I guess i already know the answer because it's a honda motor, but I'll ask anyways. when going up a hill is it better to lay the pedal down, in third(or any), and stay at a constant speed going up a hill? Or Downshift and use the higher RPM's? I assume that answer to this would be to downshift since honda's don't exactly put out 300ft/lbs@2000RPM, and it's all in the higher end. Anmd that it would also put strain on the engine, that would acuse premature wear. Did I hit it on the nose or or was it more like the ear?!?

oh yeah, It's a 5speed

 

I do not know the correct answer but autos down shift and so do i in my 5 speed.

 

Downshift and use 3000-4000 rpm. That should be a fine working area of your Civic engine. Anything above 4000 is starting to be "too high", but up to 4000 should not be a problem at all. Using 2000 is just more wear and tear when going up a hill in third or more. I can use fourth gear uphill in my Nissan Primera, but it's a 2 litre and Civics don't have that much juice in low rpms, as you already state. Use a bit higher rpms and a lower gear

 

yeah, keep it right about in the middle. 3-4K. any lower, and theres not enough oil pressure, any higher, and youre just wasting gas. a little tip: when youre driving around hills, speed up a little going downhill, then use that speed to coast up the next one. just let the rpms fall a little as you go up. dont slow way down, just dont try accelerating while going up. since ive started doing this my mileage has gone up a lot.

 

i say downshift and pedal to the metal all the way...lol just playin

 

Guess my instinct was right. I know a lot about cars in the circles that I hang but I lose my confidence when comparing my knowledge to these guys'