Has anyone else noticed that the '04 Civic EX 5-speed runs at high RPMs. I mean this is my first Honda, so maybe they all did this, but at about 3000 RPM in 5th gear I'm only doing about 60. Is this normal? Is the engine made to run this high, I assume it is or else they would not have made the gear ratio like that.

On my old car, a plymouth POS, it liked to ride between 2,000 and 3,000, so I would shift around 3,000. Does this mean for the Civic I should be riding it between 3,000 and 4,000?

Thanks for all the help guys!

I'd help you, but I've never driven an 04' Civic. But, I can tell you that you shouldn't have wasted your money on that.

what's wrong with the Civic?

there's nothing wrong w/ the car. jus isn't as popular as some of the older civics i guess.

as for that, nothing is wrong. simply the way the gears are set-up. thas not too bad, in my ITR im sittin around 3400 in 5th at 60. jus short gears are all.

My b16 runs 4000 rpms @ 70mph in 5th gear Smaller engines need higher rpms for performance, they also conseqently tend to use less fuel. so in your new civic, you are probably only burning the same amount of fuel @ 3000 as your old car was at 2000.

my Razor scooter runs 8k after the 5th pushoff...beat that

There's not really anything wrong with the civic, they look great, just don't run with the older vtec models. I was just giving you a hard time just like I do with my buddy, mainly because he could've gotten a better car for the price he's paying. Just an opinion though, it's your car and if your happy with it, that's really all that matters.

Well, to be honest, I haven't bought the car yet, but I will be shortly. I'm getting it for $1400 under invoice, which is a really good price. If you have a suggestion of another car for me to consider, let me know because I compared this to the Corolla and like the Honda better. I just wanted to go Japanese because all my friends cars last to 250k miles(Hondas), where my 2 plymouths died at 110k and 60k.

Well, you can't complain with the deal your getting, I would say the car is most definately worth what your getting it for. They are nice cars, just not for what my buddy's paying. He could've gotten a hell of a lot better car or two for what he's having to pay. But no, for that price; That would have to be the car to go with.

I got the same Car bought it 2 months ago and i was freakin out when i saw the RPM as well 3 at 60 suckin the gas down..

Ok, I mean I'm sure they planned it this way so you would have some power in 5th. Because on my other cars I never did. If I wanted to accelerate at all I had to downshift.

The only thing that bothers me is when I go on long trips I like to put the cruise at 80 or 85 and the engine will be doing like 3800 RPM. Am I going to be damaging the engine running it for like 6 hours at 3800 RPM?

Has anyone else noticed that the '04 Civic EX 5-speed runs at high RPMs. I mean this is my first Honda, so maybe they all did this, but at about 3000 RPM in 5th gear I'm only doing about 60. Is this normal? Is the engine made to run this high, I assume it is or else they would not have made the gear ratio like that.

On my old car, a plymouth POS, it liked to ride between 2,000 and 3,000, so I would shift around 3,000. Does this mean for the Civic I should be riding it between 3,000 and 4,000?

Thanks for all the help guys!

thats kinda high. i go 70 mph @3000 rpm and 80 mph @3500 rpm...or close to 3500 rpm. i think the final gear ratios were changed.

Our Civics desperately need a 6th gear.

You're car is still going to get great gas mileage even though you're sitting at nearly 4k rpm when you're cruising down the freeway. Consider yourself lucky, my friend has a b16 in his 2nd gen teg and if he does over 75 in 5th it goes into VTEC and really sucks his tank dry.

i think 70 mph @ 3000 is normal for a civic...i normally cruise at 80 mph @3500 approximately. i still get great gas mileage...i sometimes get more than 38 miles/gallon travelling at those range of rpm. i think thats the way honda designed it.

how much are you getting out of a tank of gas i am getting on the highway 300 or more i dont really drive city wise just to work and home? the intake sounds nice at high RPM's :iceslolan

ive gotten something like 400 miles in a tank...then i filled it up...11 gallons. i couldve gotten longer than 400 miles without filling up.

Ok, thanks everyone for your responses. It sounds like i won't be hurting anything driving it at 4000 RPM and will still be getting good gas mileage. One more question, is it loud on the highway because the engine is running so hard? I test drove around a city and it was very quiet, and took it on a highway but coudln't get above 60 because of traffic.

Thanks!!!!!

its not loud. i always cruise at around 3000-3500 rpm and its quiet for me.

loud-ER with the AEM cold air I installed, sounds very nice tho and smooth

Another question about the car......in the description of this car it says "5 speed manual transmission with over drive". What exactly does that mean? How is a 5 speed with overdrive different from a normal 5 speed?

Another question about the car......in the description of this car it says "5 speed manual transmission with over drive". What exactly does that mean? How is a 5 speed with overdrive different from a normal 5 speed?

that would mean it's a 6 speed lol...it must be a typo. The 5th gear is the overdrive/cruise gear

Hondas are like tampons every pussy has to have one"

I have a stock fc and i belive is: 146 @ 6500 rpm would i get more power if i go at higher rpms?
or would it help me in a race?

stupit question I know is cuz i don't know much about rotaries

lol are you freaking serious...would i get more power if i go at higher rpms...bahahahahahaha

you have no right to be dissing Honda's when you don't even know that 146hp is your max and you can't get any power than that unless you modify your engine

that would mean it's a 6 speed lol...it must be a typo. The 5th gear is the overdrive/cruise gear


Yeah that's what I figured, I just saw it on a bunch of websites so I wanted to make sure. Seems this car needs an overdrive though since it runs the RPMs so high at high speed.

yeah i hear what these guys are talking about same with my 95 civic ex vtec. seems good to me. but i love to drive fast and it eats my gas OH WELL. for example driving 175 miles avrage speed 90 and bursts of about 120 blasting to tampa. super fun!!!! but if you dont want to pay for gas then dont do it.... have fun with it when you get it!

but i do have a question.... when i drive normal i only get like 220 with a full tank... my civic has no gas light that i know of and no warnings that im about to run out of gas... is my gas gage messed up???? once i tried to see if i had a light and i drove for about 280 but i was risking runing out of gas because it said it was empty on the gage so......

yeah i hear what these guys are talking about same with my 95 civic ex vtec. seems good to me. but i love to drive fast and it eats my gas OH WELL. for example driving 175 miles avrage speed 90 and bursts of about 120 blasting to tampa. super fun!!!! but if you dont want to pay for gas then dont do it.... have fun with it when you get it!

but i do have a question.... when i drive normal i only get like 220 with a full tank... my civic has no gas light that i know of and no warnings that im about to run out of gas... is my gas gage messed up???? once i tried to see if i had a light and i drove for about 280 but i was risking runing out of gas because it said it was empty on the gage so......


Well, you know how big your tank is, so what you can do is wait until it's just about on empty, and then fill it up. Pay attention to the pump and see how much you put in. Then you'll know how much more room you have and if your gauge is off.