I'm trying to decide between an automatic and a 5 speed. I'm a 5 speed kind of guy, I usually HATE automatics, but I was extremely impressed with the automatic on the CR-V I drove with the grade logic. Unlike most autos, it seemed to always be in the RIGHT gear :shock:

I was impressed enough, that I am leaning towards the auto, which is unheard of for people that know me. Another thing pushing me in that direction is what I have been hearing about the 5 speed revving pretty high at higher speeds in 5th. I like to drive 80-85 on the highway when I can (yeah I know..) so this is an issue.

Can someone tell me what RPM they are turning @ 80 mph in the 5 speed and what RPM @ 80 in the automatic.

Estimates are nice, but I'd rather know the actual numbers if anyone knows 'em.

Thanks!

Not sure of the exact RPM's at speed but the 5 speed top gear ratio is 0.825, while the automatic top gear ratio is 0.738. This means, at a given speed, the automatic will have lower RPM's in top gear than the manual. EPA estimates have a 1 mpg advantage for the automatic in city and highway driving.

I'm between 3100-3200 RPM at 80 mph with the automatic. My wifes 98 Accord 5 speed does 3000-3100 rpm at 80 mph

A hair under 4000 at 80 in mine. The plus to that is very good passing power.

Just clocked my 2WD ex auto. 3300 at 80mph.

I calculated an RPM for the 5 Speed of 3840 using the fifth gear ratio of 0.825 and the final drive ratio 4.765.

I based it on the rpm of 3200 reported by one of the previous posts. I did the math using the fourth gear ratio of 0.738 and the final drive ratio 4.438 which is listed as the specs for the automatic.

Seems to confirm the reported 4000 rpm in one of the previous posts which doesn't state it but I assume was for the 5 speed.

This was a good question, I was wondering the same thing.

3100-3200 on my Auto EX4WD

Using the gear calculator on 4lo.com, assuming stock size tires:

Auto at 80mph should be at 3155.5 rpm
5 speed manual at 80mph should be at 3787.4 rpm.

The transmission ratio makes the manual rev higher, and the final drive ratio is different as well, with the manual, which makes the rpms even higher again.

I used the difflock.com data on the 2003 CRV to figure this out...

My calculations came out to:

3590 rpm @ 80 mph for the 5 speed manual with stock tires

and 2894 rpm @ 80 mph for the 4 speed auto with stock tires

See how this compares to what you were working with:

My calculations are that the stock tires have a diameter of 26.298"

Difflock.com says that the 5 speed CRV has a final drive ratio of 4.765 and a 5th gear ratio of .0738

The automatic has a final drive ratio of 4.438 and a 4th gear ratio of 0.638

I still can't figure out WHY this is. It is usually the other way around. Why the hell would you want the manual transmission models to rev at 700 rpm higher than the automatic in top gear like that?

OK, did some more math. Maybe someone can check my figures?

This is an overall gain of 2.2 inches in diameter and 0.8 in in width not sure if that will fit.

By going up to a 225/70R16 (a popular size for SUV tires) you would reduce the 5 speeds RPM to 3328 rpm @ 80 mph. Not at low as the auto, but a significant difference.

Am I wrong in thinking this would be the best of both worlds? You would gain just over an inch in ground clearance AND lower the crazy rev's at highway speeds without any significant performance loss.

The speedometer would read 66 mph when you were only going 60 though. That kind of sucks and it also means that your odometer is going to read higher than actual mileage. Speedometers can be recalibrated though, I think.

A less drastic and more affordable solution would be to go with a 215/75R15
There are some good SUV tires in that size including the excellent Pirelli Scorpion A/T

A 215/75R15 will fit on the stock rims and give you about 0.4 more tire width and 1.4 inches more tire diameter (0.7 inches more height/ground clearance.

This leaves you with 3424 RPM @ 80 mph in the 5 speed and a speedometer that will read 63 mph when you are going 60.

