RodWolf19

I've got a 93 ex coupe with the d16z6, totally stock. I've been working to get it in running shape, yesterday I gave it plugs, wires, dist cap, and a rotor.
Today, I'm driving to work and at 40mph in 4th gear I was turning around 1500-1700rpm. I could've sworn that before the tuneup it was turning around 1800-2000rpm.
It's a manual transmission, so I'm pretty sure the rpms can't just change like that, it's not the clutch slipping because otherwise it would be higher?
Am I crazy? Or did my tune up somehow change how my car reads revolutions per minute?
Thanks for reading guys.

RodWolf19

Well I must be just nuts.
I usually let it spin up to 2500 rpm before I let it go into the next gear, if I need to be going any faster I'll let it go up to 3500-4000.
Anyways, what speed/rpm do y'all shift your ex's in the city? I'm trying to see if I can dig up any more miles per gallon.
Thanks for reading.

White_EG1

You want to drive in a lower gear with less throttle. Cruising around in 4th at 1500 rpms, isn't beneficial. I shift at 3500 rpms, I try to keep the engine at or above 2500 rpms so I can stay in the power band,

RodWolf19

Alright, that makes sense. It's a little weird going from a v8 truck to this little guy, the engine really wants to wrap up, and even with the stock exhaust it's loud enough to make me think I need to shift already.
So I've been lugging it by keeping it below 2500?

crazyhorse2011

Keeping a low throttle position in a high gear works just fine for cruising. no need for 3rd gear when you're going 35mph when you could be in 5th using half the fuel

RodWolf19

Yeah cruising isn't a big deal, I can figure that one out. Traffic to and from school and work are often a pain and I usually don't cruise at a steady speed unless it's at night or on the highway.
Let's just say that the drivers in this town are so wonderful I've gotten very good at rev matching for downshifts after they slow down to 10mph to wait for an opening to cross 2 lanes of traffic-_-

White_EG1

And your also lugging your engine. Being at 5th cruising at 35, you cant keep a low throttle position, without lugging or 50% throttle which well waste more gas than keeping throttle positioned at 25-30% in 3rd.

crazyhouse is this your new troll account?

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

I shift at red line because that's the way a car's supposed to be driven. I had to get a 700ft. driveway because it takes a while to reach redline in reverse when i'm backing out in the morning.

Heisenberg

I supposed you drive an AT.

RodWolf19

Oh yeah, redline for maximum gains.
That's how they do it in Japan right?

tony_2018

This will vary because if your going uphill and you shift at a low rpm, 2500 rpm, than it will drop you lower and your car will struggle going uphill. Straight roads and downhills are fine but when going from a stop light uphill its a struggle.

RodWolf19

The downfall of this little guy, even if I'm going uphill and shift at 4000 it's still a gutless climb up.
If I'm cruising and see a hill coming up I'll bump it down a gear to put it back in its powerband for the climb.

tony_2018

It definitely is, but in the long run we do get better gas mileage. I guess with Tx the only way to deal with the hills is to stay in a higher rpm.

RodWolf19

That or get run over by the ridiculously lifted truck behind you.
So far it has been getting great gas mileage. I've read that the average for the 5th gen manual ex in the city is going to be around 28 mpg and that's what I've been getting.

tony_2018

Yes....lift trucks... fun

crazyhorse2011

if your on a flat road who cares? you only need ~15% throttle to keep going 35 in 5th on flat ground

crazyhorse2011

you're just trying to get the OP to be one of those dopewads who drive around their folger-canned honda in low gear at high revs ALL THE TIME to "show off"

RodWolf19

I'm really just trying to get a feel of where the power band is in these cars and get some input from other members about their personal driving habits that I might be able to use to further increase my own fuel efficiency.
I doubt anyone on this forum would encourage me to go full on rice.

crazyhorse2011

my old ej seemed to pick up power around 3k rpm. push it higher, you get more power. remember, the peak torque is at 5500 rpm, not 2000 like a big truck

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

Serious suggestion for economy, install a vacuum gauge (or fuel economy gauge if you like but it's literally the same thing just marked differently). Learn the habits of your foot according to the gauge. You'll see the results actual reflect what "WhiteEG1" is stating. You won't have to worry about the specific gear/RPM either, just make the gauge read as high as possible whenever possible. The biggest difference you'll see is how you accelerate according to the gauge.

Matt_EH3

I tried driving around in my DD to get fuel economy for a couple of weeks. Being careful about throttle position changes, slowing down on upward hills not caring about the speed decrease if it is just 10 km/h or so, changing my route to have less stops, etc.

I got good results, but I also got fed up. Too boring. I decided that the few bucks more at the pump were worth it for my personal entertainment (and even safety; driving like this almost makes me fall asleep at the wheel).

I'm not redlining at every chance I get either. I just think that regular driving & shift points are less boring.

crazyhorse2011

i have a vacuum gage in my integra. the farther down your right foot, the closer to 0 the needle gets

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

Correct. For fuel economy, you want to be as high as possible. If you look at the fuel economy gauge side by side with a normal vacuum gauge you'll see the green area is higher in the range.

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

Do you even lift, bro?

crazyhorse2011