What does 'Shift up at 5 and down at 0' mean?
3 Answers
Shift up at 5 and down at 0 means: shift to 2nd gear above 15km/h, shift to 3rd gear above 25km/h, shift to 4th gear above 35km/h, shift to 5th gear above 45km/h; shift to 4th gear below 40km/h, shift to 3rd gear below 30km/h, shift to 2nd gear below 20km/h, shift to 1st gear below 10km/h. The function and method of gear shifting are as follows: Method of gear shifting: The neutral position is in the exact center of all 6 gears. Only by finding the neutral position can you accurately locate other gears. For example, when shifting from 5th to 3rd gear, after disengaging 5th gear, do not apply force with your hand, let the gear lever automatically return to the neutral position, then push it straight up to engage 3rd gear. If you grip the gear lever tightly with your hand, you may not accurately find the neutral position, and pushing it straight up might result in 1st gear. Function of car gear shifting: It allows the car to drive at a very low and stable speed, which is difficult to achieve solely by the engine's minimum stable speed. The reverse gear in the transmission enables the car to move backward, and the neutral gear allows the engine to be separated from the drivetrain for extended periods during engine starting, parking, and coasting.
As a driving instructor, I often teach students this rhyme: 'Shift up at 5, shift down at 0.' It means you should upshift when the speed reaches multiples of 5 km/h like 15, 25, 35 km/h, and downshift when slowing to multiples of 10 km/h like 20, 30, 40 km/h. However, in actual driving, you shouldn't apply it rigidly—you need to consider road conditions and engine RPM. For example, when climbing a hill, even if you reach 25 km/h, you shouldn't force an upshift if the RPM isn't sufficient. When descending a steep slope with brake failure, you should downshift in advance even at 30 km/h to use engine braking to assist deceleration. I always remind students to listen to the engine sound—shifting up around 2000 RPM is the smoothest. The rhyme is just an aid; real driving requires flexible adaptation.
After driving a taxi for over a decade, I've mastered this mantra. 'Shift up at 5s' means pushing the gear up when the speedometer hits 15, 25, 35, etc., while 'shift down at 0s' means pulling the gear down when speed drops to 20, 30, 40. But seasoned drivers know speed alone isn't enough—you must listen to the engine. In city traffic, where speed drops fast, I downshift around 30 km/h to prepare for reacceleration. On highway cruising, I wait until 40 km/h to drop from 5th to 4th. A common rookie mistake is high-gearing at low speeds, making the car shudder like an asthma attack. Memorize the mantra, but also practice throttle-clutch coordination until shifting feels as natural as breathing.
