"Doki" wrote in message
...

"Marlon" wrote in message
...

Hi all,
having just swapped an automatic for a manual, I now have gears and
a tachometer as controllable variables in my driving.
So it occured to me that I've never really done that bloke thing of
knowing about rev ranges, when "best" to change gear (other than when it
feels "right"), and such like.
So.... for instance, given there's an obvious upper range to be
avoided (as indicated by red lines), is there actually a practical lower
limit (obviously without stalling)? Is there a "sweet spot" in between?
Is it possible to determine at what amount of revs a particular
engine is theoretically "best" at - and would "best" be defined in terms
of fuel economy or some other operating measure?
I'd imagine that any such measures would vary according to the
vehicle (& engine size).
Is it obvious where I'm coming from, or should I just go get on with
enjoying driving without worrying about such stuff

In general, try and stay above 1500 revs. You can get away with lower revs
if you're trundling at low speed and have a relatively large engine, but
labouring the engine is a bad thing. Labouring is indicated by funny
noises...

Labouring is when the engine does not respond immediately to an increase in
throttle angle.

Tim.