ok two things here..

1. when im driving, if i let go of the steering wheel...the car tends to drift off to the right. i may be an idiot, but is this normal? its no big deal but i was just wondering.

2. if im going fairly slow, like hardly moving, and i try to accelerate in 2nd gear, i hear a sort of grinding/rattling sound...this is true in any gear if i am going "too slow" for that particular gear.

 

1. the only things i know that cause drifting is incorrect wheel alignment and a dragging brake caliper. if it still drifts after fixing those things, try rotating the tires.

2. if im in too low of a gear, my car rumbles like crazy. the gears dont grind though.

 

1. youre out of alignment
2. youre bogging your engine.

stop both of these.

 

in bazarre cases, sometimes an alignment does not fix a car that doesnt track straight, but it wouldnt hurt to get one done. if the alignment doesnt fix it, check your brakes and tires for irregular wear and operation.

like said, dont go so low in the gears. it can be the engine bogging, causing various parts to vibrate.

 

sorry, sorta off topic, but do you waste more gas keeping yer rpms in the 3-4 (before vtec) range or keeping it in the 1-2 range where it barely has enough power to get going?

 

I have an LS, and it's gears are slightly longer, but I have come up with an urban driving shift map that should translate fairly well for you.

In the suburban slog of Southern Marin, where there are a fair number of medium grade slopes, I use 3rd at about 35mph or so, where there are hills or other factors that necessitate the ability to accelerate quckly without having to downshift. If the traffic is thick and at about 38 mph or more, I shift to 4th.

In 3rd at 35mph, tach ±3900rpm. In fourth at the same speed, the tach reads about 2200rpm. The engine doesn't lug and if the need to accelerate arises, just downshift to 3rd and get on it. :thumbup:

All in all, this has netted an additional 4 to 5 mpg minimum, for an overall average of about 26.71 mpg. Not bad.

I have found, however, that keeping your tires properly inflated has an even greater effect on mileage. I run 30psi F / 31psi R [cold] on 205/45 R16 tires.

 

Also, it should be noted that on the freeway, I average a much higher speed than the std 55mph slog.... I have a counter-commute both ways to work and college, so a 85-90mph average is a nearly daily event for me h:

 

thanks for the info dc4. by the way, is your sig picture edited? your lights look REALLY bright? i like it =) how did you get them so bright?

 

thanks for the input guys. today i woke up and was taking a trip to wal-mart and i realized that there was something different about my car. its hard to explain but it sounds like there is a hole in the exhaust or something. i accelerate and it is different than usual, its like its boggin and the exhaust (or at least thats where i think its coming from) makes a gross noise. I thought maybe there could be water in the exhaust cuz thats what it sounds like. I dont know what this is but im gonna probably get it checked out. The car wont accelerate as fast and it just sounds really bad. sorry for being so vague i dont know how to explain it.

 

your exhaust is messed up
i had this happen in my 92 Si. Everyone in a while it would severely cut my power and one day while it was doing that it just blew. It made the loudest sound ive ever heard. Then the exhaust was really loud and i got my power back. I looked back and the muffler hadnt fallen off. when i got home i looked and saw a hole about the size of a penny in the exhaust. Since I was broke I sounded like a rice boy till i got money for a catback. What year is your car?

26 mpg is ok. I get 28 - 32 mpg depending on how i drive. 75mph on the highway usually puts me up there in gas mileage.