2005 Spectra Highway Gears

[BigExpress]

I bought my spectra in August of last year. Love it to death. Nice peppy little engine.

My problem is it's highway speed and rpm suck.

At 120km/h it's revving at 3000 rpm. (I'm from Edmonton, Ab in Canada, and most of major highways have a 110km/h speed limit)

That's way too high to keep the mileage decent.

I'm wondering if there was anyway to change to final gear ratio (say by changing tire size or something) short of changing the gears in the tranny.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Twex]

I feel the same way, been looking around for ideas, but haven't decided what the best course of action is.
I get 53mph @ 3000rpm in 4th, 66mph @ 3000rpm in 5th.
Looking at the book, the auto tranny has considerably lower ratios, including the final drive, might investigate how much it would cost, and if its possible, to put the auto final gear ratio in.
I was in the dealership earlier this week getting the platest put on it, and they had a 5 in the showroom floor with 18" rims on it, sales guy said they were going to put some even larger ones on it next week. Also the dealership has started selling aftermarket rims in the showroom, so I may ask around to find out the cost of putting some larger ones on to give a higher circ. wheel/tire.

[BBostwick8]

Hello -

I have heard the manual tranny had RPM issues - so as much as I wanted a 5 speed, I decided to go with the automatic instead. Crusin on the expressway at 70mph, I I run at about 2600 - 2800 RPM. I'd much rather have a stick, but I don't think I could stand to have it high revin' all the time. The only thing about the automatic is that it seems to slam into gear under heavy acceleration. The KIA Service manager told me this was because of the computer trying to control tranny - but the "excessive throttle" was keeping the tranny in passing gear. I don't think he knew what he was talking about.

[NSFRacing2]

First the lower the number the higher the gear. when you change to a higher gear you lose performance in acceleration and you gain speed(if it will still pull all the way) and gain some mileage.Usually when they go to a bigger wheel the go with a lower aspect ratio leaving the diameter the same. The shorter and stiffer sidewall will give a harsher ride but better handling. Does that help?