[Railfan]

Can anybody tell me what the lowest speeds are for each gear in the Malibu 3.6 V6 automatic. In other words, when does each gear shift into the next gear as you slowly accelerate? It seems that the final drive shifts somewhere around 50-51 mph.

Thanks

 

[Railfan]

I guess what I am asking is if anybody knows the shift points.

 

[cp-the-nerd]

Just put it in manual mode and let the car coast down from 60 mph and you can watch the car down shift when the speed reaches the minimum in each gear. I used to have them memorized, but I haven't had much fun with manual mode lately trying to eek out higher fuel economy.

For my LT V6 I think it's....
1st-0 mph
2nd-0 mph (this is convenient for preventing wheel spin in adverse conditions)
3rd-15 mph
4th-25 mph
5th-35 mph
6th-45 mph

 

[Railfan]

Thanks cp. Like I mentioned before, in auto it seems like the final drive shifts at around 50mph.....so your numbers seem very close.

 

[cp-the-nerd]

I can definitely tell you what speed each gear tops out at, haha. It's good for passing maneuvers and shenanigans. The auto tries to avoid down shifting to the lowest possible gear sometimes, but dropping to 1st from 20-30 mph unleashes raucous acceleration and just the right amount of tire spin.

1st-42
2nd-66
3rd-103
4th-limiter (around 116)
5th-limiter
6th-limiter

 

[wjjeepman34]

I agree with CP. Those number might not be exact, but close.