I have read that the 5 speed manual revs higher at highway speeds. I would like to know if anyone here that owns a 5 speed manual has any complaints in this regard. Do you find the drive comfortable at higher speeds or do you feel that the engine revs a bit too high for your liking.
I am sure there are some of you out there that have taken a long trip and I would like to know what you think.

LittleDogBox
Arlington, Va.

I have 7800 miles now on my 5 speed. No real complaints. Its pretty high (4K @ 80mph) but its not all that noticable. The flip side to this is that passing power is good, and towing is good. We've had 2 long trips from Atlanta once to Florida, once to Chicago, and we are going to St. Louis area later this month.

[quote:c5a008356a="Black Elephant"]I have 7800 miles now on my 5 speed. No real complaints. Its pretty high (4K @ 80mph) but its not all that noticable. The flip side to this is that passing power is good, and towing is good. We've had 2 long trips from Atlanta once to Florida, once to Chicago, and we are going to St. Louis area later this month.[/quote:c5a008356a]


If you had it to do all over again would you get the automatic or would you stick with what you have now?

LittleDogBox
Arlington, Va.

Im with Black Element on this. 60-70 mph & around 3.5K. It really does pass well - a lot of oomph. Oh, my last car was a civic, so that might color my comments somewhat. And yes, I would go manual again and again and again! The only thing I have to watch out for is that the initial acceleration is much higher than my old civic - husband tends to rev it too much at a start.

definately i would go with the 5spd again. i have no problem hitting over 100mph on a daily bases... i tested the auto,,, seemed to lag a bit at the start... :mrgreen:

In my humble opinion having driven 5 speed Honda's since 1987, I think the 5 speed is adecuate for the type of vehicle the Element is.
One thing I would suggest to the engineers at Honda is to add another gear alike the Acura RSX-S, which acts like an over drive in my car....other than that the gears / rpms are just right.... :D

[quote:6c109c7d6a="LittleDogBox"][quote:6c109c7d6a="Black Elephant"]I have 7800 miles now on my 5 speed. No real complaints. Its pretty high (4K @ 80mph) but its not all that noticable. The flip side to this is that passing power is good, and towing is good. We've had 2 long trips from Atlanta once to Florida, once to Chicago, and we are going to St. Louis area later this month.[/quote:6c109c7d6a]


If you had it to do all over again would you get the automatic or would you stick with what you have now?

LittleDogBox
Arlington, Va.[/quote:6c109c7d6a]

I'd stay with the 5 speed. I just prefer driving a 5 speed. If Honda made the gearing a little taller then it would be better, but I am happy with the way it drives now.

I would most definitely stick with the 5spd. Super smooth shifting and helps keep the engine in its torque band. Besides that, it gives me total control of my E and how i want to use the low end torque.

Oh yeah......I can rebuild a 5 speed myself. Ever look inside an Automatic transmission? They work on Voodoo and Witchcraft, nothing else! transmission guys dont work cheap.

I'll just chime in with my $0.02. The higher revs at speed don't bother me or the car much. It doesn't feel like it's being pushed. That feeling occurs somewhere north of 5500 revs.

I would definitely get the 5 speed again, but I am a die hard manual shifter (uhhh, you know what I mean... get yer mind outta the gutter :lol: ).

It's amazing how similar this transmission feels compared to the RSX-S which I traded in for the Element. The 6th speed would be a natural fit.

Well, I wouldn't trade my AT for 10 5-speeds, so there! It has great acceleration, is very quiet on the road, gets great MPG, and allows me to relax and enjoy the ride without rowing a 5-speed around. If I feel like shifting, I jump on my Kawasaki ZRX1100 where it really makes a difference. The E is NOT a performance car no matter what xmission you get. :wink:

[quote:66c28bfc59="utahrex"]Well, I wouldn't trade my AT for 10 5-speeds, so there! It has great acceleration, is very quiet on the road, gets great MPG, and allows me to relax and enjoy the ride without rowing a 5-speed around. If I feel like shifting, I jump on my Kawasaki ZRX1100 where it really makes a difference. The E is NOT a performance car no matter what xmission you get. :wink:[/quote:66c28bfc59]

ummm, ok utahrex, thanks for sharing. i was responding to the query of the thread originator.

