Change-up And Change-down Indicators - Do They Save Fuel?

[GowerMick]

My new manual x-clusiv, has gear change indicators, advising when to change up/down for best fuel economy.

I sometimes find then counter-intuitive, advising me to change up when ascending a hill and engine beginning to struggle, or being advised to change down when cruising at a comfortable 45MPH up a slight gradient and engine running freely.

Does anyone follow the advice, and if so, have they noticed what effect it has on their fuel consumption?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Unfortunately the gear shift indicator is an EU requirement on new vehicles sold after November 2014, although many manufacturers fitted them early (for example both my Auris had gear shift indicators), so they are here to stay.

[Cyker]

Common sense trumps the shift indicators. They work pretty well for an unladen car on a flat road, but seem to work almost purely on RPM and don't seem to take into account things like weight or inclines.

I think they used the same code they used in the MMT's for picking when to shift

[GowerMick]

Common sense trumps the shift indicators.

Whilst I tend to agree, it makes one wonder if we inherently change up/down earlier or later than what is ideal for fuel economy.

I, personally, tend towards giving the engine a bit of respect and an easy life. To getter better economy, perhaps I should try mis-treating the engine a bit more. :)

[GowerMick]

I'll attempt to answer my own post:-

Part of the new EU regulation on gear change indicators, is a requirement for car manufacturers to put their vehicles through a specific test cycle to demonstrate that by following the gear shift indicators, drivers will achieve better fuel economy!

This means that makers will not simply indicate when to change gear on a whim, but will need to back up the advice with proper testing!

So, following the advice of the gear change indicators 'should' result in better economy. We'll wait and see whether laboratory conditions apply in real life situations ( just like published fuel economy figures )!

Mike

[mrrusty]

the whole way to drive these cars seems counter intuative. they feel like they need high revs to keep them happy (and the driver too!) but the economy side seems to want the car labouring just above stalling. driving at 30 the indicators are getting you int 5th and the economy bar goes way high, but the car is not very driveable.

i think you just need to drive sensibly and dont rush to get economy, but its not fun driving like that all the time

[GowerMick]

driving at 30 the indicators are getting you int 5th and the economy bar goes way high, but the car is not very driveable.

i think you just need to drive sensibly and dont rush to get economy, but its not fun driving like that all the time

It depends what you mean by driveable. Mine pootles along at 30 MPH in 5th gear quite happily. It is a bit sluggish accelerating after 30 limit has ended, but that is to be expected from such a small engine, other than that, it seems fine.