How do people know when to change gears without looking at the rpm gauge?

you hear it and feel it... no need in looking anywheres but down the roadHow do people know when to change gears without looking at the rpm gauge?
By the sound of the engine.How do people know when to change gears without looking at the rpm gauge?
sound of engine..... speed..........
It is done with experience and he ear. An experienced driver knows how fast he needs to get to a certain speed and how fast he needs to travel down the road. Stretching the gears out or winding the engine to redline to get on the freeway is one thing, but short shifting to get 30 mph and save gas is another.
engine sound, feel and experience

are you driving for economy or power?

I don't know anybody who depends on rev counter when to change gear



for economy you feather the frottle and change gear low in it talk band

for power you feather the frottle hard and use all your engines talk band
If you have been driving the car long enough you get to know just by the sound and feel of the engine. Use to drive a 68 camaro ss and never had to look at the gauges, pretty much could tell you when to shift and how fast you were going just by sound. (and no I never got a ticket in it)
You learn by experience, the feel of the gears, sound. Most cars are around 2500, but it varies from vehicle to vehicle.
sounds of the engine is like music to the ears my 1969 cougar never had a rpm gauge
really, just drive said car for a while and you can end up feeling when it's right, now, if your really good, you can match your rpm's with your speed and shift without the clutch..
By listening to the sound of the engine. It just takes practice, and after awhile you start to shift by the speed you're going. Once you've got the shifting down you don't have to listen to it every time. I use the RPM just to guide me sometimes.
To a degree it depends on the spacing of the gearing. Often times people will shift up to the next highest gear at 3000 RPM and down when the RPM drops below below 1500 RPM. However this depends a lot on the vehicle and engine dynamics. A Sports bike which has no torque at low RPM will be shifted well above 7000 RPM, a Tractor or piece of industrial Equipment may well be shifted up below 1000 RPM. So if the engine has the torque %26amp; power lower down you shift sooner, if it doesn't you wait and rev it up a bit more. (Now if it's a turbo or a race prepped engine you might want to keep it higher to keep it ';on the boil'; for a bit more fun, or if you're slipping through your neighbourhood early in the AM you might switch up lower keeping it just above lugging to keep the noise down. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.)
sound, feel, acceleration, situation... all have an affect. once you get used to driving stick, and your motor in particular, you don't even have to look to know.