I'm thinking of buying a Fit, but wonder about the gearing.

How many RPM does the tach show at, say, 55, 65, and 75 mph? I'm interested in both automatic and manual transmissions.

Thanks for anyone's help.

 

Top gear 3500 rpm MT, 2500 AT @ 70 mph. Do the math for other speeds. For a 1.5L engine, the AT is geared extremely long, but it is relatively relaxed at constant highway speeds.

 

Thanks so much for the info! I'm not sure how to do the math although I have the gear ratios. Anyway, the RPMs at 70 with an AT are a little lower than I expected which is good from my perspective.

 

If the AT is turning 2500 rpms @ 70, then multiply any given speed by 35.7 to get the rpms at that speed (assuming it's still in top gear); e.g. 60x35.7=2142.

If the MT is turning 3500 rpms @ 70, then multiply any given speed by 50; e.g., 60x50=3000 rpms. If max HP is at 6600 rpm, speed = 132 mph.

 

The AT will drop one or two gears in a heartbeat when you press the accelerator. Plus the torque converter (when not locked-out) gives a wide RPM variation in any gear. Going up hills it unlocks the converter and down shifts to 4th. I kinda like it but it bothers some people. It's not constantly searching for gears; Honda added grade logic so it holds 4th if you're still going up hill, even if you don't need the power. When it levels off it shifts back to 5th. Downhill it downshifts when you depress the brake. It's pretty clever.

The biggest complaint AT owners have is at times there is a perceptible "bump" when you approach a stop in just the last few feet when it shifts from 3rd to 1st. We've got threads questioning the PCM logic for this. Otherwise it is well behaved.

 

Selden - Very interesting. I'm going to go try this with my current car in fifth gear and see how it compares. So easy apparently: just divide the RPM by the MPH and use that as a factor. Can't wait!

Steve - I have no idea what a torque converter is (I'll look it up; don't bother explaining), but shifting down going uphill sounds like a good idea. One reason I like MTs is to try to keep from lugging the engine. I'll look up the threads about the bump. I try to coast up to stops anyway.

Lots to read here. Great forum; knowledgeable and helpful folks. I've learned a lot from reading, especially about things like Fit mileage.

 

I prefer MT, but have to admit that the Sport AT with the paddle shifters is a fairly satisfactory substitute (at the expense of AT power losses), and at highway speeds the engine is turning 600 rpms less than my previous car, which had a 2.5L engine. In sport mode, it can still downshift slightly when needed at speed on the highway, but it's not as annoying as many automatics on small cars, which hunt among gears at the slightest hill. And, of course, you can just blip the left paddle if you need more leverage for passing. A 1.5L engine is not a torque monster, so, AT or MT, downshifting is essential to get the engine into a range where it develops more power -- floor it at 2500 rpms, and nothing much is going to happen quickly.

 

I prefer MT myself, but the gearing on the Fit AT is better for me.

I checked my car yesterday and the RPM at 70 is 2250. I wish they would gear the Fit higher or add a 6th gear to improve the mileage. Sigh.

 

The torque converter (not a very descriptive name) is the hydraulic turbine between the engine and the geared transmission. It has a set of pumping blades and stator blades that are "pushed against" by the flow of pumped transmission fluid. It "converts torque" by allowing the engine to operate at a higher speed creating more force. In this sense a transmission is a torque converter so I'm not sure why it's called that. It takes the place of a clutch in an automatic transmission. It tends to waste energy (creating heat that is routed to the car's radiator) so modern cars "lock it" making a solid connection between the engine and the transmission once the torque converter isn't needed. The torque converter also results in reduced power to the wheels when compared to a manual transmission.

All automatic transmissions downshift when necessary. A MT is only as good as the driver, where autos are only as good as the engineer who designed them. The Honda's is pretty good. I wouldn't shift as often or as crisply as the auto does, using all 5 gears quickly and efficiently.

Even with the torque converter the automatic is rated at higher mpg than the manual, probably because of the lower ratio in 5th at highway speed and its shift logic.


Search for "lurch." That's how it's been described, but it's more of a "bump."

 

Around 3200 rpms at 65 mph on MT.

 

I appreciate your confirming and quantifying the difference between the MT and AT RPM. Thanks!

 

I certainly don't know all there is to know about a torque converter even after your explanation, but I wish Honda would gear either the MT or the AT higher! And I did test drive an AT for a couple of miles and didn't notice the lurch so maybe it wouldn't be a problem for me.

 

I have an '09 Sport and at 3000 rpm the speed is 62mph, from a GPS and Scangauge2.

 

37 MPG from a manual? Very impressive! Thanks for the info.