[ST7677]

Originally Posted by Swageo

Today I tried this rev'd up mode of driving, and felt sorry about my engine. If you drive in 2nd gear at 2k rpm @ 30 kmph and takeout your leg from gas pedal, it gives you a breaking effect. Is this comfortable ?

Also on 1st gear, you have to rev up the engine from 900 rpm to 1500 - 1800 before you actually release the clutch.

But you are true, if I could keep the engine at 2k (somehows), yes I see the power.

Swageo, no need to be sorry about the engine, we all know there is no ideal design and engineering is all about optimizing to reach your set targets. R18A engine is an engineering delight considering the objectives that the engineers targeted for.

As a user if you want best of it you need to understand the engine performance and see how it suits to your driving style. An easy trick for daily driving is to try and stay on the first torque curve. This will give you very good mileage along with power.
I tried to explain this crudely in my post above with upshift speeds. However driving is an art and can't really be explained. Good that you have started seeing the power, now it's just a matter of time where you will figure out how to do it smoothly.

Believe me, the choc-o-bloc Bangalore roads which I drive, average speed is 13kmph (it takes me an hour to cover 13 kms to my office). Most small hatches give a mileage of 12-13 kmpl on this route, I am very happy to get 10.5kmpl out of my Civic along with the power when I need it. It took me a while to reach this figure but thats where I am...

The point I am making is that the engine lets you have power and economy at the same time, provided you use it optimally.

[vasudeva]

If you are getting 10.5 kmpl at 13 kmph, then really congratulations.

[ST7677]

Originally Posted by Swageo

Though Civic is butter smooth on high speed, I still don't know how to drive it in city. There should be a new thread on "How to drive Civic in city"

Heard of Clutch??? Lol

On a more serious note, that's really a good topic to have for every car. Abroad there are forums which just discuss how to extract last bits from all kinds of things from Mileage (called Hypermileing), Performance, Handling, etc...

Originally Posted by Vasudeva

If you are getting 10.5 kmpl at 13 kmph, then really congratulations.

Thanks, well almost as it's primarily used for office commute with occasional non peak hour drives

[StarScream]

quick question for Civic AT owners - do you get better mileage if you use the paddle shifts to change gears in city driving?

[indivic]

Originally Posted by swageo

Thanks for giving me some news to cheer on.

So do you drive in 2nd or 1st all the time in City (normal and peak conditions), sometimes shift to 4th and never on 5th. ?

I go on 100ft road and this road is far better than many other.

Though Civic is butter smooth on high speed, I still don't know how to drive it in city. There should be a new thread on "How to drive Civic in city"

I drive in the 3rd gear most of the time - normal conditions, when the roads are free for upto 700mts or so I get upto 4th. I think you are still a bit nervous about getting some scratches on the car with the crazy driving out here, trust me treat the Civic like a longer hatch , you will be easily driving in 3rd most of the time.

Well, the fifth I use when I work late , or get on to GST/ECR roads on some trips

When it hits peak hour at Guindy, Kathipara - my normal commute, it is a pain, so I slot it in first gear and take my foot of the accelerator and just use the clutch+brake combo - dont ride the clutch though

Good point though the new thread you want

[indivic]

Originally Posted by swageo

Here's the car speed at 2k rpm. This is based on calculation and not from road test.

1st = 17 kmph
2nd = 30 kmph
3rd = 45 kmph

So can you really drive at this speed in city traffic conditions in 2nd or 3rd gear ?. So you always end up driving in 1st gear, if you really want to make quick overtakes

Check out these links, more than anything I bought the Civic purely on what was written here.

http://asia.vtec.net/Engines/R18A/index.html
Technical Overview of Honda's new R18 i-VTEC Implementation

I hope it helps you understand this work of art - in my view , much better

[csentil]

Originally Posted by StarScream

quick question for Civic AT owners - do you get better mileage if you use the paddle shifts to change gears in city driving?

Tried posting twice.. never went through.. trying again...

Nope.. There's no perceptible difference in terms of mileage between using AT and the paddle shift.

Actually you might not use the optimum gear shifts if you use the paddle shift for city driving. I find it inconvenient using it in city driving, given all the twists and turns I need to take. Paddle works best on the highway. Don't need the AT to change gears when I overtake or want to redline her.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by csentil

Tried posting twice.. never went through.. trying again...

Nope.. There's no perceptible difference in terms of mileage between using AT and the paddle shift.

Actually you might not use the optimum gear shifts if you use the paddle shift for city driving. I find it inconvenient using it in city driving, given all the twists and turns I need to take. Paddle works best on the highway. Don't need the AT to change gears when I overtake or want to redline her.

thanks for the reply csentil

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by ST7677

CRV is based on Civic's platform with the same 2ltr engine which comes US/Asian Civics.

Yes it shares the engine and no its not based on the same platform.

[swageo]

Originally Posted by ST7677

As a user if you want best of it you need to understand the engine performance and see how it suits to your driving style. An easy trick for daily driving is to try and stay on the first torque curve. This will give you very good mileage along with power.
I tried to explain this crudely in my post above with upshift speeds. However driving is an art and can't really be explained. Good that you have started seeing the power, now it's just a matter of time where you will figure out how to do it smoothly.

