No, it doesn’t necessarily go faster when you step harder on the gas pedal, unless you’re (a lucky kid) driving an automatic or simply afford a kick-ass engine.
On a 1.1 ton body equipped with a very modest 1.3 litre powerhouse, shifting technique could make it between totally un-drivable to a arguably fun-to-drive machine.
Driving an ICE requires gradual shifting, jumping queues (unless you know what you’re doing) will not get you anywhere and might even stall it.
Driving with the throttle wide open, unless in very specific conditions, will not go any much faster than an optimized throttle, but burns fuel like igniting a bucket of petrol.
There are two types of shifting techniques – early shift and power shift.
(all techniques are based on Mitsubishi 4G13 SOHC EFI on a 1.1 ton chassis)
Early Shift
This is the most economical way of shifting, suitable to be used in city driving conditions where it is unnecessary to accelerate rapidly. It exploits the low RPM torque of the ICE, right before the torque dip.
Basically has the following mappings on flat terrain:
- 0 – moving slightly
- moving slightly – 30 km/h
- 30 – 40 km/h
- 40 – 50 km/h
- 50 km/h and beyond
In the case of congested traffic, reduce all numbers by 5 km/h.
Power Shift
This is to get you moving as fast as possible, suitable for sprinting from toll booth into the highway and overtaking. It is also the most fuel inefficient method (besides bad shifting).
Mapping on flat terrain:
- 0 – 40 km/h
- 40 – 60 km/h
- 60 – 80 km/h
- 80 – 100 km/h
- 100 km/h and beyond
Throttle Levels
For congested traffic, keep your throttle at 10% or less. 20% throttle for city driving and normal highway acceleration. 50% throttle in highways if you don’t plan to burn your pocket. If you reach 80% throttle and you’re below 4000 rpm, you’re doing it wrong. 100% throttle when you’re doing it at near redline at 5th gear.
Increase throttle only when you feel the RPM is rising with the opening of throttle (responsive). If it doesn’t (sluggish), either keep your throttle that way (if you’re comfortable with the speed), or try downshifting (if you’re trying to accelerate).
Additional Notes
Shifting and throttling heavily depends on the vehicle. My numbers are based on everyday commuting of 100 km for a year while monitoring the fuel consumption.
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