Here are the links I used if anyone want to mess around with this and/or check my findings:


http://www.tiresafety.com/size_class/size_nav.htm

http://www.difflock.com/buyersguide/newcars/2002CRV/technical.shtml

http://www.onlineconversion.com/bigger_tires.htm

I was using the 2003 Element for my calculations:
Tire diameter= 27.9 inches
Auto final drive ratio 4.438, 4th gear 0.738
Manual final drive ratio 4.765, 5th gear 0.825

I'm comfortable with the rpm's in our automatic as is, these Honda engines are made for high rpm's, so I don't think it is anything to worry about too much.

my auto ex 4wd runs 80 at 3350

i have not pushed my E to 80 mph yet
as it is still in the run-in period
but i will keep u posted once it is done with the run-in
and..i have a auto E :D

You know what? I just realized I did my calculations using the data from the 2003 CRV, it's possible that the Element has slightly different gearing.

I guess you guys don't trust someone who has a 5-sp? Like I said, a hair under 4000 at 80 in mine. I'm a hair under 3000 at 60 and just under 3500 for 70, so that comes out to 20mph per 1000rpm essentially.

I do beleive you and that confirms what I suspected.

The CRV revs at 3590 rpm @ 80 mph in 5th gear (manual transmission)

The element has a shorter final drive ratio so it revs slightly higher than the CR-V. I think this is probably to equal the performance out by overcoming the extra weight and aerodynamic drag of the Element.

OK, I'm not the math whiz, and it's obvious that some of you guys really know what you're doing with these numbers. So here's my challenge question:

Both the 5-speed and AT transmission AWD are rated at an average 24 mpg at highway speeds. Yet it would appear that the 5-speed runs ~3800rpm at @80mph, while the AT runs at ~3200 at @80mph. I'm no Einstein, but higher revs generally mean more gas, and for the two transmissions to achieve the same MPG would require them to test at identical rpms on the highway, rather than identical MPH on the highway.

What would be the difference in gas consumption for the above vehicles with the two different transmissions traveling at 80 mph for 1 hour? One runs at 3800, the other at 3200rpm.

No way to calculate that for sure. More RPM's does generally mean more fuel. The Element is also a lot less aerodynamic and a bit heavier than the CRV.

All together I don't think it would be more than 2-3 mpg though tops. The faster you go, the more the wind resistance and higher RPM will be a factor.

At 50 mph they are probably almost the same MPG.[/quote]

Just as the original poster, I have been a stick kind of guy. But, I test drove an Auto E and was very impressed. But I think I would still be happier with a stick.
On HondaElement.org boards is pretty telling thread, "Real Life MPG". If you read the posts you'll notice that the owners that list thier E's with Manual Trans are getting much better milage than the Autos.

http://www.hondaelement.org/showthread.php?s=8435be8c9d1871ea5b1c2b82
67b6978b&threadid=1720&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

Here's a link to the thread that works, photomatt: http://www.hondaelement.org/showthread.php?threadid=1720

Oops. :oops:

[quote:c35fdf6141="photomatt"]But I think I would still be happier with a stick.
[/quote:c35fdf6141]

If you like sprightly performance, definitely go with the stick. Honda geared the manual version significantly lower than the automatic. The result is a 0-60 time of about 8.1 seconds, vs. about 10.5 for the automatic. The stick version is about 3 seconds faster in the 1/4-mile than the auto.

I wish they would have geared 5th gear quite a bit taller, so it wouldn't rev so high at freeway speeds, but hey -- I'm not complaining! I see people asking about putting cold-air injection or even a supercharger on their auto E's, and I think even with 200HP or 220HP they'd only start catching up with the 5-speed version.

Honda tuned these vehicles at two very different targets: the 5-speed is tuned for flat-out booty-hauling, the automatic is tuned for best gas mileage (which, according to the EPA, is almost identical to the 5-speed's, so...)

