My first V8 - how do you drive it
 

All - I am a proud new owner of a 2018 1SS 1LE. I am currently waiting for the second round of winter to leave the midwest, so the weather can warm up and I can put some miles on my new toy.

I am not new to "performance" cars. I have owned several turbo 4 cylinders (WRX, Evo MR, BMW 3 series, mini cooper) and then some normal cars (g35 coupe, minivan, sedans, etc). But no V8s.

I was drawn to the V8, I am in love with the noise, the vibrations, the entire experience. But I am not sure how to properly drive this car yet. Not talking on race track (I know how to beat the shit out of the car). I am more looking for daily driving tips. I have driven 650 miles so far, breaking the car in, getting her loose... so not a lot of miles (or experience) yet.

My question: How do YOU drive your car?

I am used to 4K RPM 1st gear shift points in the turbo 4's, even when I am not pushing the car... is that too much with a V8? Waste of gas? Unnecessary wear? I hear people complaining about the 1-4 skip shift... it isn't a problem for me how I currently drive the Camaro.

What are your daily driving shift points? Again, turbo 4, I could cruise down the highway at 75mph and be at close to 3.5k rpm... cruising. Is that OK with a V8 drive train? I am used to "bogging" in the turbo 4's and keeping a higher RPM. Do I need to change my mindset?

When on the highway... 6th gear feels useless at 70mph (no power, low RPMs) do you just cruise in 5th on the highway? Is 6th for super high speeds? Maybe the car just needs to loosen up.... and I need to get more seat time and I will figure it out?

I know these are noob questions, but that is what I am when it comes to V8 engines. I also know there is no single right way to drive, but I am sure there are wrong ways... so just looking for some advice and how YOU drive your car.

Thanks in advance!

My opinion... cruising is cruising. I put it in 6th at 50 mph if I am cruising. Cruising rpm can be as low as 1500. It is cruising, and revving any higher is just wasted fuel and wear on the drivetrain.

I drive it like I stole it. Redline every gear. Why have a sports car if you don't? Could have just gotten a Honda.:pound:

Try not to over think this and just get some more seat time and you will find whats comfortable for you.

The V8 has massive torque even at low RPM, so you don't need to run higher RPM's like shifting at 4K every time if you don't need to really accelerate hard. Move into 6th when crushing above 50 is fine. Like stated above, 1500 RPM is OK cruising around in 5th and 6th. You will be surprised at the gas mileage these vehicles can get. With your current style you are not seeing the skip shift feature, but if you do change to lower RMP's you surely will. I would suggest getting a skip shift eliminator to remove the annoying 1st to 4th and you can definitely shift at lower RPM's then 4K like a small turbo motor. I had mine in the first week I had my car. I rarely get to 4K RPM unless I am getting on it a bit. Which does happen from time to time :-)

Listen and feel the car. I know this sounds silly but the car will tell you what it likes.

Unless you are doing spirited driving there's no reason to spin the 6.2 to 4K. I'd shift it anywhere between 2300-2500 for normal driving.

Just don't use too high of a gear and lug the motor down.

Go to a Cars and Coffee and watch the Mustangs. Then don't do what they do!

I am hoping more seat time will help with being able to read / feel the car. I am used to driving by feel in the turbo 4s, but the v8 feels TOTALLY different (noise and vibration).

Thanks!

Agree with this- my 2011 SS was my first V8 car with manual transmission. I too had 4 cylinders and turbos before the V8. With the 4's they need the higher RPM's. With the V8 SS if I revved the engine like I did the 4 turbos I'd get single digits for MPG. So I drove it easy- revved it to only 2-2500 RPM and it had more than enough torque to propel the car and keep up with traffic. And even then driving it that way I only got 18 MPG- even on the highway. Any spurts or getting on it I would see the gas gauge move. The Gen 6 from what I read does better than Gen 5 but still, keep the rev's low if you want good MPG but rev it if you want to drive spiritedly but don't expect good MPG.

Shifting at 4K all the time is excessive by my standards. But it will not really waste gas, unless you live in some strange environment where you are constantly accelerating and decelerating. Most of your time in the car will be at cruising speed, where there is minimal load on the engine/drivetrain. Keeping the car in lower gear in those situations definitely increases wear and wastes gas.

Think of it less as a numerical value and more like a percentage.

The cars you drove before have damn near 7000 rpm redlines, so shifting at 4000 is like taking it to a little over half your powerband.

Your car makes peak power at around 5500-6000.... So shifting at half would be around 3000.

But if you like feeling the additional power, then by all means, take it up to 4000 or 4500 rpms..... It's your car, enjoy it how you see fit.

You definitely don't need to rev it that high unless you are having some fun. I personally shift 1st to 3rd most of the time for regular driving and it works fine keeping it around 1500 rpm

I should also add that high-rpm shifting and cruising will shorten the oil change interval. The algorithm used by GM considers engine rotational speed as a major factor. Also the increased fuel consumption results in more blow-by introducing contaminants into the oil.
As others have pointed out, driving the car hard when cold is not advisable. This and short trips with no time for the oil to warm up kill the oil. I see you are in Ohio, where winter is actually cold.

Agreed. Nice thing about a big V8 is that you don't have to beat on it like you stole it to go really fast....

Spin the motor to 2500 shift, 2500 shift etc. When you get up to speed stick it is whatever gear keeps the motor around 1100 and go.