some valuable info for 88-02 prizm's, corollas with the 3 speed auto

[thornburg]

Originally Posted by civic94

yup...

all the other corollas and prizms are like 2000 with the 4 speed. i figure it would take a while to break even in gas saved.

With the 1.6L and 4spd you'd be at ~2500 @ 60MPH, with the TC locked. Lately, in the cold, my OD won't kick in until the tranny warms up, until then I'm at ~3900 @ 60MPH.
Good thing in only lasts a minute or two...

[GasSavers_Somedude]

Wow, 70 mph @ almost 4k rpm? A 95 Civic LX auto that my family used to have goes 70 mph @ 3k. I think an S2000 runs 70 mph with the engine speed at around 4k.

[dkjones96]

1st and 2nd won't be longer in the 3 speed. Well, they might be but not because of the transmission gears being different. 3rd is a 1.00:1 just like 3rd in a 4-speed. It just lacks the 0.xx:1 overdrive.

The only reason they'd feel longer is because the final drive has been changed from say 4.10:1 to 3.53:1 to make up for the lack of overdrive. That would in turn make the same 2.8:1 and 1.5:1 seem higher. Lets play it out with a 4 speed auto having a 4.10 final drive vs a 3 speed with a 3.53

Gear---Ratio---4speed---3speed
1st-----2.8-----11.48----9.88
2nd----1.5------6.15-----5.30
3rd-----1.0-----4.10-----3.53
4th----0.75-----3.08

Not too far off on either extreme. The 3 speed can only work with what it has though and since the gears it does have are technically higher(transmission gear x final drive) than its 4 speed counterpart, it'll be slower.

[bowtieguy]

i've got the 5 speed and do ~2100 rpm @ 60. wish i had a 6th gear 'cause 3k comes quickly after that.

[dkjones96]

3000-3500 in the 70-75 range isn't that bad. Most engines run ~50% of their red line at that speed.

The Tracker turns 3233 at 75mph with a 6500 red line.

But, the Rebel turns about 7500 at 75 and is at the 8500 red line by 83. Driving with that may have warped my idea of a high highway rpm. I plan on putting a tachometer on the bike so that will probably really shock me.

[civic94]

ok, i re checked tonight and here are the exact measurements. the first time, 50 mph at 2100 rpm was probably the scanguage going there for a second, or my error

here is as follows:

40- 2050
45- 2250
50- 2500
55- 2740 rpm
60 - 3070 rpm
65- 3255 rpm
70 - 3520 rpm

this really sucks since many cars even with 4 cylinders (friends crv) has the engine buzz at 2000 rpm at 60 mph. basically im losing 20 mph rpm wise, since its at 2000 rpm at 40 on my car.

final conclusion, if you ever buy the base prizm or corolla with the 3 speed, make sure you dont drive over 45 mph 80% of the time to make it worthwile