Uhm people, this is TOTALLY NORMAL for a 4 banger manual of any kind. These motors are small, built to wind up and have no tourque even worth measuring. If they didn't run over 3,000 to 3,500 at highway speeds you'd have to downshift to third to even get passing someone. They simply need to be wound up to produce any sort of power and the power isn't even available until 3,500 rpms at minimum. Real power is over 5,000.

It's like this in all Hondas, all Toyotas, all Mitsu's (including my Eclipse)...any 4 cylinder for that matter.

Manuals have more "pep" than autos because they are geared deeper, causing higher rpms.

4000 RPM at 80. In fact, it's a constant:

2500 @ 50
3000 @ 60
3500 @ 70
4000 @ 80

To me, the answer would have been a 6th gear with a big OD to drop the RPM down substantially at 75-80mph for steady, flat cruising: say 20% reduction- 3200 @ 80?

Ah well,

Steve

THANKS to someone for asking about the RPMs when driving at 80MPH!! I just bought a 2003 Element EX, manual and had it delivered. When I drove it I noticed the RPMs seemed SO high compared to the 'normal' I'd been told about and experience with my other manual transmission vehicles. That range being 2200-3000. My Element went to 3800-4000 while 'cruising' at 80mph. I have called my Honda dealer and spoken with the service guys and they haven't a clue what it is supposed to be. I called Honda and they couldn't give me an answer. My service manager has been trying to find out for two + days what it SHOULD be. After reading the replies to one question on this site, I now know I can continue to drive it as it runs higher than 'normal.' Whew

80 mph = about 3100-3200 on the tach.

I have been driving a SOP FWD 5 speed EX for the past month. I compute 80 miles, one way to work, on freeway & country roads. On the freeway I avarage between 75 & 80. At 80, the rpm is just under 4000. At first it may seem that the rpm is too high, but for this motor I don't think so. The motor runs very quiet. I use to have a del sol that ran high rpms as well, and its still running. My son drives it. Plus, the way the 5 speed is geared, at 80, you still have power to pass if you want to, unlike my Accord. With 4000 miles on the E, and running these speeds, I am getting 26mpg.

I don't typically drive UNDER any posted speed limits, but I find it interesting that some folks "need" to have the power to pass (other people? things?) when they're already going 80 miles an hour? Like what, other people already going 80 is somehow hindering your progress? Wish I had somewhere to be that quickly that was that important. Sadly...

[quote:93d2e6cf0f=" "]I don't typically drive UNDER any posted speed limits, but I find it interesting that some folks "need" to have the power to pass (other people? things?) when they're already going 80 miles an hour? Like what, other people already going 80 is somehow hindering your progress? Wish I had somewhere to be that quickly that was that important. Sadly...[/quote:93d2e6cf0f]

Driving 85mph in Texas, between Dallas and Austin, it was clear I *was* hindering other people's progress. Even with the rental car, I wouldn't go faster, so I just stayed to the right...

-brendan

I normally cruise at about 83 to 84 in my auto and the rpms are 3500, or just a tad less.

3000 74mph
3100 77mph
3200 80mph

give or take a little... i chose the auto as it was not a 'buzzy' as the 5spd at my normal cruising speed but i did like the better acceleration of the 5spd.

[quote:f57b0bfdc6=" "]I calculated an RPM for the 5 Speed of 3840 using the fifth gear ratio of 0.825 and the final drive ratio 4.765.

I based it on the rpm of 3200 reported by one of the previous posts. I did the math using the fourth gear ratio of 0.738 and the final drive ratio 4.438 which is listed as the specs for the automatic.

Seems to confirm the reported 4000 rpm in one of the previous posts which doesn't state it but I assume was for the 5 speed.

This was a good question, I was wondering the same thing.[/quote:f57b0bfdc6]

Nice math!!!

yeah its right at 4k

I've got EX AWD 5spd, and at 80 mph, it's at 4000. The final drive ratio is different on the manual, which also explains why it's faster off the mark than the auto. I almost didn't buy the E because the auto drove like a turtle.

