Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance Performance Enhancements for a Chevy 250

Actually now that I've been looking a little bit on Craigslist, I was looking into getting a 4 speed saginaw w/ a Hurst shifter for about $200. I was also wondering... Since the final gear would be a 1:1 on the 3 speed and 4 speed, then how could I make my car more efficient? When my parents are driving their cars on the highway in their '09 cars, their RPM's are barely above idle (like 1100 or something). Now, I don't have a tac, but I'm guessing I'm running like 3000 RPM going 65 down the highway and my redline is 4500. Is this normal? I mean I understand that automatics work differently but it seems that this would make all manual cars DRINK gas. I mean going on a 65mph highway for like 2 hours would use up a tank. I'm already using an INCREDIBLY low gear... and a 4 speed wouldn't help so how can I make that any better? Thanks