Hi all,
I've had some great help with the folks on the forum before and figured that I might ask for some simpler help this time.
I just started college this week and due to a limited budget am commuting the 40 miles there and back every day. Being new to driving a manual, I haven't had the time to gain good knowledge of interstate driving yet, and being the only one in the family with a manual, I have no one else to ask. I live in a very mountainous area and commuting over the past few days I have noticed that I have a lot of trouble keeping a decent speed, especially climbing the steep hills along the interstate. I have no interest in becoming a speed demon, but I'd prefer not to drop below 65 on the interstate which I find myself doing on almost every hill. My original understanding when I was taught to drive a manual was to always use the highest gear that fit the speed, with the lowest rpm achieved the most efficient option when maintaining speed.
I have an 06' TJ with a 6 speed manual transmission. Mostly stock, as far as I know, with 29 inch tires. With that in mind, my knowledge was that ideal rpms for inclines or anything requiring power was between 2k-3k, which my jeep will maintain for the most part on those inclines in 6th, but I still lose power climbing the hill. When I do shift down to 5th I see no increase in power and my rpms will go up to around 3k. This makes my jeep sound like it's working harder, but I see either no power increase, or, I actually start slowing down.
Is my lack of power climbing these hills operator error(most likely)? Or is it actually a power issue with my jeep? If it actually ends up being the latter, what do I do about it? Re-gear? Cold air intake? Turbocharger? Accept it? I have no idea since I have no experience with the mechanics of almost any vehicle. I'm ready and willing to dig down and start working on any part of my jeep, I just don't know what to work on and need instruction.
Thanks in advance for the advice!
I've had some great help with the folks on the forum before and figured that I might ask for some simpler help this time.
I just started college this week and due to a limited budget am commuting the 40 miles there and back every day. Being new to driving a manual, I haven't had the time to gain good knowledge of interstate driving yet, and being the only one in the family with a manual, I have no one else to ask. I live in a very mountainous area and commuting over the past few days I have noticed that I have a lot of trouble keeping a decent speed, especially climbing the steep hills along the interstate. I have no interest in becoming a speed demon, but I'd prefer not to drop below 65 on the interstate which I find myself doing on almost every hill. My original understanding when I was taught to drive a manual was to always use the highest gear that fit the speed, with the lowest rpm achieved the most efficient option when maintaining speed.
I have an 06' TJ with a 6 speed manual transmission. Mostly stock, as far as I know, with 29 inch tires. With that in mind, my knowledge was that ideal rpms for inclines or anything requiring power was between 2k-3k, which my jeep will maintain for the most part on those inclines in 6th, but I still lose power climbing the hill. When I do shift down to 5th I see no increase in power and my rpms will go up to around 3k. This makes my jeep sound like it's working harder, but I see either no power increase, or, I actually start slowing down.
Is my lack of power climbing these hills operator error(most likely)? Or is it actually a power issue with my jeep? If it actually ends up being the latter, what do I do about it? Re-gear? Cold air intake? Turbocharger? Accept it? I have no idea since I have no experience with the mechanics of almost any vehicle. I'm ready and willing to dig down and start working on any part of my jeep, I just don't know what to work on and need instruction.
Thanks in advance for the advice!