Highway Driving

I was driving home and entering onto an interstate. The on ramp is in that cloverleaf pattern, so the exit ramp is right where the on ramp comes onto the interstate. This makes me mash the pedal because the traffic is already going 70 mph while coming out of a severe curve I'm moving about 40-45 mph. When I hit 50mph the engine sounds all congested and is very slow to catch pace, until it hits about 65mph then it starts accelerating appropriately. Would anyone know what is causing this? I have a 95 DX with CAI, AEM pulleys, 5zigen catback. Is this happening because I don't have an aftermarket header to fully free up the flow, or perhaps I've blown the head gasket?

I appreciate any help that anyone can offer.

Originally posted by mrnabeehhasan
I was driving home and entering onto an interstate. The on ramp is in that cloverleaf pattern, so the exit ramp is right where the on ramp comes onto the interstate. This makes me mash the pedal because the traffic is already going 70 mph while coming out of a severe curve I'm moving about 40-45 mph. When I hit 50mph the engine sounds all congested and is very slow to catch pace, until it hits about 65mph then it starts accelerating appropriately. Would anyone know what is causing this? I have a 95 DX with CAI, AEM pulleys, 5zigen catback. Is this happening because I don't have an aftermarket header to fully free up the flow, or perhaps I've blown the head gasket?

I appreciate any help that anyone can offer.


When is that last time you had a tune up? I would say replace your plugs, fuel filter, oil, and pcv valve. Then see if it is still happening.

and what gear, and at what RPMs are you at when your going 50?

I'm still trying to find a good time to install my tach. But I'm shifting up to 5th gear when I'm at 50mph and that's when the acceleration is notably lacking compared to other speeds and gears. I had a tune up in April, which isn't that long ago. This is a problem I thought I'd ask about because I was tired of wondering what it's caused by. I've been dealing with this for a while and thought I'd ask the people here on the message board.

Well, I dont usually shift into 5th till im going about 55-60 MPH
BUt thats me

I don't think there is a problem, but it just sounds like a too high of a gear (5th gear-over drive) to try to accelerate while only going 50 mph.

Originally posted by Tofuboy
I don't think there is a problem, but it just sounds like a too high of a gear (5th gear-over drive) to try to accelerate while only going 50 mph.

Yea, thats what im saying man. Your not gonna accelerate at all in 5th gear at only 50 MPH. Maybe if you were going closer to 70 youll get some acceleration.

buddy... you're gonna need to keep it out of 5th until you want to cruize. At 50mph.. you're gonna get acceleration in 3rd and 4th

try going 50 in 3rd gear :) I am not in 5th unless i have no gas, I am chillin. dude, you should be able to go 120 in 4th.

Well the consensus seems to be saying that perhaps I'm driving my car a little too conservatively. I've been doing that until I get my tach installed. I have no idea what rpms the engine is running at, so I guess I am a tad bit over precautious with the DX. I willl try to alternate driving styles on the commute home tonight and see the results.

Thank you for the assistance.

Nabeeh Hasan

If i'm pushing any on ramps with fast merging traffic i push it to 65-70mph in 4th..... 5th is only for cruising and saving gas..... a tune up may help the situation...

Originally posted by tsunamiHB
If i'm pushing any on ramps with fast merging traffic i push it to 65-70mph in 4th..... 5th is only for cruising and saving gas..... a tune up may help the situation...
dang aF needs a trophy for babying there cars, hehe. I push 60 in 2nd. :) 3rd if I am not that much in a hurry, please tell me someone else here has done 120 in 4th? Not hating, just I have a problem with no power going 65 in 4th when I try it.

A tune up may help but it sounds as though you are shifting into 5th a bit to early...You should still have some pull at about 50 in 4th and then not worry about 5th until like 65 or so...

If you have a DX w/ stcok ecu etc then the shut off would be at like 115 so he couldnt; go 120 in 4th and if so it would shut off the gas..I know I have a 93DX and I have done it...:frog: :frog:

Hope this might help....

ummm no
you can go as fast as you want in 4th...once you get to 115 it takes a while to keep going but there is no fuel kick back.

wow - i'm amazed too.

onramps?! 2nd gear til 65 and then slam 3rd and go as fast as i can for as long as i can... meaning i don't let off unless i run into traffic or feel like being nice to my car.

i love looking at the faces of drivers already on the highway doing 70mph as i pass them on the onramp at 90. its priceless.

It seems as though I was underestimating my car, or babying it. Nevertheless, I owe an overwhelming amount of gratitude for the helpful posts. I no longer have to duck down for fear of being rear-ended when I merge onto Interstate 94.

So, I would like to know at what speeds or rpms do the majority of you shift up?

I appreciate the time spent replying to my thread.

glad we could help you out man, yeah I am use to a much more horsepowerful car, so I have to keep that Civic in high rpms. :)

Excuse me Sweetcarz.com, but you wouldn't happen to have a link to a picture of your Hatchback would you? I would like to see it if possible.

You should'nt hit redline in every gear if you want your engine to last any decent period of time so when you're getting on the highway:

1st up to 20-25mph
2nd up to 50mph
3rd up to 80mph
4th...you should be going fast enough where maxing out 4th is just stupid.
5th when you've reached your desired speed.

That'll leave you a safe 500-1000rpms before you hit the rev limiter but still get maximum acceleration out of the engine.

I didn't have the faintest clue that the DX could survive that kind of driving. I thought it was so underachieving that I didn't want to risk it over revving especially with a car mysteriously not equipped with a standard tachometer. And those speeds aren't abusive to the engine at all? I truly was babying and underestimating the DX. It will take quite some time to reaugment my technique to fully exploit the future engine that will be transplanted into the little coupe.

Thank you all.

Well it's a small engine, it's designed to make most of it's power up high in the rev range. And because it's a small engine, it'll rev higher with less stress on the components than a larger V8 engine would.

I mean, you're not supposed to drive ALL the time like that, but every now and then you need a little more power, highway driving is a good example. But the tach really isn't all important, all you need to remember are the magic three numbers, 30, 60, 90. Don't drive in first beyond 30, in 2nd beyond 60 and so on. Keep it below that and *make sure* that your engine's fluids are always clean and changed regularly and it'll last 150,000 miles without any major difficulties.

That was rather helpful. I will keep the 30, 60, 90 in mind while driving home tonight. I sure appreciate all of the efforts put forth. It was a totally different experience this morning driving to work. I pulled away from the pack (mostly morning station wagons and such) quite a ways until the steep hills started to roll through. I believe I took it as far as 100mph before the hills interupted the pure pleasure of speed. I can really see where the torque is missing when it comes to the uphill drives.

Again I thank you.