is it ok with you if i enjoy the performance of my 5-speed element? my other car is an automatic, however. a 2000 bmw 740iL which i am happy is auto. it's ok with me if neither of my vehicles qualify as performance cars. i like to drive. i would find a way to enjoy driving a forklift, a segway, a home tractor mower, etc.

performance is relative, just as everything else is. just ask einstein (either one). 8)

just felt the auto trans was getting gang-banged a little too much. I appreciate a person who buys the 5-speed because he enjoys shifting.....I just object to making it sound like it is far superior technically which it isn't.
Personal preference is one thing, but leave it at that. Nothing personal of course. :D

no big problem, utahrex.

i test drove, and liked, the auto. i simply prefer manual in most any car.

i am not sure where you got the impression that people were ganging up against auto trannys in this thread, i don't think anyone was slamming the auto (one person mentioned that they thought it lagged a bit, hardly a harsh indictment).

In fact, although each of the six people that responded who actually own manual elements said they would make the same selection again, four of them, including myself, had suggestions for improvement/criticisms regarding the manual transmission. none of the other posts made any value judgements of the owners of auto elements, and that is why your post drew my response.

I'd love to see the TSX drivetrain and engine in the Element. An Element with a 6sp and 200hp... Oh yeah!!!! An E type S!!!

Rob

[quote:d8f1d79aad="onemetre"]I'd love to see the TSX drivetrain and engine in the Element. An Element with a 6sp and 200hp... Oh yeah!!!! An E type S!!!

Rob[/quote:d8f1d79aad]......

did I mention..... www.elementownersclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2033 well I did didn't I...so I want to add that driving a stick is no less relaxing than driving an auto......remember driving and not aiming the vehicle that makes a good driver a safe driver...especially when the family is onboard....... :wink:

[quote:e5e45d472e="utahrex"]Well, I wouldn't trade my AT for 10 5-speeds, so there! It has great acceleration, is very quiet on the road, gets great MPG, and allows me to relax and enjoy the ride without rowing a 5-speed around. If I feel like shifting, I jump on my Kawasaki ZRX1100 where it really makes a difference. The E is NOT a performance car no matter what xmission you get. :wink:[/quote:e5e45d472e]

We like the AT in our EX. In particular, I have noticed that it downshifts from 4th to 3rd AS I COAST in that sort of lazy 30-45 mph "accordian" style of traffic we seem to have around her in Portland, Oregon on the arterial streets. It's nice because when I speed up again, the transmission does not need to kick down. It is already kicked down and ready to speed up. I almost wonder it this behavior is not derived from Honda's F1 and CART experience (even though the AT in the Element is a just a slushbox and not truly gear driven).

yelapa
Eternal Blue Pearl EX

I bought the EX AWD with a 5 speed. I did that mostly because I might want to turbocharge it and auto transmissions don't hold up to forced induction.
The reason for the poor highway mileage is because the E is geared high. I agree with the posts above that a 6th gear or overdrive would really make the vehicle more appealing as you would have the ability to squeeze more mpg.

Wow. I have not seen an EX with a 5 speed manual. I suspected it might be coming. My dealer had no knowledge of it as a curently available option. Of course, my wife wanted the AT anyway...

yelapa
EBP EX with growing collection of aftermarket options

[quote:8f8ed075dd="yelapa"]Wow. I have not seen an EX with a 5 speed manual. I suspected it might be coming. My dealer had no knowledge of it as a curently available option. Of course, my wife wanted the AT anyway...

yelapa
EBP EX with growing collection of aftermarket options[/quote:8f8ed075dd]

EX's 5 speeds FWD came out at the same time the other models came out...is just recently that the AWD EX's 5 speed came out..... :wink: .....I ask myself if we should have waited....but no...I don't think so.... :D

I have always preferred manual transmissions. I just feel more in control. And for a cute little bugger like the E, a manual is just a natural.

Also- you can roll start a manual if your battery dies!

