RPM ranges for individual gears

[JA]

I'd be interested in hearing from other RS6 pilots who are far more experienced and skilled at performance driving (which means pretty much everyone else on the forum!) how they manage the Tiptronic.

Specifically, are there upper and lower ranges of rpms for the various gears? Assuming highway driving in Tip mode, what manual shift guidelines do you follow?

Trying to get better at driving my beast, and would appreciate any color anyone would care to share.

I am as much interested in the high-speed downshifting as I am in upshifting.

Thanks in advance.

[JAXRS6]

I haven't done much high speed downshifting. When upshifting with the Tip aggressively, I usually engage the paddle or shifter around 6300 rpm to get it to shift at 6700 rpm. That allows time for the tranny to react & 6700 is about as high as I like to go.

As indicated in the owner's manual, the Tip is supposed to shift before rpms get too high, to protect the engine from over-revving -- even if the driver doesn't shift. However, computer showed that my car sometimes ran to 7100 rpm. This certainly was not my intent; I'm sure it occurred on those few occasions when I neglected to shift myself & depended on that safety factor to work. Apparently it didn't. However, that was before my wiring harness was replaced. I was having frequent periods of subpar performance before the wiring harness was replaced, and that seems to have been resolved now. Maybe going to 7100 rpm won't happen again, either.

For most everyday driving I keep it in D for better fuel economy. Currently at 23,259 miles.

[Johfra]

I have about 12,500 on mine. When I first got it, I drove it acording to the break-in period "rules". Unfortunately, I believe the car learned that as my driving behavior.

Now, I hardly use my brakes. I rely on the engine to slow me down and have downshifted into 2nd doing about 50+, although the car won't drop gears until it gets to a "safe" point. I'm still testing it out.

The other thing that helped in the car's ability to handle the higher revs, was to have my dealer (car, that is), flash the car's memory. This makes the car learn your driving habit again and since it was out of the break-in period, I was able to drive it the way I believe it should be driven.

Since then the car is more responsive. Although, it may be psychological.

[JA]

I guess what I'm really trying to get at here is whether or not it's OK to manually run through the gears in Tiptronic mode at highway speeds as long as I am not "redlining".

As an example, if I am at highway speeds - say, from 50-ish mph to upward of 80-ish - and need to downshift and upshift given traffic, merging, lane changing, etc., is it OK to shift up and down between 3rd-4th-5th?

I like downshifting when I can, avoiding braking unless I have to, and if I have to take the car down from 4th to 3rd at like 60-65mph - which will bring my rpms temporarily up the 4,000-4,5000 level, is that OK? It seems like it is, given that I am well below redline.

Then, when I can accelerate again, I will take it up in 3rd back to around 4,000-4,500 (or slightly higher) before popping it into 4th.

Just curious to know if this is more or less as she was intended to be driven, within those rpm ranges. In all cases, I am well below redline.

Most of you are probably far more experienced performance drivers than I, so if these sound like elementary questions, pardon my ignorance.

[eph94]

Originally posted by JA
As an example, if I am at highway speeds - say, from 50-ish mph to upward of 80-ish - and need to downshift and upshift given traffic, merging, lane changing, etc., is it OK to shift up and down between 3rd-4th-5th?

I like downshifting when I can, avoiding braking unless I have to, and if I have to take the car down from 4th to 3rd at like 60-65mph - which will bring my rpms temporarily up the 4,000-4,5000 level, is that OK? It seems like it is, given that I am well below redline.

Then, when I can accelerate again, I will take it up in 3rd back to around 4,000-4,500 (or slightly higher) before popping it into 4th.

Just curious to know if this is more or less as she was intended to be driven, within those rpm ranges. In all cases, I am well below redline.

That pretty much sounds like how I drive my RS6 on the street. I always use the Tiptronic. In terms of gearing, I rarely ever make it to 4th gear in the city and the car almost never sees 5th on the highway. I get 13MPG in mixed driving.

[JA]

That's helpful. Thanks. I find that 4th is a great highway gear, but I have always thought that I am supposed to "end up" in 5th. A lot more acceleration and all-around pep in 4th.

Quick question: Is it OK, in your opinion, to downshift into 3rd at speeds as fast as 70-ish? Maybe 4,500 rpm?

Thanks.

[Hy Octane]

A couple of notes here.. Firstly, if you use the tranny to downshift for engine braking, you are placing more wear on the tranny.. in S mode, the car will downshift to 2nd from 3rd at a higher rpm than if in tip mode.. The brakes are cheaper to replace than the transmission so unless you are doing hi performance driving, I'd use the brakes more and save the tranny.. In tip mode, I like to shift and lift just a little then stab the gas.. It makes for a faster shift with less slippage and you dont have to wait as long for the timing to return from the retarded setting it uses for powershifts..

I agree that for city driving, 3rd gear is max.. 4th gear for the freeways... remember.. this car is geared to cruise in 5th gear at 150 mph.. so using 5th at 70 means the motor has to use more boost (gas) to keep that speed ( assuming you are using cruise control) as compared to 4th gear... try it and see which you prefer..


The computer wont let you downshift if the rpm's are too high.. going from 4th to 3rd at 4500 is fine altho a bit hi... great power range there for passing then hit 4th at 6k or so.. Remember, its a street legal race car.. Enjoy!

All this is IMHO of course..