[Hanni_0176]

Oh man, where to begin...

Originally Posted by subwaynm

I've only driven this little Gem of a Car now for two weeks but I've read a bunch about how it lacks power... Well today I was driving around town like city driving and happen to come to me that I was going through the first four gears and wasn't much over 40mph???? The question came to me that just maybe it's geared to close in ratio??
Even if one through first four were close and five & six were for highway gears or just six even maybe the car would have more to offer on the toped.

This was the same problem with the VW Beetle until they came out with the Super Beetle that came out with another Ring/Pinon gear along with a different final drive gear.

Just wondering if anyone else has had these same thoughts and what your actual thoughts are on this topic?

Thanks for sharing your opinions

For cruising rpm's, yes the car does shift quick. For normal commutes (and when the engine is cold), I typically shift at 3k rpm's. At 40 mph, I'm in 5th gear, and at 50 mph, I'm in 6th gear. This is a close-ratio transmission, so I see nothing wrong with this. In the 5MT's I've owned in the past, I'd be in 5th gear at 50 mph, so there's not really any difference (i.e final gear at 50 mph). It's called cruising rpm's for a reason.

Making the ratios taller wouldn't help with lack of power. In fact, it does the opposite. For reference, the AT has wider gears than the MT.

You mention the "toped," I assume top end... but have you ever tried to push the car that high? With the current gearing, the car has a potential top speed of 168, but the car lacks the amount of hp/lb to reach it, limiting the car to 143 mph top speed. Taller gears won't help you go any faster. May I ask though... do you ever plan on exceeding 143 mph?

Originally Posted by R.S-HawK

The car works pretty well from 0-70mph, then again, I drive an automatic, so shifting through the first three sets is effortless.

Upwards of that, toque is non-existent. I can cook myself breakfast while getting the car from 70-100mph. It's frustrating when your main transportation routes are highways, but I still love it when I get the car into the some back roads on the weekends and keep the revs in the upper range.

I've never driven the AT, so maybe the acceleration from 70-100 mph is weak with the taller gears. My car is also lightly modded, and I never tried to take the car above 80 mph before the mods, so that may bias my experience. The temperatures are a bit colder right now, too. However, my car accelerates from 70-100 mph within a few seconds. Redlining in 4th gear takes me over 100 mph.

Originally Posted by subwaynm

My car is only two weeks old 375mi; so I'm not trying to hit 7,000 rpm, and even after break in I'd rather not run it that hard if I had a choice. Just my driving style I would guess.

After reading through these post I guess I do drive a little on the conservative side. Well will see after break in and t hen push it. For now I keep it around 3500RPM for shifting. :-)

To each his own. If you bought this car with the intention of keeping it below 5000 rpm, you may have bought the wrong car. The FA20 engine builds peak torque at 6600 rpm's. In other words, this engine is designed to operate at higher rpm's. The torque (and horsepower) dip of our cars tells a pretty good story about engine operation, if you ask me. The first dip begins at roughly 3200 rpm's, which puts the first powerband at 2k-3k rpm's for cruising acceleration. The dip ends at roughly 4800 rpm's, which puts our second powerband at 5k-redline for heavier acceleration.

If you wanted more grunt down low, you probably purchased the wrong car. With that said, I kept my car below 3200 rpm's during break-in, so I understand your position here. However, I think once you are done with break-in and get to push the car into it's second powerband a couple of times, you're entire perspective about this car will change.

Originally Posted by mrlewistan

i want more power for the highway. It feels under par on strait interstates where all cars are going around 80mph. It drives just fine in the city tho. Very comfortable

I can sell you the secrets to more power on the highway for just $9.95, and if you order now, I'll even toss in an additional DVD for free. Supplies are limited, and you don't want to miss the amazing offer, so please call now.

Jokes aside though... the secret... is... (downshift)

Originally Posted by Mikem53

Exactly.. My E36 M3 needed another cog as the 5 speed manual begged to be shifted one more time when in 5th.. 70 mph would be like 3300 rpms..
Geared low and perfect for city.. But it was not a relaxed hwy cruiser..

70 mph in this car is at about 3300 rpm's too...

Originally Posted by tennisfreak

I just wish we had 500-1000 more rpms to make some more power.

It sucks that power takes a shit after 7k rpm.

If the car had a higher redline and was capable of generating peak horsepower at a higher rpm, the separation between horsepower and low-end torque would be even worse. People already complain about the low-end torque as is.

Originally Posted by subwaynm

I'll keep that in mind; thanks

I just wish we had a little more mph without such high rpm's

Unfortunately, you bought the wrong car for that. If you want to be operating at low rpm's at higher mph's, you need wider gears. If you want more power at lower rpm's, you need more low-end torque. Fortunately, these are both things you can change by modifying your car. A set of 3.73 gears would widen you up a bit, and there are several forced induction options that generate peak torque at low rpm's (with a flat torque curve).