I'm waiting for the exact combo that I want. Alas, now there is the side air bag option that i ALSO want which makes my perfect element even rarer...

It is just a matter of waiting I suspect.

The E revs about 4500 RPM at 70 MPH. But, when I want her to lift her petticoat all I have to do is gently nudge the loud pedal and away i go.

[quote:1adbb71e10="onemetre"]I'd love to see the TSX drivetrain and engine in the Element. An Element with a 6sp and 200hp... Oh yeah!!!! An E type S!!!

Rob[/quote:1adbb71e10]

That would be a real sleeper. I have a TSX 5AT and really like it. I really like my E 4AT, too. They sure are different from each other.

Well, I wouldn't trade my AT for 10 5-speeds, so there! It has great acceleration, is very quiet on the road, gets great MPG, and allows me to relax and enjoy the ride without rowing a 5-speed around. If I feel like shifting, I jump on my Kawasaki ZRX1100 where it really makes a difference. The E is NOT a performance car no matter what xmission you get. :wink:


Ditto,....I love my auto and up until my E every car I owned was a 5 speed (17 cars I think) If I get the urge to drive a manual I just get into my little hopped up civic hatch.....I bought the auto just so I would be a bit mellow and not want to fix up the E mechanically...

I feel a little gypped at not getting better gas mileage but it drives fine. I don't have to downshift from 5th to pass. A six speed would probably be silly, in terms of cost/benefit...it isn't like the engine has so much power that it needs to be spread out like you would in a turbo Carrera. Just a better gearing for mileage would do it.

As lkas said, you could roll start it, which is cool. But I don't know about the shifting fwd-rev-fwd-rev for getting out when stuck in snow---it's easy to let out the clutch too fast and kill it.

There are probably a zillion such little issues that on a day-to-day basis don't matter. If you have driving concerns that require minimizing slippage, maybe? Personal preference is the main criterion.

I feel a little gypped at not getting better gas mileage but it drives fine.
.

As lkas said, you could roll start it, which is cool.

Did some driving the other day, 282.8 miles, used 9.999 gallons of 87 octane @ $2.919, paid $29.19 in Waldorf,MD....06 EX-P FWD AT, less than 2,000miles on the odometer.....Not too many MT's can do that

As far as push starting.....I wouldn't be too sure 'bout that....puter needs to see engine turning (rpm)
before the start cycle can began.....guess if you pushed fast enough it might work.......newer cars are ALOT different from the older ones, hands down
( yeah i know, EVERYONE knows that)

The Motor Is Quiet At 80,i Would Only Buy A 5 Speed E.

WE GOT THE 05 AT DO TO THE FACT IT WAS THE deal !

When I went shopping for my 06, I test drove The Mt first then the AT. The higher rpm's at highway speed are noticeable in engine noise! I could easily tell the difference between the AT and the MT at 70 Mph. I chose the AT for my new 06. Much of my driving is at speed on the interstate. Taking into consideration that engine ware is computed by RPM's X Time, the AT will last longer. Also lower RPM's equate to improved gas Mileage. I plan on keeping this car as long as I can. So longevity is a factor in my decision. I too love to shift my cars. I have had over 20 standard transmissions in the last 40 years. But at this point in time, all factors taken into consideration, The automatic was my only choice!

Dom has got the right deal goin'.........
The 03 I had wouldn't have/will never get as good a mileage as the 06......
06 is geared like 4.50 ratio...03 was something like 4.90...........
06 is gettin' more than 25 per....couple days ago 28.2 per........
I'm not concerned about the bad everyone thinks they see wrong with the auto trans.....

3 years ago someone asked if y'all were good with your 5 speeds and y'all are still answering him? Hey Lildawgbox! Whadja get?

My 5-speed turns 500 rpm more than the auto version at 70 mph, but tows like a bandit, and just has an overall livelier "feel" than the auto version.
I test drove both extensively before deciding.
Bob

Bob


How's 'bout fillin' in your profile...........

Bah, profiles are overrated.:D

By the way I just picked up an over priced 03EX 5speed and have been loving every minute of it. Got rid of my 1.8T VW Dog... time to drop a turbo in the E.

lawl, nah