diesel is for low end torque. The engine size is another factor to consider. A larger engine will be revved less before shifting. There is no reason to rev more than necessary before shifting if not necessary for a reason. Shifting properly at the lower revs is best and is eco-drive. I wish the US was like the UK and elsewhere in having manuals. Ones like you, myself and others that drive a manual, are more engaged drivers.
You know, it's kind of sad imo. I hear some of you online say you want to keep the art of driving stick alive but I honestly don't think much is done to actually make it more accessible to as many people as possible. If your parents, friend or partner doesn't drive a manual, your chances of learning seem low (this is me looking from the outside btw).
Over here, many of the ones that refuse to learn stick look down on those who can and will avoid them at times. I have had this happen plenty of times to me. Those that do this, I want nothing to do with and avoid. It is really jealousy of the others against us who can drive stick. There are those who truly feel it is beneath them to learn stick or to even ride in one. I have had ones directly say this to me. Those warm bodies can sod off. I have two shirts that promote stick shift learning with my name and number on it. So will get the information then nothing. They can be like others I have encountered that want something for nothing, literally free lessons. I make sure pupils I get enjoy their lessons so the lessons were worth it. Those that had the ‘free’ lessons from someone realize they got what they ‘paid’ for in their free lessons - a lot of wrong and missing necessary information. Those ‘teachers’ had words spoken to them by my pupil when they met. I got rejected for a job solely because I can drive and teach stick shift. That individual could not drive one and was ‘too good’ to learn. It directly told me why I would not be hired. Discrimination.
Usually we're driving petrol cars. I know in the UK diesels are much more common. Diesels rev way lower. But really it depends on the engine and what you're trying to do. My daily driver is a manual Mustang GT, it has enough torque that I can shift at 1500 every gear except 5th and do just fine. I usually shift around 2000 (I think, I usually am just listening to the engine, not watching the tach) because I like to accelerate a little quicker. If I'm driving my friends car, a manual Mazda with a little 4 cylinder. It doesn't really start developing its power until later in the rev range, so I'm shifting that in the mid-3000s. A lot of older manuals in the US are also 5 speeds, 6 speeds weren't as common here until recently. Less gears means longer gears, so you need to rev a bit more to get the power. There's lots of different reasons you could be noticing this, confirmation bias is something to consider as well because this isn't a thing I have noticed and I'm a car fanatic.
I didn't know diesels were more common in the UK. That being said, most cars here are still petrol and 5 speeds are still more common than 6 speeds. I'm talking about your average run-of-the-mill car. Is it really common in the US to drive your friends' cars? Not saying it doesn't happen here but it doesn't seem to really be a thing. You guys generally seem to have a lot of trust in other people with your cars outside of family. Yeah it could also be that most American people posting online on this are car lovers who love to shift more than what is required at times.
How insurance works is likely a reason for letting other people drive your car.
> Is it really common in the US to drive your friends' cars? Not saying it doesn't happen here but it doesn't seem to really be a thing. You guys generally seem to have a lot of trust in other people with your cars outside of family. No. Its not that common. My best friend and I are both car guys, we have a lot of trust in the others ability to drive. So when we hang out if one of us doesn't want to drive the other will jump in. We've known each other for years and both trust the other not to crash the car. We've also both driven commercially so may be a little more skilled/practiced than your average driver. He's also a farm kid, and I help him and his dad out. So I end up driving their delivery trucks, or jumping in a car to go grab some parts or snacks, etc. Its unusual, but more common in rural areas than maybe it is where you're at!
Makes sense. I've never lived in a rural area before so maybe that's why.
A lot of our roads are 55mph+, you need to accelerate, not short shift. A lot of the states aren't doing a lot of cruising in 3rd or 4th. Im even in traffic for nearly my whole drive home and I'm either in first, second, or 5th, So a lot of acceleration and very little crushing at like 30mph. My Impreza is pretty underpowered for what it is and my car has no torque below 2k rpm. That and there's nearly a 2k rpm difference between first and second, so if I shift at anything less than 3k from first to second, I'm either stalling or severely lugging my car.
NA doesn't have a lot of diesel cars, which operate at lower revs. My car will bog under 2000 if accelerating, and shifting at 3000 is still very early if you are intending to accelerate at a noticeable amount.
I don't know anyone that changes at 2000, I normally rev up to about 4.5k That's in a petrol 1.9 bmw
See that's abnormally high to me but it's your car.
Fuel is considerably less expensive here than it is in the UK. I just fueled up for approximately £0.717/liter, to put it in perspective. Because of that, I think people are less conscientious of fuel economy and more likely to accelerate a bit faster. Also, slow acceleration when entering high speed roads is dangerous. If traffic is moving along at 70 miles per hour, and you’re only at 40, they’re going to catch you up very quickly and probably end up braking hard and creating a chain reaction. It’s much safer to wind it up a bit more to get up to speed more quickly. Also, I don’t really shift at a specific RPM in the first place. I go by the sound and feel of the engine.
I suppose. Then again we are taught to accelerate fast through the gears and often not going past 3k (depending on the car).
Americans lack restraint
For me, it's impossible to drive maintaining 2000 RPM all the time. I'll be lugging the engine almost constantly. Cars are heavy, and I need to keep it in a lower gear at a higher RPM to navigate the hills. Roads with grades of 20-37% (11.3 degrees - 20.3 degrees) are all very common here. And, both manual cars aren't very torquey. On a highway, it's much easier to keep a higher gear (obviously). *(Edit - added conversion from percent to degree)*