Drove mine to the big city of Birmingham Al. to watch the Triplets of Bellville VERY GOOD MOVIE. I have a 4wd EX model with the automatic tranny. At 90 mph I was spinning at 36-3700 rpm at 100 mph and I cruised at this for about a half mile the tach. stayed steady at 4 grand. I love all the computations in the previous posts I guess I am more of a hands on type person. seems easier to me and I dont have to show my work. :D
P.S. Also while in B'ham we had to drop off $175 at the Police station to pay for my wifes speeding ticket. I dont know why she has to drive so fast :roll:

[quote:55e5a99d8c=" "][quote:55e5a99d8c=" "]I don't typically drive UNDER any posted speed limits, but I find it interesting that some folks "need" to have the power to pass (other people? things?) when they're already going 80 miles an hour? Like what, other people already going 80 is somehow hindering your progress? Wish I had somewhere to be that quickly that was that important. Sadly...[/quote:55e5a99d8c]

Driving 85mph in Texas, between Dallas and Austin, it was clear I *was* hindering other people's progress. Even with the rental car, I wouldn't go faster, so I just stayed to the right...

-brendan[/quote:55e5a99d8c]

I'm assuming you were on i35e-s. Not sure how the heck 80 was impeding other people's progress. 5 years ago, it would have been, but with all the construction on 35...you're lucky to get 70. There's only a little stretch for about an hour leading up to Waco that you can cruise on, the rest is molasses with all the construction. Either that or you drive at 3am. ;)

[quote:4892f9d901=" "][quote:4892f9d901=" "]Driving 85mph in Texas, between Dallas and Austin, it was clear I *was* hindering other people's progress. Even with the rental car, I wouldn't go faster, so I just stayed to the right...[/quote:4892f9d901]

I'm assuming you were on i35e-s. Not sure how the heck 80 was impeding other people's progress. 5 years ago, it would have been, but with all the construction on 35...you're lucky to get 70. There's only a little stretch for about an hour leading up to Waco that you can cruise on, the rest is molasses with all the construction. Either that or you drive at 3am. ;)[/quote:4892f9d901]

Yeah, this was mid-1990s, when I was travelling from DC to Dallas every other week for the job. Sorry to hear about the congestion...no wait, you're moving to Hawaii? No sympathy then, you're escaping! :)

-brendan

[quote:8a586d966b=" "]I don't typically drive UNDER any posted speed limits, but I find it interesting that some folks "need" to have the power to pass (other people? things?) when they're already going 80 miles an hour? Like what, other people already going 80 is somehow hindering your progress? Wish I had somewhere to be that quickly that was that important. Sadly...[/quote:8a586d966b]

I cruise at 85, which is 15 over in Michigan and I still get passed.

Hello...

I am wondering if there is something wrong with my 07 SC.

It seems as if the engine has a very high RPM. I am doing 80 and the RPM's are at 5,000...

Is that normal??. Is anyone else noticing that?

It seems to me that it needs another gear..haha.

Any help would be appreciated...Thanks

That is common, thats why we do 6th gear conversions. I went as far as changing my final drive as well. Im getting about 2800rpm at 85mph.

thats normal and slow down:lol:

5000 rpm at 80 mph is high. Do you have an automatic or manual transmission (that's a hint to fill out your profile info by the way)? And if you have an automatic, do you accidentally have it locked in 3rd gear?

Check this thread to see about what the cruise RPMs should be at for different speeds & transmissions. The SC's tire diameter is close enough to the regular LX/EX tires that the chart in the thread will get you to within a hundred or so RPM of where you should be sitting. Granted, I didn't include 80 mph cruising in the chart, but the only way I could see you sitting at 80 mph and 5000 RPM is if you have an automatic and have locked out 4th and 5th gear by hitting the OD button on the side of the shifter.

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?p=501917#post501917

Thanks for the replies..

