2.2L shift points

1987 B-2200

ok, when i drive the truck, it feels like i need to shift way earlier than logical to me... like over 25mph, it sounds like i need to go up to 4th gear...above 40, 5th gear... (1st gear seems about worthless other than starting from a stop, though impressive torque)

the engine: from a previous owner,
"2.2 bored .30 over,mild cam, hediman, header,Holley 2bbl Carb "
it also appears to have a flowmaster exhaust. milage estimated between 60-90k on jasper crate engine

I know about 2 owners ago, it had another 5 spd manual trans put in...
not sure if it was another b-2200 trans, or miata trans, etc... not sure how to tell which is in there.

axle housing looks old and stock(like leaf springs have grown rust with it), so im assuming it has the stock axle ratio for a manual trans b-2200

I understand little 4 cyl trucks are going to be slow. i had an 84 isuzu pup before that barely wanted to make highway speeds. for the last 2 years ive been driving a v6 auto s-10, so that may be skewing my views of truck power.
I have no tach, and with the full exhaust setup, its pretty loud, so i may be shifting early also based on volume levels, not engine tone...

curious what is normal for carbed b2200s. approx speed you normally shift for each gear?

Personally on the gas engine I shifted at around 2800 rpms. anything above 3500 and it sounded like it wanted to grenade. Here's how you can tell what gearbox that you have. Take a look at the center portion of the transmission. The mazdas 86-93 factory came with the M-519 gearbox. The 86 didn't have this stamped on it but the 87-up did. Here's a M520 gearbox (from a bongo) showing where it would be stamped on yours.

I looked under it today, M-519, so i guess they put another of the same tranny in...

im just wondering what speed you shift at. like normal rpm shift for optimal gas milage... what speed do you go from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, etc.

currently it feels sluggish to me:
1st-2nd @ about 5mph.
2nd-3rd @ about 15mph
3rd-4th if i go above 25mph... otherwise it sounds like the rpms are too high for 3rd gear...

I usually shifted into second at about 10, (15 if I really needed to get going) 20-25 into third, 35-40 for fourth, 55 for 5th. If it feels really sluggish then check ur timing, alignment, and fuel filter. (fuel filter is big in these as they get older.)

thanks, now i have some speeds to shoot for normal ops...

did new fuel filter today, seems to run better, but still feels like i gotta shift too soon. a bit higher shift points than before, but still low.

i tried going for the speeds you put, just sounds like the engine wants to grenade itself at higher rpms.... not sure if thats just me worrying, and loud ass exhaust, or if the rpms are actually that high.

got a can of sea foam for the gas and put that in today when i got home, see if that helps.

cant really align it well right now with hydros im not used to yet.
did notice one rear tire is a different size than others...

I guess ill just keep doing tune up things til i get closer to normal.

thanks again

I was right and wrong. Something did look wrong, but it was actually driving fine.

factory tires:
p205/75r14
tires on it:
p205/60r14

different rolling radius by 10.22%

so Im actually driving 10% faster than what im reading on the speedometer.



thanks for the help though.

Im running 205-40-16's and my speedo is off by almost 10. But I dont have a speedo now so I just listen to the motor.

Now that you know how far off your speedo, try out the shift points emjay said. That's about where I shift mine. The factory tach redlines somewhere around 6k?, but anywhere 3,500 and higher it sounds like it wants to blow up...and doesn't seem to accelerate any faster. I usually shift at 3k, 3,500 if I really need to get up to speed to merge into traffic.

Tach.... You have one? lol I dont. I use gps.

Yea...and my speedo still works...weird huh? lol