At what speed do you use 5th gear? As a new rotary owner I have no comparison to judge the performance of my car's supposedly "rebuilt" motor. I have not yet had a compression test. Car winds out smoothly to redline, and holds oil pressure at just over 30 at idle and 40-60psi at speed. Seems as if it likes to be driven over 3k rpm. At highway speeds in 5th gear, I find myself downshifting to accelerate. Can't really hold speed on long hills on highway in 5th till i'm over about 70mph. Of course at higher speed I could set the cruise in 5th, But I cant afford the ticket, lol. Should my car have more power or is this normal performance?

 

Sounds normal, 5th gear is really long on our transmissions

 

Generally speaking, I shift up around 3000rpm in daily driving and downshift for acceleration, a habit carried over from my 13b days. A naturally aspirated 13b is a bit shy on torque, so you shouldn't expect to be thrown back in the seat accordingly. Assuming your car is unmodified, the powerband for a S5NA (your car) is from 4000rpm (max torque, 140ft.lbs) to 7000rpm (max power, 160hp).

 

Thanks for the input. glad to hear this is normal.