I have a manual transmission. how did you do the six gear fix?

has to be a manual trans. thats normal with mine.

It's crazy...I feel as if the engine is going to come through the the dash. Do you think the dealer can fix the gear ratio?

Thats higher then mine at 80 but there is a few people that have done the 6 speed mod and I am going to do it to a trans that I bought and will send it to Honda Gandi to get it done. There are a few links on doing the mod and the parts are not that expensive.:smile:

Something has to be wrong, thats not normal. I have a 07 sc and it dosent act like that.

80 mph with a manual trans should be running at 4,000 RPM on the dot. It's completely normal, and this car/engine/transmission seems to like the high RPMs, as my car still can do 26/27 mpg on the freeway at 75 mph. Shift into 5th and drive it.

Welcome, DJ.

As Soldierguy noted, 5,000 rpm @ 80 mph is higher than expected, assuming you're in 5th gear. On my 2004 MT in 5th, the tach shows 4,000 rpm @ 80 mph, 4,500 rpm @ 90 mph. I'm not aware of any difference in MT gear ratios between the SC and regular Es.

If your tires not the stock size (225/55-18 for the SC), that will throw off both the tach and speedo. Still, redline is 6,500 rpm, so I wouldn't worry about it.

P.S.: I changed the title of the thread so folks can tell what it's about from a list view.

Hello-
I have a 2004 Element, AWD EX(i think) 4 cylinder, and have spent most of the time driving in town- I am driving cross country and it seems to require high rpms to get above 60mph and stays at about 3000 to 3200 rpms at 70 - 80mph. Is this normal? I feel like I am forcing it to go fast... I have just done my 30,000 mile maintenance (not cheap) so it has been well maintained, engine sounds OK to me... I am used to commuting in a sedan, and in that vehicle, after going into overdrive it would drop back down to about 2100 rpms and cruise along at high speed. Seems like my E requires a lot of foot on the pedal. Any opinions? Also....(there are 4 people with a good amount of stuff in the car, not pulling anything, empty roof rack.) Thank you!!! I am still about 1800 miles away from home, so I hope to see that this is normal......

OK my mistake.. should be an AWD LX automatic. I don't know, has the moon roof. Sorry I'm in a hotel, can't check my records! Anyway, seems like these rpms are normal from what I am reading around the forum? I am also driving through many mountainous areas in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming etc. So at these inclines with all my junk in the E is prob adding to the sluggishness I am feeling....?

I cruise on the highway @ approx 3200 rpms (75mph) by myself in my '05 AWD EX. With a load full of junk and people....sounds like what you are describing is normal and typical.

There's only a little over 2 liters of 'gitty-up' coming out of that 4-Cylinder and it has enough work to do just to propel that brick-like aerodynamics down the road.

Its an Element.....embrace it for all its short comings ;-)

Yeah, Elements turn high RPMs. It takes some getting used to, especially if you're used to driving American cars that bump their mileage rating by crusing at ultra low RPMs at highway speeds.

OK, that makes me feel much better. Just want to make sure this was typical. My wife and I love our E, and it has been cross country once already with us. By far a better value and superior quality to any American vehicle. We are definitely in love with our E.
Thanks

My '08 SC only turns about 2500 rpms, or so, while doing 75 down the highway. I've been told it's the new 5 speed auto, with improved gearing ratios.

When Honda went to the 5 speed-auto ('07 I believe), you end up with 4th & 5th being overdrive ratios (less than 1:1). 4th gear is 0.733:1 and 5th is 0.566:1

In my '08 @65mph I am barely turning 2,000rpm.

Yeah, Elements turn high RPMs. It takes some getting used to, especially if you're used to driving American cars that bump their mileage rating by crusing at ultra low RPMs at highway speeds.

I'm not sure it's that... American cars, at least until the last few years, typically used pushrod engines that were tuned for low end torque. When you have gobs of power at the low end.

