Gear ratios, 6 speed manual

[carlg1212]

Anyone else notice the ratio between 4th and 5th gear is short? Also, I'm pulling about 3000rpm @ 72mph in 6th gear...I would have thought it'd be less than that, say, around 2500rpm. I'm thinking fuel mileage. A 7th gear would be nice but I'm not sure it's necessary (I read somewhere the automatic transmission has a 7th gear?). Before I start regearing, I figured I'd ask and get some other opinions.

EDIT: the high(er) RPMs in 6th gear gives me good pickup though in the event I pass someone, can't deny that.

[MachVEvan]

At 72 mph, the car is out of it's optimal rpm range for mileage.

The CRZ is actually better than most Japanese 6 speeds when it comes to cruising rpm. In the Evo or the STi, you will be turning 2800 at around 60 if I'm not mistaken.

[corsairmarks]

The CVT has a 7th "gear" in the sense it gives you 7 simulated ratios in manual mode. CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission - the ratio changes on the fly to keep the engine near the optimal RPM for a given situation. Its essentially a belt hung between two moveable pulleys, although the ones in the CR-Z are conical. In the character of a sporty car, Honda chose to offer a manual "shift" mode on the CVT where it will try to stick in a given ratio until you tell it to shift, rather than running purely by computer control.

That said, perhaps if first gear wasn't such a big ratio (3.143) we'd have a bit more room for lower overdrive gears. Here's an article about how stuff works, straight from the horse's mouth: 2011 Honda CR-Z: Powertrain - Honda.com.

Perhaps the CVT gets better mileage because it can get all the way to .529 whereas 6th gear in the manual is .689.

[Synapz]

I think the 6th gear is perfect for highway, still ok for noise, and has power to pass without downshifting.

I don't like 3rd gear, going from 2nd to 3rd seems like going from 2nd to 4th.

[Varmint]

For reference, here are the numbers.

1st - 3.143
2nd - 1.870
3rd - 1.303
4th - 1.054
5th - 0.854
6th - 0.689
Final Drive Ratio 4.11

Around town, I frequently find myself skipping over 5th. I get up to speed using 1st through 4th, then put it in 6th to coast and maintain speed. I use 5th when passing at highway speeds, or cruising up the on-ramp.

[MachVEvan]

Around town, I frequently find myself skipping over 5th. I get up to speed using 1st through 4th, then put it in 6th to coast and maintain speed. I use 5th when passing at highway speeds, or cruising up the on-ramp.

I found myself doing that a few times this week. It makes great sense when trying to maintain a high average mpg.

[andrewr]

Yes the shift between 4th and 5th does seem a bit short if you are talking about just getting up to highway speeds one gear after another, but I get the feeling 5th gear is at the ratio it is for a slightly different purpose. I might be wrong, but the way I drive the car I come up with the understanding that 1st through 4th are acceleration gears, while 5th and 6th are both overdrives. Why two? I think because one works well in-town and one works best on the highway. I've noticed I can get some crazy high MPG numbers floating through town in 5th gear between 30-35 mph, whereas sometimes 6th can be just a bit too low for those speeds but is great for 55-60 mph. I'm also one of those people who rarely see freeway speeds, just lots of 55 mph roads and towns to slow down for.
So, yeah, my best guess in a nutshell: 1st-4th = accel gears, 5th = in-town high mpg overdrive, 6th = high mpg highway overdrive. Mind you, whether im right or not, I do average 46 mpg with that mindset

[human668]

Originally Posted by andrewr

.... 1st-4th = accel gears, 5th = in-town high mpg overdrive, 6th = high mpg highway overdrive. Mind you, whether im right or not, I do average 46 mpg with that mindset

I think 5th is for top speed.

[carlg1212]

Originally Posted by andrewr

So, yeah, my best guess in a nutshell: 1st-4th = accel gears, 5th = in-town high mpg overdrive, 6th = high mpg highway overdrive. Mind you, whether im right or not, I do average 46 mpg with that mindset

Yeah man, thanks for the suggestion. This morning, I geared through 1-2-3, then @ 40mph in 3rd went right to 5th, and it worked out well. Totally skipped 4th gear altogether.

[dntower85]

That is a bit short for the Hwy, The CVT is lower around 2200-2400 in Eco mode I think.

But it isn't as bad as my S2K which is at 4000 rpms at 80 in 6th. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Its like riding a motorcycle you go 100miles then you want to stop for a few hours.