[Overdrive]

Not much I can say here regarding optimum shifting points, but the manual (for my base 2.5 5-speed) says to shift below 4000rpms until the car has reached optimum temperature. I adhere to it so much that unless I'm intending to run through a gear I pretty much shift around that 4000 (which is also easy to spot since it's right at the top of the gauge) during my regular driving after the car has warmed up. I've found that things seem to just mesh a lot better at that point. Revs drop to where you're just about where you need to be when moving to the next gear up for a nice, smooth shift, and the car is just starting to get happy and make nicer noises at that 4000 mark. As has become the rule of thumb here, I also follow the advice to shift above 3000rpms as much as possible and to keep the rpms above 3000 as much as possible. So when I'm first driving I have a rather narrow 1000rpms to play with and stay within, but after that it's pretty much 3000+ to shift and to cruise to keep the car happy.