In the case of the Element, it seems like just a poor choice for gearing, especially since the 07 Automatic fixed the issue. I had a 2001 CR-V with aless powerful engine than the element (146bhp 2.0L), and no low end torque to speak of. With a 4 speed transmission, it cruised at 60 mph at around 2400, and 80 at around 3200 (vs 3000 and 4000 in the Element).

On a side note, the sound of the engine in the Element, while running at similar speeds, is not as noticable as the one in the Scion xB (pre-'08), but it is more noticable than the Mazda5 (all of these are geared about the same).

I cruise on the highway @ approx 3200 rpms (75mph) by myself


I too, find this to be my rpm. It was really bothering me as well at first, when the car I traded for the Honda was a Lincoln which turned 1700 rpm at freeway speeds! Talk about lazy....

at 60mph im at 3k rpm. sucks how the manual version has even HIGHEr rpms.

My 03 revs at 3800 RPM at 80MPH. It is still taking a bit to get used to. But it also seems that is right about when my engine is most powerful. If I need to pass all my power is right there I don't really need to downshift to pass or go up hills.

i just posted something similar the other day when i finally took my new E on the Hwy and found it reving at 3000 at 65mph. I find it higher then other vehicles but from what i gather, many are saying this is normal.

My '08 SC only turns about 2500 rpms, or so, while doing 75 down the highway. I've been told it's the new 5 speed auto, with improved gearing ratios.

Same here - 08 SC, about 2500 @ 80mph - Atlanta freeway traffic is fast :-o

I have a 2005 AWD EX M/T and i get between 2500 and 3000 rpm at 65 MPH. At about 75 mph it creeps up to 4000 and between 80 and 95 it will keep going till about 5500 at 95 to 100. Dont ever go that fast in an E, even though it is more than capable of traveling at that speed, state troopers tend not to like it too much. Virtually all of my driving occurs driving from my home in Montgomery County, MD to Baltimore on primarily highways so it works out fine. The only problems i have is on windy days my pleasant brick becomes a sail for the wind and i get knocked about the highway.

Hi all.
I'm looking to buy a used Element (must have the factory sunroof) and am wondering how many RPMs the engine is turning at 70 mph for 4 speed manual, 4 AT, 5 AT? Any gearing difference between 2wd and awd? I will do a lot of highway driving so lower rpms are better! Thanks in advance for any info.

I am turning 3,500 rpm's at 70 w/ the 5 speed MT.

See the following thread:.

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56822

I have had my for a month and I get 25-26 at 60 mph, I get around 21 at 70, but typically I do more then 70 when at that speed. Range is about 325 for a tank at 60, maybe a little more, that part is what gets me every other vehicle I have owned will go 450+ on a tank regardless of size. My E runs about 3200 at 70, 3000 at 60, I would be little concerned about the rpms at a given speed as thats relative to many other things. Mine is a AWD auto 4 speed, the newer ones are 5 speeds autos.
I have the moonroof, I think that only the 4wd(newer?) models have the moonroof, its not a sunroof per say.

Chris

We have a 06 MT. At 70 it is turning about 3500. The MT is actually a great cruising car. We often travel the Mass Pike to NY with the cruise engaged at 70mph. it will hold speed regardless of the incline. Our average mileage sine new is about 22.4. Thats about 75% city, 25% highway. An automatic will turn a lower rpm. you might get a bit better mileage with an AT also.

Multipel threads merged.

I have a 2008 5 speed. Is it bad to do a road trip at like 4000 rpms for a long time? I feel really guilty with the rpms that high and havent done a road trip yet but am a little hesitant. 4000rpm at 80mph with only a 6500rpm redline. seems like you are awefully close to redline while cruising. any input?

get taller tires,dont look at the spedo,slow down.dont worry about it. take your pick.they all work.4000 is kinda high for that speed is it in 5th gear? are the tires to short(shorter than stock)? now that I read what Ive said I'm not much help.

get taller tires,dont look at the spedo,slow down.dont worry about it. take your pick.they all work.4000 is kinda high for that speed is it in 5th gear? are the tires to short(shorter than stock)? now that I read what Ive said I'm not much help.

