What Speed Should You Change Gears?
When learning to drive a manual car, you’ll need to change gear a lot and once you’ve got the hang of knowing how to change gears (see palming method for changing gears), the next stage is when to change gears.
As a learner, your driving instructor or supervising passenger will initially help you by providing prompts for changing gear, but for some learner drivers, they gain a better understanding by knowing what speed they should be going for a gear change.
All cars are a little different, but if you want to have a general idea for what speed you should change gears at, follow this guide:
| Gear | Speed |
|---|---|
| 1st gear | Between 0 mph and 10 mph |
| 2nd gear | Between 10 mph and 20 mph |
| 3rd gear | Between 20 mph and 30 mph |
| 4th gear | Between 30 mph and 40 mph |
| 5th gear | 40 mph and above |
| 6th gear | 40 mph and above |
1st Gear
1st gear is only used for pulling away from a stationary position and for crawling along slowly in traffic queues. The speed to change up from 1st into 2nd gear is usually between 5 mph and 10 mph.
2nd Gear
2nd gear is commonly used for taking left or right turns; for example turning off from a main road into a minor road. The speed to change up from 2nd gear into 3rd gear is usually from between 15 mph and 20 mph.
3rd Gear
3rd gear is often used for driving around residential areas and areas that are restricted to 20 mph zones. 3rd gear is also often used as an overtaking gear. The speed to change up from 3rd gear into 4th gear is usually from between 25 mph and 30 mph.
4th Gear
4th gear is very often used for driving along 30 mph roads in towns and cities. The speed you usually change up from 4th gear into 5th gear is from between 35 mph and 40 mph.
5th Gear and 6th Gear
5th, or 6th gear (if you car has it) are termed as ‘overdrive’ gears. An overdrive gear allows your car to cruise at a high speed while maintaining low engine revolutions. You’ll use 5th or 6th gear for highway cruising at speeds of 60 mph to 70 mph and are ideal gears for best fuel economy. You’ll usually change up from 4th gear into 5th or 6th gear at a speed of around 40 mph or so.
Do you need to shift gears while going at speeds over 60 mph?
Hi Moses,
Generally you’re in the highest gear at 60 mph or over. If you happen to need better acceleration for overtaking, then you can shift down a gear.
Yea, if you have a gear that can go beyond 60 mph
I have a toyota hilux 2wheel drive 6 speed manual transmission 2017 is it ok when traveling in a 50k zone with 3rd gear
Hello Maurice,
4th gear would be more economical if your Toyota is good for 4th gear at that speed.
Yeah bro thats what i was wondering cause it feels like its a good gear to sit on at 50ks i was unsure wether to use 4th or 3rd gear ive got a 2wd toyota hilux as well
I have a question. If I’m going 60mph on 6th gear and I have to slow down to 30mph… do I need to lower gears? Or can I keep the car on 6th?
I would probably change into 4th, but having said that, different cars have different gear ratios and handle things worse or better at different speeds. It’s likely that at 30 mph your car will become unresponsive (when pressing the accelerator) in 6th gear and that’s a sign to change down.
Lower the gear at 3rd gear
Nooooo
Please help i just want to ask a simple question to other people than to me
So answer me here so if you come from gear no 5 so how do you go to no 6 so from gear no 5 are you oing down to gear no 6 or you go to center before you go to the center please respond
Hi, if I am driving on a motorway, I will be in 5th at 70mph. There is a 6th gear on my mums car which I will be using soon, do I have to use 6th gear? All my cars have been only 5 gears so unsure of the 6th
6th gear is a cruising gear to use for best fuel economy. It’s always best to use 6th gear for cruising on a motorway and only change down if you need more power to overtake.
Why do you change down if you want to overtake? I thought higher gear means higher speed which should enable you to overtake.
BTW, in a 5gear car, will the 5th gear be used for cruising and what’s the maximum speed limit?
Hi,
Yes, a higher gear does mean higher speed, but it’s a cruising speed. To overtake, you’ll generally need a good hit of acceleration and to get that, you’ll need to change down. Yes, 5th gear is used for cruising. The maximum speed will vary depending on the model of car.
I have learned a great lesson from you
If there is a stop sign at the crest of an incline what gear do you go into to pull away from that stop sign?
Hi Charity,
If you are on a downhill slope when pulling away, I would usually say pull away as usual, in first gear, unless it happens to be particularly steep. Being as it’s a stop junction, it may be blind and hazardous, so keep the clutch down and edge forward slowly, controlling the vehicle’s speed with the footbrake only.
Greetings! I’m learning to drive manual and I have a couple of questions on down shifting: (In order to go from a faster speed to a much slower speed to make corners, for speed bumps, or for going through towns and heavier traffic)
1. How and when is it best to shift down smoothly? I assume it’s speed range related, but when I go from 3rd to 2nd, I can hear and feel a small gear grind happening (At right around 15 MPH slowed down from 30 – at which time I’m already at a near dead stop to make a turn, however I’d like to keep going instead of stopping)
2. When down shifting: Do I need to go in order of ALL the gears as my speed drops or can I jump from 4th to 2nd if I wait for the right speed range? (Say: 4th -> Neutral (Wait for speed to drop to 10 – 20 MPH or so -> Neutral to 2nd)
Right now this is my biggest obstacle. It seems no matter what I do, I get a little grind and if I wait too long I loose all my momentum and may as well stop and go to first anyway. Any help is much appreciated!
Hi Aj,
I can’t see any issues with slowing down in 3rd gear and changing into 2nd gear at around 15mph. Have you tried the same, but slowing down from 4th gear and then into 2md gear. The gear grinding sounds perhaps as though it’s a gearbox or worn clutch issue.
It is recommended that you block change down, rather than going down through all the gears sequentially. Essentially, use the brakes (and engine braking) to slow your car rather than the gears. It’s difficult to say a specific speed when to block change down as each car is different. You need to find the specific speeds that your car is happy with. I would say as an example, driving around town at 30 mph in 4th gear, then if making a left turn, slow down to 10-15 mph and then block change directly into 2nd gear would be a good example. You can even do this from 5th, directly into 2nd, it really depends if your car can handle it. You’ll know if your car isn’t happy as you’ll hear it and feel it.
Although examiners do prefer to see block gear changing, if you really prefer to change down through the gears sequentially, you’ll not fail the test for it. Generally though, use block gear changing as it’s a lot easier than constantly going through all the gears and it’s less wear on your transmission.
Where you said this:
”Say: 4th -> Neutral (Wait for speed to drop to 10 – 20 MPH or so -> Neutral to 2nd”
Not sure if I misread it, but do not keep the transmission in neutral while your car is moving at any point. Always have a gear engaged. The same can be said by keeping your clutch pedal depressed for extended periods while on the move (even if in gear). This is called ‘coasting’ and continually doing this on your driving test will likely see a fail. Coasting reduces your control of the vehicle.