Shift points for automatic 1997 EX 4cyl with VTEC?
 

I am coming over from a 1999 Camry 4cly auto which I also drove very conservatively to save fuel - it allowed me to take my foot off the gas at about 1800 rpm so it would shift up to the next highest gear. For example, cruising from a stop light with a light foot I could "shift" from 1 to 2 by easing off the gas at 10mph@1800rpm (approximations, but you get the idea).

However, on my Accord (97 auto vtec) it must be at a higher RPM in order to "shift" in the same way ... usually it must be over 2100 rpm before I can lighten up on the gas to cause it to up-shift.

Also, the accord runs at higher RPM on the freeway, ~2400rpm at 65mph or 3000rpm at 80mph. Is that normal for this engine/transmission?

Further, the Accord runs at higher RPM when coasting, in gear with foot off the gas ... about 1500rpm at 35mph ... in my camry that would have been 1100rpm at 35mph. Is this also normal?

The idea is to conserve fuel by upshifting as early as possible, usually at or before 2000rpm and not over 2500rpm ... it is much harder to do this in my Accord than it was in my 99 Camry.

Thanks!

RE: Shift points for automatic 1997 EX 4cyl with VTEC?
 

Yep, that's all correct. The 4th gear (overdrive) in the 5th gen (1994-1997) trannys is fairly short. I always drove mine around 80 mph and 2800-3000 rpms and still got 25-30 mpg.

RE: Shift points for automatic 1997 EX 4cyl with VTEC?
 

Thanks finch13, that's actually really reassuring.

I'm at 225 miles right now with almost exactly half a tank left, thought I'm assuming that the "half-way mark" is actually something less than half if it's anything like my other cars (more like the "2/5ths full mark"). But if I squeeze 400 miles out of this tank I'll be very happy.

Even the mileage is off because my front tires are actually slightly larger than stock (hey, it came that way and they're almost brand new tires so ...) - the result is that my mileage is actually 3.2% more than the odometer shows (so 400 miles on a tank would actually be 412.8 miles).

I ordered a Scangauge II through the cleanmpg.com groupbuy ($149.99 shipped, best price by $10!) so I'll soon get a better idea of what the actual MPG is. It even let's you adjust based on a different tire size, or, well, you can calculate the difference using that Miata group tire size calculator and then add/substract that difference in the scangauge automatically (i.e., +3.2%).

Anyone else who can let me know what they're getting in terms of RPM @ MPH (i.e., 3000rpm @ 80mph), it's appreciated.

RE: Shift points for automatic 1997 EX 4cyl with VTEC?
 

If you squeeze 400 miles out of that tanks, I'll be very impressed. Best mileage I got out of mine was somewhere around 390, but then again, it did have 233k miles on it.

RE: Shift points for automatic 1997 EX 4cyl with VTEC?
 

Well I'll be impressed too[sm=groupwave.gif]

I'm hoping there's a chance though ... my Accord only has 51,000 miles so far (just bought it actually).