i am currently running a '89 civic with a '91 1.5L and a 4-speed tranny. it revs at about 3,750 rpms at 75 mph. is this normal? if not would changing the tranny give me lower rpms at freeway speeds? if a swap is needed which tranny would i use? thanx for any help/replys.

 

Yes it is normal for a 4 speed.
You might want to swap it for a DX 5 speed tranny. I haven't done a 4 speed to 5 speed swap, but I am thinking it should be straight forward.
If you are worried about RPM and not performance, then get a CRX HF 5 speed transmission. By far, and I really mean by far, the longest gears you will find in any 5 speed tranny made by honda. you cruise at 80 MPH doing 2400 RPM in fifth.

 

will that bolt right (crx hf 5 speed)up or will i need to do mods

 

4 Speed? I know there are earlier 4spd manuals, but I didn't that they were on this late of a model. If its the automatic 4 speed, you'll need pedal assembly and all that. I don't know about a 4spd man to a 5 spd. Si's have higher gearing, so if you do a ton of highway driving, an Si tranny would be more efficient.

 

if you drive a lot on the highway a 5spd dx tranny would be best. It's the final drive that's different in the si tranny, so the revs would be higher in the si than the dx. If all you want to do is save gas on the highway, go with the dx tranny.

 

2nd gear in the hf tranny goes up to like 90 mph, my friend broke his Si one and had to replace it with an hf. He said the car barely pulls in 3rd 4th and 5th.

 

damn you are complaing about that? Try a zc/si hybrid 4,000 rpm is 70 mph.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by I8ayellowcrayon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">4 Speed? I know there are earlier 4spd manuals, but I didn't that they were on this late of a model. If its the automatic 4 speed, you'll need pedal assembly and all that. I don't know about a 4spd man to a 5 spd. Si's have higher gearing, so if you do a ton of highway driving, an Si tranny would be more efficient. </TD></TR></TABLE>

the 88-91 STD hatch came with 4 speeds.

yes the rpms are normal, but Honda engines are designed to be reved that high. If you really want to lower them, the DX transmission gives you similar 1st-4th and adds a higher 5th, the slightly rarer HF transmission gives you higher gears across the board. Both transmissions can be easily had for next to nothing (most racers want the lower geared Si trans) and both transmissions will bolt right into your Civic with no additional modifications. You will need an 89-91 tranny to fit with your clutch, PP, and flywheel. If you get an 88 tranny, you'll need the smaller, weeker 88 clutch, presure plate, and flywheel.

 

The 4spd to 5spd man conversion is the same as chaning DX to Si or anything, you do nothing different, just take out the old one and put in the new. Now what you want to do is find a 90 or 91 tranny, clutch, flywheel, and pressure plate. The 89s had a smaller clutch setup as well, and will not work with a 90 or 91 tranny, splines are different. The 90 and 91s had a 212mm clutch vs. the older 200mm. This will work on any year motor as long as you have the whole setup. For cruising, get an HF, for accelaration, get a Si, simple as that.

Good luck,
Jung

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jung4g &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> The 89s had a smaller clutch setup as well, and will not work with a 90 or 91 tranny, splines are different. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Only the 88 had the different spline count. the 89 has the 200mm clutch, but the same splines as the 90-91. I am currently running an 89 si tranny with a 95 flywheel, and a 91 clutch and PP.

In fact, you can also use a 90-91 flywheel & PP on an 88 tranny. You just need to get an 88 accord clutch disk. But since 89cmutr doesn't seem to be looking for performance reasons, I'd say stick with whatever flywheel you have (replace the disc, PP, and throw out bearing while the tranny's off) and get an 89-91 tranny.