How to drive manual

[plum]

alrite guys ive been driving manual for a few weeks now and ive heard a lot of different things and id just like to run it past you guys and hear what you think.

Firstly its at what rpm range to shift at. from one friend i heard that Honda recommends you shift at 2.8k-3k rpm, and from another friend i see him shift at 4k all the time usually.

Also what would be a nice rpm range to downshift at. For instance say you shift to 4th, and traffic slows down usualy when i hit 1.5-1.7k i will downshift to third or something. What do you guys think?

THirdly what do you think is the best range to cruise in. From what ive heard its around 2.0-2.5k, obviously higher on the highway in 5th gear.

this is all for daily driving not raicing conditions. THanks

[km23honda]

Personal i shift about 4k all the time unless going into the higher gears like 4th where iam only going to go about 35mph. But anys IMO if you got a honda it would last for ever right so i think you shift at whatever feels good to you. Because i sure lots of people shift at 2.8k - 3k and the you have the other people about 4k.

With downshifting from what i heard that is not good so i don't recommed it but if you would like going from 4th to 3rd can be useful. Not just to slow down in traffic but to blow by them haha J/k

If this give you any help.

[plum]

what did you hear is bad about downshifting, ive always debated whether to either stay in fourth and have hte engine work hard to speed up like it shakes a little, or downshift to third and know that the engine has the power to speed up.

[rubix777]

Here's what I do. During normal driving, I go to 3k on 1st and 3.5k for the rest of the gears when accelerating. Going into a corner, I will slow down, then half way through the turn I bump the gas (just a little bump so that the rpms are dropping while I release the clutch), then downshift to 3rd to clear the corner. When I had my Accord, the gear ratios were different, so I did corners in 2nd.

I don't like downshifting to 2nd for corners because 3rd has enough power. So for curvy mountain roads I usually just leave it in 3rd and let the rpms fluctuate from 1.5k-4k. I hardly ever downshift from 2nd to 1st unless it's a complete stop or really slow traffic, it bogs the car to engage the clutch fast and make it smooth while moving in 1st. I'd only downshift to 1st if it's slower than 5mph or nearly stopping.

when the traffic slows down, if I'm going under under 20 mph, I'll bump the gas to 2k and downshift from 4th to 3rd. For downshifting to 4th, I usually have to be going 30.

I cruise between 2k - 3k. If it's over 3k, I go faster so I can put it up one gear. I like to cruise around there cuz you just take your foot off the gas to slow down while you're approaching a red light or stop sign.

After driving a while, you know how much/long to bump the gas for each gear you downshift to. Personally, I think the engaging of the clutch feels smoother when you engage the clutch while the rpms are dropping rather than engaging and you see your rpm bump up to match the comfortable rpm.

[plum]

wow thats interesting......haha it took me up until the end of the post to figure out what you were trying to get at by "bumping" the gas but i get it now =).....ive never heard anyone do that before but im gonna try it!

first question: how long have you been driving your lude like this because if youve been doing it for a long time then i guess i should have nothing to worry about i just dont wanna put more stress on the engine than i need to =)

also on another note, ive been trying to shift without looking at my rpms because when i drive my eyes are usually glued to my rpm gauge which is not nice....when you guys drive without looking at gauge is it more from feel...or like more from sound....or does it just develop over time?

thanks

[rubix777]

I've been driving my prelude for about half a year now, but I was always bumping the gas when I started driving manual(5 years ago) for downshifting when I had a 94 Civic DX, then to 94 Accord LX. It just doesn't feel right to hear the engine rev up by itself in order to match rpms, you'd have lots of clutch wear. So the closer the engine rpm and wheel rpm ratio match, the less wear, the less stress.

It would make sense to rev match when downshifting so you don't have as much clutch wear compared to allowing your engine to rev match itself.

I even tried the heel-toe technique during corners in my accord where bumping the gas is involved also. I got it to the point where it was so smooth and I HAD to do it in every corner or else it doesn't feel right, but it seems useless unless your race involves corners. Most people race just straightaways.

Basically what I like to do it put as little stress on the engine as possible by bumping the gas so the revs match before I engage the clutch in each gear. So when you downshift and its quick and smooth with no "slipping" or "jolts", I'd consider it a good one. Most people like to let it slip by revving higher than what's required(you'd be peeling out), but with my stock clutch I don't really want to wear it out.

I don't like to keep it in a gear that is too high where it shakes and doesn't have enough power. That's like trying to go up a hill on a 16 speed bicycle on the biggest gears. You'd be suffering and so would the engine. However, if I'm going down hill, or any sort of decline, I will probably do it in one gear higher than normal just so I don't have to shift. Let's say you're following someone down a street and they make a right turn. I would be on 4th gear going 40, then I slow down for his turn to about 20, I'll just leave it in 4th and add a little gas, not so much as to make it shake.

[Phunyguy]

Double clutching i guess is what you would call it... "bumping the gas while downshifting"... just matches the engine rpm's with the lower gear... so it doesn't create any added drag on the motor by dragging it back up to that RPM with the wheels... not very good for a motor

[plum]

ive only heard good stuff about double clutching and about how it preserves the well being of your engine but i dunno shrugs, i also heard this only went for the older cars and trucks not for newer cars like ours

[Phunyguy]

nah - still applies - it's just a driving technique

[plum]

so whats more worth it.....putting less stress on the motor, or putting less stress on the clutch and syncros?

[rubix777]

the synchros were there to be used so double clutching isn't necessary. no need to release clutch in neutral before shifting up, just go from 1st to 2nd, etc.

[BullShifter]

Originally Posted by Phunyguy

Double clutching i guess is what you would call it... "bumping the gas while downshifting"... just matches the engine rpm's with the lower gear... so it doesn't create any added drag on the motor by dragging it back up to that RPM with the wheels... not very good for a motor

Thats not double clutching - doing that in car with synchros only saves synchro wear. Older vehicles & some race cars do not have any synchro's & double clutching is the only way to shift.

Always rev-match when downshifting & DO NOT downshift during a corner, do all that before you enter ther corner.

Driving is done by feel, if your going 30MPH in 5th gear & need to accelerate - what happens? The car goes no where, you feel a down shift or 2 is needed to get the engine in the proper RPM range. For normal driving I suggest 4,000 RPM for a decent shift point.

The whole point is being as smooth as possible & not stressing anything.
http://www.driftsession.com/drift_te...oeshifting.htm
Actually Honda does not recommend down shifting at all because all the pressure is put on the input shaft bearing.

I hardly ever look @ my tach under normal driving & when racing I have my ears & a bright ass shift lite. After a while you will feel the car, I personally think shifting properly withouth the clutch is smoother & faster(up or down shift)

[rubix777]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

I hardly ever look @ my tach under normal driving & when racing I have my ears & a bright ass shift lite. After a while you will feel the car, I personally think shifting properly withouth the clutch is smoother & faster(up or down shift)

LOL a lot of us can't power shift like you can.

[plum]

what is this power shifting you talk about....and by shifting without your clutch do you mean not double clutching, or just no clutch period?!?!?! im so confused!!! haha

[00tegra]

isn't double clutching when you hold the clutch, shift then hit the clutch again and let it out fast. the olny thing i heard is that it gets better accelertion. then i have also heard that it's a bunch of crap.