Revvability of Honda's economy oriented engines

[rationull]

I drive an 07 Civic EX, which I got in large part due to its good fuel economy. While most of the time I drive to take advantage of that economy, it's fun of course to sometimes wind it out a little bit and take advantage of what power the car has (which is not much compared to more enthusiast oriented offerings but I find the car has plenty of pep).

At any rate, as everyone here knows Honda's performance engines have a reputation for being very rev-happy. The R18 in the 8th gen Civic redlines at 6800 RPM though, and so is not really a relatively high revving engine for a small 4 cyl (certainly not compared to the Civic Si or the S2000 engines).

Do Honda's more economy-oriented engines tend to tolerate higher revving and the occasional redline as well as its performance oriented engines do? I like to have a little fun now and then, but not really at the expense of the engine's longevity.

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Drove a 00 Accord with 2.something...I think 2.2 or 2.4...was surprised at how smooth and powerful this engine was...eager to rev...Honda's VTEC system is Sweet!...rev happy engines...

Now I wouldn't go reving like a fast and furious persona...but in daily use...one would find it hard not to get the cams in VTEC mode...at least once in a while...

 

[rjundi]

My 1995 Civic EX would see redline when passing and merging sometimes. It had no engine related problems in my 9 year/225,000 ownership period. I never did it cold.

 

[CharBaby]

Yeah! Me too! I've never had engine related issues winding up a Honda engine into the redline. My engines see this type of driving anytime there is some open space with no one around. I think it's beneficial to keeping the engine as happy as myself. All of my engines see at least 200,000 miles.

 

[Auto-Union]

I keep hitting redline on my new 2.4 without realizing it. No problem.

 

[ThirdeYe]

I have to rev up to over 5k to pass people sometimes, never had any engine troubles. Still runs strong, doesn't leak or consume a drop. Just take it easy until it warms up. Honda makes some tough motors.

 

[c502cid]

Both my Honda's were great revvers, however the more I revved them the more oil they used.

 

[gedcruise]

Every Honda was born to rev, from our first 1500 CVCC Civic, through our later 1500 Civic Wagons, through our '96 Ody, and our '97 and '99 Accords.
You will not hurt any Honda by exploring its upper rev ranges.
OTOH, no Honda makes any real power below 4000 revs or so, thus you need to run the engine fairly hard in normal use. This is why Honda uses a fairly unique automatic trans design, and also why every Honda is better off with three pedals.
Remeber, Honda is primarily an engine company that happens to make cars, business jets, bikes, lawnmowers, and so on to put its engines in.

 

[Axe Man]

I have an '04 Civic VP with the D17 single cam engine with no VTEC. Even without VTEC it loves to rev. The engine comes alive above 4K RPM. Feel free to explore the upper rev ranges with no fear of damage or problems.

 

[buster]

I definitely think they are designed for it. The 2.4L in the Accord is so stable and refined at high rpms for a 4cylinder that it feels like a V6 minus the power. With the lack of torque I feel many Honda engines have, you have to raise the rpms to get power.

 

[Mr Nice]

AxeMan,

How do you know what RPM you are at with no tach ?

 

[Axe Man]

Quote:

---

AxeMan,

How do you know what RPM you are at with no tach ?

---

Because....I have a tach

 

[rationull]

Thanks, guys. I guess I can cross high revs (after warmup, of course) off my list of things to be paranoid about

 

[blackdiamond]

I have always noticed that some engines, usually older engines, let you know when they don't like high revs. If it is making normal power and running smooth I wouldn't worry about it. It will add a little bit more wear, but you own the car to enjoy it.

 

[psudaytona]

Italian tune ups are always good.

My daytona wouldnt run as smoothly if I didnt hit WOT at least once in a long trip. Some engines just dont like slow soft driving.

My uncle has an 05(I believe) Civic and he runs it 120 miles a day commuting for work. And the hills he faces he has to really punch it down.

The small engines have to be built for revving when you consider what they lack in displacement they need to make up with in RPM. Going from a 2.5L daytona to the 4.6L crown vic was a huge difference in engine speeds. Hills i used to have to make the 2.5 scream on, well the CV just seems like its looking for something else to do since its not putting much work into driving

 

[Buffman]

the 89 civic I had loved to revv. It was a 1.5L SOHC. 7000rpm was no problem for it. It's downfall was when it bounced off the limiter three times after sliding around a corner in the sand and blowing two holes in the block

 

[psudaytona]

I remember my last night driving the daytona was alot of revving fun. Transmission finally died pretty much and would let it over rev to 4000 before the 1-2 upshift would occur and then it would BANG into gear for all 3 gears. Halfway home I decided to play with it and really punch it up a long steep hill. Man that thing sounded incredible revving like that!

 

[MrCritical]

As long as you don't do large hp mods the engine does great!

 

[addyguy]

I think Honda engines are the most rev-tolerant engine of any design...I always see/hear them bouncing off their limiters in city traffic, and they never seem to hurt from it....they also tolerate having no oil in them better than any engine...

On a personal note, I had an 1986 Civic hatch for two years, and I used to rev the living ---- out of it all the time, and it never suffered from it....never blew smoke, knocked, or used much oil...just bulletproof!