I have a question.. the gearing on the TSX allows you to shift into 5th/6th gear in in town traffic w/o getting into too low of an RPM range... I mean It will putz a long at 40mph in 6th gear without a peep.. Is this bad to use this high of a gear even though the car doesnt seem to mind, what do you guys do?

 

I dont think its good to "lug" the engine. But I drive around at 1500 rpms all the time. This is one of the advantages of the high ratio 6th gear, lets you get into top gear and cruise around the city.

 

I pretty well only use 6th on the highway but I do use 5th in the city to save fuel sometimes.

 

Same here!

 

As long as you don't lug it, the gear doesn't matter.

 

Does that mean you SKIP 5th on the highway? (I'm asking because I've started doing that.)

Even in city driving, wouldn't 6th give you better mileage, assuming you're going fast enough not lug?

 

No, 5th still comes in to play on the highway I meant to say that I don't use 6th around the city. The difference between 5th and 6th in the city for fuel economy is probably minimal.

 

Unfortunately, the diff in fuel economy between 5 & 6 on the highway is probably minimal too. 6th really is geared too high. There's not enough gap in the gearing from 5 to 6. But we've been over this ad nauseum already...

 

So basically unless you're travelling at 55+ 6th gear = no?