Difference in Gear Ratios

The only advantage the auto has over the manual (that cannot be made up for by shifting technique) is the size of the highest gear. The auto's 4th gear is a little larger than the manual's 5th gear. It simply means that you *may* see a slight fuel economy improvement on the highway with the auto. However, you will easily be able to make up for that by shifting more conservatively in the city.

Well that confirms what I felt. Top gear in the man trans could stand to be a bit higher. My trade (tacoma 5spd man) had 28mpg highway. Tach was about 34rpm at 80mph. The E is 40rpm at 80.
shaka! 8)

I was surprised at how short the gears are on the E. It's really humming at 70-80 mph in 5th. The upside is that acceleration is very quick around town. The downside is that highway fuel economy will suffer, and it will be a less quiet/relaxed cruiser on long trips.

If I had my choice, I would love to have taller gears in the 5-sp E. I got to thinking that you could possibly achieve this with taller wheels/tires. But the stock ones are pretty big already -- 215/70R16. Can anything bigger fit in the wheel wells?

Or along a different line: is there any chance to someday have a different final drive ratio installed? (seems unlikely)

-Tom

[quote:c92e20c02a="TomB"]
If I had my choice, I would love to have taller gears in the 5-sp E. I got to thinking that you could possibly achieve this with taller wheels/tires. But the stock ones are pretty big already -- 215/70R16. Can anything bigger fit in the wheel wells?
-Tom[/quote:c92e20c02a]

I've seen pics of Elements on this board whose owners have replaced the stock Goodyear Wrangler HPs to meatier Goodyear Forteras 235/70/R16. According to them, they have no rubbing issue and the ride is actually smoother with the bigger tires. 8)

I have had Michelin Cross Terrain 235/70/16's on for about 3,000 miles now and they are great. No rubbing, great riding, less noise than stock tires.

[quote:27a61d3cdc="jdef"]I have had Michelin Cross Terrain 235/70/16's on for about 3,000 miles now and they are great. No rubbing, great riding, less noise than stock tires.[/quote:27a61d3cdc]
I concur with jdef.

[quote:b427bd37a4="TomB"]I was surprised at how short the gears are on the E. It's really humming at 70-80 mph in 5th. The upside is that acceleration is very quick around town. The downside is that highway fuel economy will suffer, and it will be a less quiet/relaxed cruiser on long trips.

If I had my choice, I would love to have taller gears in the 5-sp E. I got to thinking that you could possibly achieve this with taller wheels/tires. But the stock ones are pretty big already -- 215/70R16. Can anything bigger fit in the wheel wells?

Or along a different line: is there any chance to someday have a different final drive ratio installed? (seems unlikely)

-Tom[/quote:b427bd37a4]

Question: Have y'all had a vtec based, 4-valve/cyl engine before? It is not the same thing as the old standard large displacement, 2v/cyl V-6's and V-8's you might be used to.

Example: I had a '91 Chevy S-10 with the 4.3 V6. Redline was basically 5K. The truck had a 3.08 ratio, with the 4spd A/T. 55 was 2200 rpm. Sounds low and nice, but that is almost half of the available RPM band for that mill.

With that in mind, look at the vtec engines. They are built, read BUILT to rev. Higher revving in a Honda vtec motor does not ipso facto mean lower mileage. Setting this engine down to a lugging 2k rpm on the open road would not be pretty. It wouldn't be drivable.

So, before everyone jumps on the "...it revs too high on the freeway..." bandwagon, go back and chart the freeway rpm's on your older domestic engines against the factory redline and then do the same for the E. You might find that in a lot of cases, the E isn't using anymore of the available rpm band than other types of mills.

Oh, and I added the 235/70-16 Goodyear Fortreras to my E. They are 4% taller than stock, a difference, but not that much. I register 60mph when going 62.4mph.

Just my $.02 :wink:

[

b]Oh, and I added the 235/70-16 Goodyear Fortreras to my E. They are 4% taller than stock, a difference, but not that much. I register 60mph when going 62.4mph. [/b]

Click to expand...

I added that size tire as well only in a Michelin. No rubbing or anything except ever since the tires were installed I hear clicking/clanking sound coming from the brake assemby(I think) in the front and the rear when the car is cold. Is it possible that the larger tire can stress anything. Not ready to report it as a problem to the dealer as yet until I find out what it is first.

[quote:81c035204b="E-lated"]No rubbing or anything except ever since the tires were installed I hear clicking/clanking sound coming from the brake assemby(I think) in the front and the rear when the car is cold. Is it possible that the larger tire can stress anything. Not ready to report it as a problem to the dealer as yet until I find out what it is first.[/quote:81c035204b]

This is the 3rd Honda for me, and it is the 3rd that has what I call "cold brake clunk" syndrome. This means that the first time I apply the brakes when everything is at ambient temp, all four corners make the "click-clack-clunk" of the disc pads moving ever so slightly. Soon as they have been engaged just a bit, they have heated up enough to no longer move.

Mine was doing it a little bit from day 1, slowly more pronounced as the brakes begin to wear. The 2k2 Si did this from day 1 also. It's disconcerting, and I don't like hearing it, but it has zero mechanical impact.

Thanks alot. As usual I thought I was the only one. And you are correct about when it happens, usually first start in the morning. I was concerned that the larger tires I put on might have caused the CLANK.
thanks again
andy