If you have a non S with the 5 speed manual what is your RPM's in 5th doing 65 - 70? I am wondering if there may be something wrong with my 07 MCc it seems the RPM's are really high when in 5th doing 65-70. My car is in the 3500-4000 RPM's.

 

I see you've found the powerband.. it's a good thing

don't worry until the little needle gets close to the big scary 6K RPM

 

Lol, +1 on that. Yup, sounds scary cruising at those rpm's, but no worries, engine's built for that. The old civic's were the same way and they seem to last forever.

What's really amazing to me is that a cloth covered boxy little car like the cabrio still manages 35+ mpg on the highway at those rpm's.

 

I guess that's just how it is, but can you imagine how much better our mileage would be IF the rpm's were down to a more normal 2300 or so at 65 mph.. Of course our car has no power down there but it's all a trade off.

 

Isn't that the upgrade for 2nd gens? 6 speed manual instead of 5. I believe that's the reason for better fuel efficiency of 2nd gens. However, even at 6th gear, I still noticed that it runs around 2.5k-3k at 65mph.

 

Agree with 2x and KG -- it's normal for the Getrag 5. When my speedo shows 77 (75 true SOG) I'm wrapping about 3900 rpm. On rare occasion (like a long stretch of freeway) I find myself pining for a 6th gear...

 

i find the sweet spot in my 06 Justacooper is around 80mph, pulling 3500-4000 RPMs and my mileage is around 40mpg

if i had a 6th gear or a supercharger, i'd have more than the 2 speeding tickets i already have

 

Lol Kelly, same here. Wife's 07 has the 6sp gearbox, and I do agree I tend to drive a bit more spirited on the highway because of it. I also somewhat agree with Izzy, I think a large part of the better mileage with the 2nd gen cars comes from the extra gear, and the different ratios in the first 4 gears (5th gear is the same on both cars though). Part of it is the new variocam engine though, has a very different torque and hp curve than the 1st gen cars.

I have yet to drive an 09 cab though.

 

i dunno, i drove my Dad's 06 MCS when he was out of town , for a week

and i felt like i got crappier mileage (but then i was driving the hell out of it)

 

I agree with the milage not being as good with the MiniS, I am currently driving an 08 MCS, my 07 MCc is at the dealers right now, some major steering issues. They need to replace the steering columm on the car, who knew that when the tilt adjuster broke off it was going to be that much work to fix. Am I glad that this is all coverd under the warranty, otherwise the car would not have the tilt steering.