How loud is your engine?

I am talking about from inside the car while driving. I have a five speed and 1.6L VTEC and maybe I am just not used to Honda's being that this is the first one that I have ever owned, but when you get up over 3500 rpm, its starts getting pretty loud. Also, it seems to sound real smooth up to about 3000 and over 4000, but in between it sounds different. Its hard to describe, but it makes a noticeably different sound in that speed range. Is this normal? Also, for those with 5-speeds and this engine, where do you normally shift? I have noticed that it seems to shift a lot smoother when you rev it up to about 4000, but much more than that and you feel like your drag racing or something.

i think it's pretty safe to say that it's normal. you might be noticing it more w/ the honda b/c there's next to no sound proofing. i like the throatiness of the engine, but i could do without the highway noise, lol.

i generally shift anywhere between 2500 and 4500, depending on the kind of driving i'm doing. shifting on the lower end of the spectrum increases gas mileage, but you get more power and speed @ higher rpm's. i'm not sure about the exact range for a civic though, as they redline a little higher than my accord.

what does everyone else think?

My civic is way too loud. Either I need a quieter pipe or a louder stereo.

For normal around-town driving I shift 3000-4000 (aim for 2500-3000 constant-speed flatland cruising). For onramps or canyon-carving, I run it up into the 6000s before shifting - this engine's just not much fun in the 2-3-4 range.

Civics are even worse than Accords for sound proofing.....that's just something I've never known Honda to do a great job with.

I shift 2.5-3 during normal driving, even with A/C running. I try to conserve gas a little, although the problem with that is that I start out at ~2 in the new gear, so I've got no pickup......gotta remember not to hammer the pedal to go anywhere, otherwise I piss out gas and still don't accelerate.

I'd say shift where you feel like shifting.....I don't really pay any attention to my tach anymore unless I'm planning on hitting redline, then I watch it pretty well.

b

for around town driving i just shift when it sounds like a good time. racing is usually at 7k. i drive a crx though.

[ebpda9]

my car shifts whenever it likes, but nothing compares with shifting at 8k rpms

Originally posted by hondaman-iac
my car shifts whenever it likes, but nothing compares with shifting at 8k rpms

How about 16k??? I'd let you drive my F car if I could only remember where I parked the dern thing.....

b