I'm an old fart (47 years old) without a clue about what I was buying when I got my 2006 S2000 back in April. All I knew then was that the car was tight, looked great, had Honda reliability, and wasn't too expensive. After reading the owner's manual I pretty much got the idea that I should shift every time I got to about 3,000 to 3,500 rmps. That got me to about 55 MPH just as I got to 6th gear. I felt like I was driving a semi, having to shift gears 6 times just to get to the legal speed limit!!!

Then I got onto S2K Intl and started hearing about everything that they don't tell you in the owner's manual about Vtec, hi revs, etc. It was as if I had learned about sex from an 8th grade text book (the owners manual) but it wasn't until I started talking with all my buddies here on S2K Intl that I got the real scoop about how sex (the car) really works, and how to enjoy it to the limit.

So now, my question. It's a dumb question, but its one that I couldn't find a good answer to in the owner's manual. When it comes to legal CRUISING speed, am I better off running in 4th gear at 4,500 rpm or in 6th gear at 3,000 rpm. Does it make any difference? I get the sense that I have more ability to gun it if I'm in 4th gear at 4,500, but is that bad for the engine to cruise along for long periods at steady higher revs? I know it's a Honda and I know the redline isn't until 8,000 rpm, but I guess I'm wondering if cruising at a constant speed is better done at lower rpms.

By the way, when people say the car has poor torque, what exactly does that mean? What does poor torque feel like? Do you mean that the car doesn't pop when you try to gun it at 55 mph in 6th gear?

Sorry for the stupid questions. I feel like an old nerd that's only just now learning about the facts of life with an S2K. I guess I had no business buying an S2K without knowing this kind of stuff, but now that I have the car, I just LOVE it, and I want to make sure I don't drive it like I'm an old nanny.

 

Stock AP1? 5th. I believe honda left 5th and 6th alone with the AP2s (someone correct me if Im wrong)...so same thing.

Before anyone argues, in AP1s, you get MUCH better gas mileage in 5th than in 6th....(assuming you are not on a dead flat road in cruise control)

Being in 6th requires the motor to work harder to maintain speed.

 

^^ First time I have heard of this. Seems a bit counter intuitive since it doesn't seem to have struggle at all in 6th. Usually cruising occurs on flat roads, so staying in 6th should be better right? Anyone else wanna chime on on the gas mileage between 5th and 6th?

 

6th

You want to minimize your RPM's while not getting any bogging. Nothing puts more wear on an engine faster than RPM's and more RPM's also drinks more gas.

 

If you are climbing (uphill, even a 10 degree slope) at 3200rpms, you are using more gas in 6th than in 5th. The TPS determines how much gas squirts into your motor, and you have to push the pedal down farther to get the same effort.

If you want to try it, plug a PDA into your OBDII port, and go for a ride. Done this a bunch of times. You can tell the car struggles.

 

Here's how I tend to shift...
Normal driving - 4000 to 5000 rpm.
Spirited but reasonable - 6000 rpm.
Most fun - 9000 rpm.

I think it's rather enjoyable working the shift five times in rapid succession.

I'll cruise at 45mph in 6th gear without any problems.

And people say the car doesn't have any torque because the torque it produces at lower revs is a bit less than it does at the high end. So it can feel a bit sluggish at slower speeds when the revs are low.

 

for an ap1, cruise in 6th on the highway.
if you need to overtake somebody, blip the throttle and shift to 3rd (you'll be in vtec).

 

Just to add.....I average about 32mpg on highways, and 25 in city. When I completely rape the car, Ill get 22. I have gotten as high as 38.

Ive learned over the years of driving the car, that higher RPMS yield better gas mileage. I have driven my car at 6000+ rpms for over 1.5 hours, and got incredible gas mileage. (I was doing 97mph the entire way...on cruise)

Its simple physics. The car has an easier time maintaining speed in a lower gear than a higher one....less energy expelled means less gas. The sweetspot of the s2000 is about 4200RPMS.....highest gas mileage will be had if you can keep your car at those RPMS.

 

When you see some EFI maps and have a wideband on board, a lot of times at very low loads at high RPM's it's running the same amount of fuel as under low RPM's. Why you might be getting better milage might have to more with other factors...name drag. If it weren't for drag, going 60mph cruising you can probably reach 300mpg.

Higher RPM's give greater frictional losses and frictional losses are very high not just in wear and tear but also.

I don't think you're getting the gas milage because of RPM, but the dynamically altering aerodynamics from the speed you are in being the sweet spot.

Cruise around town in only 1st gear for a while. Then compare again driving normally and you'll see just how much RPM's play a factor.

 

Probably cause you got those nice flat roads in CA. Did you forget the 29874895743987598347958437589734985437895 overpasses we have in NY that the car has to climb?