80mph in 5th gear is roughly 3900rpm. This is with stock tires. On road trips on the interstate it is quite common to do 80 or even faster especially for prolonged periods of time. I would assume Honda would account for this but I am wondering if people have done this trouble free.

I wouldn't (and don't!) worry about it. My 07 SC has nearly 50k miles on it, and fully 45k of that has been at Interstate speed. I do use synthetic oil exclusively-remember Honda builds engines for F1 racing, the S2000 roadster has a way high power band and I believe the redline on it is 9000 r's. The only harm I see being done is the gas mileage suffers a bit :D

80mph in 5th gear is roughly 3900rpm. This is with stock tires. On road trips on the interstate it is quite common to do 80 or even faster especially for prolonged periods of time. I would assume Honda would account for this but I am wondering if people have done this trouble free.I drive from Detroit to Chicago and back every other weekend, only stopping for gas before I get into Illinois, and my E with 53,000 miles handles it just fine. I use whatever sludge "they" dump into it when I take it in for an oil change, and those oil changes are never at less than 7,000 miles (normally closer to 9,000 by the time I actually get around to having it done) and that includes driving around the Detroit suburbs and Chicago all the time.

Auto engineers are smart people, and by far smarter than 99 percent of the people that own the automobiles they engineer. Don't worry, they've accounted for the MT Element's engine running at 4,000 RPM at 80 mph. Plant your foot on the gas, turn the radio up, and drive the car.

Apologies for reviving an old thread.

Within the last couple of months or so, I've noticed that my E is pushing 4500+ rpm at 80 mph while in 5th gear. Before, I was seeing the same 4000 rpm at 80 that is posted in this thread.

I installed a set of Michelin LTX 225/70/16s about 8 months ago, but my understanding is that the actual diameter of the new size shouldn't have changed, meaning that my acutal speed is the same as before.

Any idea what could be causing this? I had the rear differential fluid changed at the dealership about 10k miles ago. I haven't gotten around to doing my transmission yet (just got the fluid in last week). I've also changed the spark plugs and cleaned my air filter since the issue appeared. My E has about 45,000 miles on it.

Really? And you have a MT? What you describe is not possible unless the clutch is slipping, and if it was slipping that badly you'd sure as heck notice it in just trying to get it moving from a stop, among many other "what's going on?" issues.

The rear diff fluid will have no bearing whatsoever on this, nor will changing the transmission oil.

Yes, it's an MT and I assure you I'm in 5th. I haven't felt the clutch slipping and I've done a couple hard launches just to check for that.

Without the tires suddenly being 2" smaller, then I would cast doubt on instrumentation accuracy. IOW, the tach is out of whack. Worth checking out if it bugs you that much. Everything else is a straight-thru mechanical connection that isn't going to arbitrarily increase by over 10% unless somebody changed something big.

Tell you what. Reset the engine computer by disconnecting the battery and letting it sit for 20 minutes. Reconnect (don't forget to restore radio code and driver window) and see if the ECU defaults normalize things. The tach reading is controlled by the computer, and if its parameters have been glitched it could be lying to you.

I'll try resetting the ECU tonight and report back. Thanks!

I disconnected the battery yesterday while I was doing some maintainence, no change. I was wrong about 4500 rpm, its closer to 4250.

http://imgur.com/ThKOys.jpg (http://imgur.com/ThKOy.jpg)

The new tires might be part of it. In tire measurements, the first number is the width, the second number is the height expressed as a percentage of the width, and the third number is rim size. The stock tires are 215/70/16, and 70 percent of 225 is more than 70 percent of 215, meaning your tires are in fact larger diameter than the originals.

Now, I don't think there's enough difference to account for all of the difference, but they will throw things off a bit, I should think.

