Fuel Saving Tips

Finding the right gear in a manual

I drive a 6 speed manual Subaru Outback. I have noticed that at certain speeds it is better to stay down 1 gear then shift to the highest possible. At 40 MPH the car will easily drive in 5th gear but at 25-27 MPG, while in 4th gear I can get around 28-32 mpg. I will then shift into 5th around 45 MPH-ish. This means overall better MPG but you have to be a little more gentle with the gas as pressing it too hard will just significantly drop the mpg. This will not be true for any CVT (and most automatics) based transmission.