Define "wrong". My vehicle will do in excess of 140MPH, except that it is speed limited to about 112MPH. It is normally operated at much lower speeds, roughly 85MPH AND UNDER. The engine has a redline of 6000 RPM, and rarely exceeds 5000 RPM, even under hard acceleration. At normal (steady) driving speeds, the engine usually operates within a range of about 2500-3500RPM, depending on what gear is selected on the manual tranny and what actual ground speed the vehicle is travelling. Note that 2500-3500RPM is well within the normal operating range for my car's engine. The engine has well over a hundred thousand miles on it, and still runs as well as it did when it was brand new. It's been a long time since I bought the car brand new, but I seem to recall the EPA estimate for fuel economy was something like 23 City-30 Highway MPG. I check my gas mileage at least every other time I fill it up. I've never seen MIXED fuel economy drop lower than 32MPG (during extreme winter weather is about the only time I see MPG go that low). Considering every car I've ever owned has done a bit better than the EPA estimate, this seems about right, as far as what fuel economy I should be getting from my car.
Though for several years that I owned this car, the car was just a weekend runabout, I originally bought it as a commuter, and I'm currently using it as a commuter. It has always started first try, has never failed to deliver me safely to my destination on time and has never failed to return me home on time. This vehicle has done everything that I expected it to do for me.
It gets 35MPG mixed usually, as I usually keep it below 70MPH. That is pretty good for a car that seats five comfortably. The fastest I usually drive it for extended lengths of time is about 78MPH. When I do, my gas mileage increases significantly, up to 42MPG. That is OUTSTANDING fuel economy, considering that many smaller vehicles will never achieve numbers that good.
I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on how the "gearing" of my vehicle could be corrected. After all, if it's "wrong", then there must be a way to fix it. Plain and simple. Oh, maybe you could elaborate on what, exactly, you would hope to improve on my vehicle by fixing the "gearing" of it. Do you think it's too slow? Maybe you think a similar vehicle should get 60MPG? WHAT is wrong with my car that fixing the "gearing" would improve at all? (I can't wait to hear this) -Dave
