Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes
It does just fine at 50mph as long as you aren't headed up a big grade at the same time. For the record, that's pretty close to 1300.
I had plenty of time to experiment with this with my G5 LS3 and the G6 LT1. For whatever reason, the LT1 will lug a little more if I short shift it too much, compared to the LS3, so while I could nudge the LS3 into 6th even a little slower, the LT1 does want a few more revs, so yeah, you don't drive it at 1000rpm, nor am I advocating that. Where I notice another difference between the two is the 1-4 skip. The lighter weight and increased power of the G6 with LT1 is absolutely noticeable and it was a lot more sketchy in the G5 LS3, as in it would bog much worse.
But back to the RPMs, you will not bog at all going into 6th at 50mph, unless you are going up a hill. If you give it gas and it's not accelerating, sure, you are bogging, but this engine makes around 300lb/ft at ~1000rpm, it handles it just fine. It's not hurting anything. You obviously aren't doing that to get on a highway, then it makes more sense to hold on to a lower gear for longer, but if the speed limit calls for 50, it's plenty happy to cruise in 6th gear, again as long as you aren't hitting a big up.
Besides, when the engine is cold, you want to keep RPMs low, until it's warmed up a bit more and the engine oil temp is showing some life. But on the highway or on a parkway, you can be cruising all day long below 2000rpms. This ain't a 4cyl or v6. You are absolutely right, for those engines 4 and 6cyl as far as RPM range. This one is perfectly happy to turn at 1700 on the highway. I mean, you are literally telling me, from your RPM, that you're driving in 5th or 4th gear on the highway. I assure you they designed 6th gear for the highway, even when the limit is only 55.
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