Hey everyone! I have a 2017 Miata, with a standard transmission, and I was wondering when should you shift into 6th gear (the overdrive gear). When I first learned how to drive stick I was told never shift into overdrive when driving in the city as it prematurely wears out the overdrive gear and to only shift into overdrive when driving on a highway where you maintain constant speeds. However, recently my girlfriend's dad told me that it is okay to shift into overdrive in the city as modern standard transmissions have a stronger overdrive than older standards. I was wondering which philosophy is correct?
Most modern automatic transmissions will shift to a higher gear asap, the goal being better fuel consumption. I agree with @dad2lm2 about the general pros and cons of shifting into a higher gear. Having owned/maintained several sports cars over the years, I prefer my rpms above 1500 in any gear and never lower.
(May actually be 2 overdrive gears on a 6 speed, you'd have to look it up.)
I agree with her dad, more or less, although there is some truth to both. You aren't going to get much acceleration out of 6th (or even 5th), and it is mostly for cruising. And if you shift into 6th when you are going too slow, you could lug the engine. But other than that, I don't think you'll hurt anything.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, overdrive used to a be separate unit. It might have made sense back then to "prevent wear"
It's ok to use it.