Yeah I've noticed that when I'm going about 80mph, I'm at 4k RPMs. The last car I owned was a 98 accord 4 cyl 5 spd and I was at 3200 RPMs when I was going 85mph. Guess maybe once my warranty runs out I should look into upgrading to a 6spd?

That's part of the reason I'm looking at this. Besides the fact that I'm alarmed when stuff changes unexpectedly, I want to make sure there's no transmission issues before I do the 6 speed mod.

I don't recall mine going around 4K rpm at 80 mph. I'll pay more attention next time. That seems odd though to hit 4K rpm at 80 mph spcially with a 5 speed MT.

Just drove today at 80 mph with odo at around 3250 or 3300 rpm with AT.

My cars:
'04 Accord I4 5 speed manual - 2800rpm@70mph
'08 Element SC I4 5 speed automatic - 2300rpm@70mph

Of course my Accord will torch her E 0-60, but the auto trans on her car is very smooth. Her E is nicer for driving in traffic!

Finally got my hands on an OBD2 scanner. Loaded up the realtime datastream and saw that my tach is ~500 rpm high. I'm pretty relieved to see that I don't have some sorta weird mechanical issue but I guess I need to look into a new instrument cluster.

EDIT: Probably related to TSB 07-087 (http://www.skidmore.edu/~pdwyer/e/files/campaign_and_recall_bulletins/a07-087.pdf), as outlined here (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42065). Going to get an appointment next week.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my questions!

I was always dissatisfied with the gear ratios on my 2WD '04 5MT. Besides the high RPMs at cruise I found it annoying that accelerating from a stop, especially with the steering wheel turned, the tires (undoubtedly one only, probably the inside one) were too likely to lose traction and squeal. It was necessary to feather the throttle and accelerate very slowly to avoid this.

So on my 2WD '08 SC I got the 5AT, and have been quite happy with my choice. Lower cruise RPMs and less squeal on take-off.

My 5 speed automatic 2010 turns 2200 @70. So at 80, which is 14.28% more speed, it would turn 14.28% more RPM or a little over 2500 RPM. However....like above mentioned....I don't ever go 80. Not in this top heavy short wheel base box. It's just not designed for that.

My 5 speed automatic 2010 turns 2200 @70. So at 80, which is 14.28% more speed, it would turn 14.28% more RPM or a little over 2500 RPM. However....like above mentioned....I don't ever go 80. Not in this top heavy short wheel base box. It's just not designed for that.Pfft, put better tires on it and you'd be surprised. I regularly do 90+ with mine here in the D and it does just fine. At 70 you'd get run over, at 80 the mileage has already fallen in the crapper, and after that the difference isn't enough to worry about.

I'm trying to decide between an automatic and a 5 speed. I'm a 5 speed kind of guy, I usually HATE automatics, but I was extremely impressed with the automatic on the CR-V I drove with the grade logic. Unlike most autos, it seemed to always be in the RIGHT gear :shock:

I was impressed enough, that I am leaning towards the auto, which is unheard of for people that know me. Another thing pushing me in that direction is what I have been hearing about the 5 speed revving pretty high at higher speeds in 5th. I like to drive 80-85 on the highway when I can (yeah I know..) so this is an issue.

Can someone tell me what RPM they are turning @ 80 mph in the 5 speed and what RPM @ 80 in the automatic.

Estimates are nice, but I'd rather know the actual numbers if anyone knows 'em.


Thanks!

I have an 07 Element DC with the 5 speed automatic and the stock 18" wheels. At 80mph my Rachel reads 2550 rpm.

EHello...

I am wondering if there is something wrong with my 07 SC.

It seems as if the engine has a very high RPM. I am doing 80 and the RPM's are at 5,000...

Is that normal??. Is anyone else noticing that?

It seems to me that it needs another gear..haha.

Any help would be appreciated...Thanks

I too have an 07 SC. At 80 my tach is only reading 2550. I'm running the stock 18" wheels and tires. I know that Honda has a TSB out for inaccurate gauges.