'92 Accord: 3,000 rpm at 70 mph...

Awl --

Automatic, fwd, .... am I missing a gear, mebbe overdrive? I thought most cars did 80 mph at 3,000 rpm.

If 70 at 3,000 rpm is normal for this car, can I stick in a taller gear somewhere?

Thanks.

Reply to
Existential Angst
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"Existential Angst" wrote

You have a 4-speed, with a lockup torque converter. Are you feeling all the shifts, and the lockup? Is the shifter in position D4?

Different cars, different engine speeds.

Sure, if you have a machine shop where you can completely re-engineer the transmission.

Reply to
Sanity Clause

I believe I feel all the shifts, but not sure what a lockup is. Is a lockup the overdrive, a 5th gear? Shifter is in D4... leaving it in D3 is quite noticeable, ito engine speed.

I was hoping mebbe a shop could swap out a gear.

Reply to
Existential Angst

  1. do you get four shifts of five? [the fifth shift is the lockup clutch freezing the torque converter.]
  2. in fourth at freeway speed, if you press the throttle a little more, do the revs go up immediately or only as speed increases?

if you're only getting four and the revs increase immediately, the lockup clutch is not operating. not uncommon on this age of honda.

wire an l.e.d. into the lockup clutch circuit so you can see if it's being activated or not. if not, check the contactor switch on the transmission shifter and make sure it's working properly.

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those pics are for a civic, but the same issue affects the accord and it uses the same switch.

if that doesn't fix it, the torque converter needs to be replaced.

Reply to
jim beam

I'm home-bound today, but by tomorrow I'll be able to take the car on the highway, and pay close attention to this, and post back. Oh, I should add, this honda has low miles for its age, about 130K. Great advice, thanks.

Reply to
Existential Angst

addendum: if that doesn't fix it, and you are getting solenoid activation shown by the led, but no lockup, the torque converter needs to be replaced.

you should precede replacement with a transmission pressure test as well

- if the oil pump is not generating sufficient pressure, you may as well replace the whole transmission. jdm replacements are dirt cheap and generally very reliable.

Reply to
jim beam

In poking around the internet I found the following (from

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): Originally Posted by CB7tuner.com AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE GEAR RATIO COMPARISON - CB7 Swap Options: USDM F22AX 90-93 ACCORD DX/LX COUPE:

Diff Type & Tranny Codes: STD Only = PX4B

2.705 1 1.464 2 1.028 3 0.707 4 4.285 final 4th gear 195/60 R15 70mph = 2944 rpm 80mph = 3364 rpm

So, if this is correct, then it seems like you your tach should be showing close to 3000 rpm at 70 mph, assuming you are in lock-up mode.

Let's check the math....

195/60R15 Tires = 833 revoltions per mile (approximate), or 58310 revolution per hour at 70 miles per hour. This is 971.8 revolutions per minute at the final drive output. With a final drive ratio of 4.285 to 1, this means the transmission output shaft speed is 4164 rpm (971.8 x 4.285). The fourth gear drive ratio is 0.7074 to 1 (an overdrive), so the engine speed must be 2946 rpm (4164 x 0.7074, assuming torque converter is locked up).

Seem like a tach reading of 3000 rpm at 70 mph is reasonable.

If you want to go to a lot of trouble you could swap in a 94/97 Automatic (assuming it will fit). From the same reference as above:

USDM F22B1/F22B2 94-97 ACCORD COUPE/SEDAN:

Diff Type & Tranny Codes: STD Only = ?

2.736 1 1.483 2 1.026 3 0.674 4 4.133 final 4th gear 195/60 R15 70mph = 2707 rpm 80mph = 3093 rpm

But you are only going to knock down the 70 mph engine RPM from 2944 to

2707...is it worth the performance hit?

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

Aw, c'mon! Everyone knows there ain't no Sanity Clause...

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

Heck, my '84 GTI would turn about 4K @ 75... all day... miss that car

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

"C. E. White" wrote in news:ini3nf$97h$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

200 rpm will be quite noticible on the top end and not so much on the bottom. I have done this many times on different vieh. most of the time with good results. But sometimes it doesn`t make a whit of diff. just the chance you take. KB
Reply to
Kevin Bottorff

From 1st gear, I get 4 shifts, which place me in 5th gear.

In 5th gear, the tranny does not downshift upon pressing the throttle, it holds the gear.

All of which suggests the tranny is operating as designed, altho I think this high rpm operation is wasting gas. CE White's data, calcs also suggest that 3,000 at 70 is as per design. Altho I think what he and others are referring to as 4th gear is the 4th shift point into 5th gear, or that lockup point.

Thanks to all for all the useful replies,

Reply to
Existential Angst

You can test to see if the OD is functioning simply by cruising at 70 and flipping that OD button to off - assuming that you have one. You should feel it bump as it goes to a lower gear. If you feel nothing, you got a problem.

OTOH, I suspect that the OD button on some cars these days may not really be an overdrive but a torque converter lock but that's just a guess. 3K RPM @ 70 seems kind of high but wadda I know about 92 Hondas or going 70 MPH for that matter. Just get a car with a bigger engine or you could wear earplugs.

No, you can't stick a taller gear somewhere. My suggestion is you install oversized tires on the front. Are you running your car with 4 spacesaver spare tires? :-)

Reply to
dsi1

In my response to Jim, the tranny seems OK. But I thought of bigger front tires. I spose, for the sake of handling, bigger rear tires, as well. How bad would the handling be if I just got front bigger tires?

The sidewall says 195 60R15, and measure 23" in diam. The linkages around the tire could poss. clear 26", which would seem to make 3,000 rpm drop to

2650.

Seems do-able? Will I crash into a wall?

Reply to
Existential Angst

perfect, good.

unlikely - within limits, efficiency can be much better at higher rpm's. most manufacturers match efficiency with common cruising speeds.

technically, it's not a 5th gear, just a lockup clutch - it stops torque converter losses. when engaged, you get direct drive and a fixed ratio between rpm's and speed.

Reply to
jim beam

I've had speedometers change 10% with larger or smaller tires. Good time to use the GPS for ur correct speed. By the way have you checked your actual speed with a GPS ? You might not be going 70mph .

Reply to
FatterDumber& Happier Moe

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