Accelerating, changing gears: Difference between revisions

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====Upshifting====

You can shift anywhere from 5 to 13k, depending on how fast you're going (accelerating). If you're poking along behind a grocery-getter from a stop light, a shift point of 5 or 6k makes sense. If you're accelerating normally and want a good compromise between performance and fuel efficiency, shift around 8-10k. If you're trying to quiet the rowdy kids next to you in daddy's 318i, cook it up to ~~13k~~ before hitting the next gear. Cruising revs should be between 4-10k.

You can shift anywhere from 5 to 13k, depending on how fast you're going (accelerating). If you're poking along behind a grocery-getter from a stop light, a shift point of 5 or 6k makes sense. If you're accelerating normally and want a good compromise between performance and fuel efficiency, shift around 8-10k. If you're trying to quiet the rowdy kids next to you in daddy's 318i, cook it up to 12k before hitting the next gear. Cruising revs should be between 4-10k.

Shown here are torque (L) and horsepower (R) charts from Motorcycle.com's<br> [http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/25-caliber-shootout-12930.htm .25 caliber shootout]. The EX250 is the pink line.

[[Image:ex250_torque.gif|170px]] [[Image:ex250_ hp.gif|170px]]

As you can see, power starts taking a major hit after 12,250 rpm. There's no use pushing it past that. Shift up and take advantage of the power in the next gear.

On the other end of the spectrum, you don't want to run your engine too slow, either. "Lugging" (or "bogging") the engine is not really good for it, and won't leave you in the proper gear should you need to get out of a situation fast. Any time the engine speed is being determined by load (i.e. going uphill, in too high a gear, etc.) rather than by the throttle, you are lugging. If you twist the grip and little or nothing happens, then you need to downshift at least one gear.

====Downshifting====

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 ====Upshifting====
-You can shift anywhere from 5 to 13k, depending on how fast you're going (accelerating). If you're poking along behind a grocery-getter from a stop light, a shift point of 5 or 6k makes sense. If you're accelerating normally and want a good compromise between performance and fuel efficiency, shift around 8-10k. If you're trying to quiet the rowdy kids next to you in daddy's 318i, cook it up to 13k before hitting the next gear. Cruising revs should be between 4-10k.
+You can shift anywhere from 5 to 13k, depending on how fast you're going (accelerating). If you're poking along behind a grocery-getter from a stop light, a shift point of 5 or 6k makes sense. If you're accelerating normally and want a good compromise between performance and fuel efficiency, shift around 8-10k. If you're trying to quiet the rowdy kids next to you in daddy's 318i, cook it up to 12k before hitting the next gear. Cruising revs should be between 4-10k.
+Shown here are torque (L) and horsepower (R) charts from Motorcycle.com's<br> [http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/25-caliber-shootout-12930.htm .25 caliber shootout]. The EX250 is the pink line.
+[[Image:ex250_torque.gif|170px]]  [[Image:ex250_ hp.gif|170px]]
+As you can see, power starts taking a major hit after 12,250 rpm. There's no use pushing it past that. Shift up and take advantage of the power in the next gear.
+On the other end of the spectrum, you don't want to run your engine too slow, either. "Lugging" (or "bogging") the engine is not really good for it, and won't leave you in the proper gear should you need to get out of a situation fast. Any time the engine speed is being determined by load (i.e. going uphill, in too high a gear, etc.) rather than by the throttle, you are lugging. If you twist the grip and little or nothing happens, then you need to downshift at least one gear.
 ====Downshifting====