Don't you feel some engine 'sound' on 2nd gear @ 2k rpm ?. I feel its like grrrrrr, while some civic enthusiast might feel the same as vrooomm... Driving continuously with this sound make me feel as if I am scared to upshift the gear or don't know how to drive. Also not sure whether it is good for the engine in long term.

Now, if I shift it to 3rd, engine become silent (rpm drops to 1.8k), but power vanishes. I don't think I can get around this with Civic.

Originally Posted by indivic

Check out these links, more than anything I bought the Civic purely on what was written here.

http://asia.vtec.net/Engines/R18A/index.html
Technical Overview of Honda's new R18 i-VTEC Implementation

I hope it helps you understand this work of art - in my view , much better

As per this link, i-VTEC is mainly for highway drives, when you have light-throttle. On performance mode or normal city conditions, it does not offer anything new. Does this help us in city anyhow ?

[androdev]

swageo: i think diesel engine suits your driving style. but then again turbo charged diesels are also more suitable for highways. and worse, maybe be by your next diesel car, you will be expecting it to go vroom :-)

my suggestion would be to drive civic AT and observe the RPM range/engine sound, etc. where AT shifts. that RPM range will surely be healthy to stick to in your MT.

[indivic]

Originally Posted by swageo

Don't you feel some engine 'sound' on 2nd gear @ 2k rpm ?. I feel its like grrrrrr, while some civic enthusiast might feel the same as vrooomm... Driving continuously with this sound make me feel as if I am scared to upshift the gear or don't know how to drive. Also not sure whether it is good for the engine in long term.

How many kilometers have you logged as yet ? When you rev the engine beyond 2K rpm, it starts to clear its throat a bit, the sound is more pronounced when you hit 3K. That's when the i-VTEC is off !!

Normally at 2K rpm in 2nd gear you should be upwards of 30-35 Km/hr when you can shift to 3rd and keep it there. I don't feel the power drop off that drastically, but that could just be me coming from a NA IDI Indica

You are correct about the sound though after sometime it starts to become a little irritating for the occupants.

[ST7677]

Originally Posted by mpower

Yes it shares the engine and no its not based on the same platform.

CRV is on Civic Platform. Last Honda quarterly newsletter says so.

Originally Posted by Swageo

Don't you feel some engine 'sound' on 2nd gear @ 2k rpm ?. I feel its like grrrrrr, while some civic enthusiast might feel the same as vrooomm...

What sound??? Haven;t noticed any sound from engine at that RPM.

Moreover if you feel the sound only comes in 2nd gear, then most probably it is not from the engine. I suggest you drive another Civic (preferably which has done >10k km) and see if you still hear those sounds... May be specific to your car.

At 2k RPM in second gear your speed would be exactly 30kmph. That's a pretty comfortable speed to do in 2nd gear!

[swageo]

Originally Posted by androdev

swageo: i think diesel engine suits your driving style. but then again turbo charged diesels are also more suitable for highways. and worse, maybe be by your next diesel car, you will be expecting it to go vroom :-)

my suggestion would be to drive civic AT and observe the RPM range/engine sound, etc. where AT shifts. that RPM range will surely be healthy to stick to in your MT.

Yes, I should try an AT and see what honda wants.

For the first time, I glanced through the user's manual and it gives some idea on speed vs gear. If we follow that, it requires us to keep engine at close to 2.8k rpm. I don't like this high rpm, low speed driving.

Originally Posted by indivic

How many kilometers have you logged as yet ? When you rev the engine beyond 2K rpm, it starts to clear its throat a bit, the sound is more pronounced when you hit 3K. That's when the i-VTEC is off !!

Normally at 2K rpm in 2nd gear you should be upwards of 30-35 Km/hr when you can shift to 3rd and keep it there. I don't feel the power drop off that drastically, but that could just be me coming from a NA IDI Indica

You are correct about the sound though after sometime it starts to become a little irritating for the occupants.

1300 km on odo. Under 1.5k rpm, engine is very quiet. This is what one would expect from a petrol engine. At 2k, you starts "feeling" the engine at moderate level of spin, and at 3k its reving "high". Driving @ 2k most of the times in city is irritating. I hope either engine will become silent after 10k on odo or I get used to this.

Originally Posted by ST7677

CRV is on Civic Platform. Last Honda quarterly newsletter says so.

What sound??? Haven;t noticed any sound from engine at that RPM.

Moreover if you feel the sound only comes in 2nd gear, then most probably it is not from the engine. I suggest you drive another Civic (preferably which has done >10k km) and see if you still hear those sounds... May be specific to your car.

At 2k RPM in second gear your speed would be exactly 30kmph. That's a pretty comfortable speed to do in 2nd gear!

Its the engine revup sound I am talking about, and not rattling. One would expect certain speed when they feel that engine is spinning high (sound). This is difficult to explain, I know.

[indivic]

I noticed/remembered a few things

1) If I don't warm up (2-3 notches on the thermo) on cold starts, there is buzzing in the engine till it reaches normal operating temp

2) If I warm up , engine response is much better and more silent

3) Noise has definitely reduced since the third "free" service where I changed the engine oil and filter.

4) In normal driving pattern the tacho is between 1.5k - 18.k , below 1.5k it is useless, so don't be there

So...