This. When cruising around town I don't even look down at the tach/speedo, I just go by feel and putt around.

Then again, I don't care about MPG or whatever, I just do it so I don't look like the asshole revving the shit out of my car from stop light to stop light.

 

I shift at around 3-3.5k rpm with light throttle. I'm getting about 27mpg mixed city & highway.

 

I shift at 5-6k. I don't care about mpg. I redline it quite often.

 

To those who feel uncomfortable holding the car in a lower gear with the tach past 4K, how do you feel about going 80mph in 6th (do you want a couple more gears)? This engine seems 'happiest' when it's revving and it can do it all day long without suffering. It also makes it easier to modulate the speed of the car (with a single pedal) - finer control and greater range of acceleration/deceleration rates.

 

^ I generally feel uncomfortable holding the car in first or second gear for an extended period at 5,000+ RPM (4k is usually my shift point, so I don't feel too bad at holding it right at 4k), but I certainly do not think the car needs to be geared higher without forced induction. I generally do not drive 80 mph for an extended period of time, but I would have no problem going 80 mph in sixth gear on the freeway for an hour straight if I didn't have to worry about a speeding ticket or other cars slowing me down.
As to answer the original question in this thread, I usually shift between 3-5k when daily driving, but I do like hitting Vtec from time to time

I'll admit though, in first and second gear, I have done my share of granny shifting around 2,500 rpm, and when conservative on the throttle, I have actually not noticed it bogging down as bad as I would have thought.

 

That's interesting - but I'm willing to bet on flat ground, cruising at 2500RPM is almost always better than 4000RPM in a lower gear (ex: 35MPH at 4th 2800RPM vs. 35MPH at 3rd 3600RPM). For the S's rev happy 4-cylinder the optimal range is probably a few hundred PRM higher than average (2500-3000 city cruising?), but coming from other 4-cylinder Hondas (H22 Prelude and 2.2L Accord) cruising at 2000RPM at city speeds is no problem. The

I agree about the hill example, when you do care more about the torque curve, shift down, but you basically need no torque at 35-40MPH. In the linked thread they say at higher PRM, the pumping losses/extra friction/extra engine braking > increased torque/effiency. I don't have a ScanGauge but people have probably made exact curves on hypermiler forums. Less scientifically if you look at people who need to save gas, i.e. taxi drivers who drive manual, they all shift their 2-liter engines at like 2-2.5K.

My friend who's taking an automobile engineering class actually had a chart where it listed RPM + power output (?) and fuel efficiency. It's for a generic engine but I thought it was pretty cool example of the tradeoff.

 

On the highway it feels a lot less wasteful at 4K due to longer gearing/wind, you won't be accelerating very quickly. Whereas in the city, holding at 4K, I don't need the ability to accelerate more quickly. Higher gear = finer/smoother throttle control, but narrower range of acceleration rate. (Drive between 8-12MPH in 1, then try 2)

 

Yes, I do wish there were one, or sometimes two additional gears. The car feels most comfortable cruising at 4k rpm. I wish I could be at that rpm even at higher speeds. I wouldn't want to raise the final drive, just wish the were another gear on top to use.

It seems Honda geared 6th to make sure you could cruise at 55 mph without going below the ~3k rpm that they seem to want to keep you above with their suggested shift points. But that means you will be at much higher rpm with more velocity.

 

end thread

 

i get some buzz if the car has been warm for a while and im in 2/3 in the higher rev range, but that also might just be my clutch going out or some other awful problem