Honda Car Forum

"Tegger" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote in

( snip )

Killer post, Tegger...thanks.

Peace,
Polfus

"alfred" <tomboy83=@yahoo.com> wrote

> Hello,
>
> I have a 2008 Accord EX-L and its an Auto. Everyone now and then I like to
> put the car in 1 at a red light and shift up to 2 at about 4500 rpms and
> then to D3 at about 4500 rpms etc. I am wondering if this upshifting and
> downshifting practice is bad to do? I make sure that I don't put the gas
> on until the transmission has caught the next gear. I wouldn't think so,
> but wanted other opinions.

Hey Al,

I remember you asking about this back in Jan, and its okay to do this the
way you are doing it.

Downshifting is another matter, and that will depend on how fast you are
going and to which gear you are downshifting to.

I recommend that you downshift to D3 only if you need to because you are
getting on the brakes hard and you feel the engine can help you slow down.

This takes practice and is not good to do unless you know how to, so if you
do, go ahead.

If not, then don't unless its an emergency situation and even then you
should use your free hand to grab the emergency brake instead of the
gearshift to take down to D3 or lower.

Personally, I use D3 to slow the car in certain situations like hills where
I don't want to get too fast...otherwise I don't use D3, 2, or 1 to slow the
car.

Upshifting, however, I really use 1 or 2 only if I feel like playing or
making the revs higher just to feel the engine.

Otherwise, if I start from a stop I really think the car is fine in D3 and I
leave it there until I need to switch to D.

I've really decided that going from 1 to 2 to D3 to D is kind of harsh with
the '08 Accord, in that the engine feels great but nothing beats a superb
Honda manual foot clutch and 5 speed gearbox...so since the auto isn't one
of those, I just use the extended power range of the D3 function now.

The car jumps pretty good in D3 from a stop in the first 3 gears, and since
its so much smoother the trade off is better for me...no 1 or 2 because its
not smooth as I like, not because the car can't handle it.


> I know what everyone is going to say "Why didn't you get a manual
> transmission??" Well the fact is I only like to shift every now and then,
> so I would fall into the weekend shifting enthusiast category, and
> unfortunately I cannot afford to have two cars, so I have an automatic
> transmission car.
>
> Thanks,
> Al

Once in a while is fine, so don't worry..just upshift at or before redline
to be safe.

And don't downshift to 2 or 1 to slow car not nececcary.

You can downshift freely between D and D3...even if you are going 70.

The new engine is amazing, IMHO....man I love it. My old 1990 Accord 4-cyl
had 130 hp....now at 190 and it feels great to me.

Peace,
Polfus

>
> Once in a while is fine, so don't worry..just upshift at or before redline
> to be safe.
>
> And don't downshift to 2 or 1 to slow car not nececcary.
>
> You can downshift freely between D and D3...even if you are going 70.
>
> The new engine is amazing, IMHO....man I love it. My old 1990 Accord 4-cyl
> had 130 hp....now at 190 and it feels great to me.
>
> Peace,
> Polfus
>


Thank you everyone for the information. I appreciate all the information. I
am still wondering if a sequential sport shifter like in the Acura TSX would
make the car faster than using the regular auto mode?

I wanted to say that although the manual shifting can be fun, I don't think
that it really works that well with the car for performance. Today I thought
I would try a test against a Kia Amanti using the manual shifting method in
my 2008 EXL Accord Auto. I had trouble keeping up using the shifting method.
Then at the next light I put it in D3 and my rpms hit about 5500 rpms I and
blew the doors off the Kia Amanti. So maybe its just better suited that way
and should only be used to control the revs or slow down faster etc.

"alfred" <tomboy83=@yahoo.com> wrote

> Thank you everyone for the information. I appreciate all the information.
> I am still wondering if a sequential sport shifter like in the Acura TSX
> would make the car faster than using the regular auto mode?

Well sure...you'd be able to use the engine's powerband more.

> I wanted to say that although the manual shifting can be fun, I don't
> think that it really works that well with the car for performance. Today I
> thought I would try a test against a Kia Amanti using the manual shifting
> method in my 2008 EXL Accord Auto. I had trouble keeping up using the
> shifting method.

Well....hmmm. Maybe you aren't aggressive enough on the manual shifting?

I guarantee both of us using manual shifting in 2 Accord automatics will
result in one car faster than the other.

Since you are gonna understand that simple logic, then you can also follow
that some can make the car go faster than others, even with all else equal.

Regardless....its a pain to shift manually in an auto from 1 to D, so the
hell with it.

> Then at the next light I put it in D3 and my rpms hit about 5500 rpms I
> and blew the doors off the Kia Amanti.

Yup...exactly why I said to do this in the first place to you!

> So maybe its just better suited that way and should only be used to
> control the revs or slow down faster etc.

"Slow down faster"....like what situation are you talking about?

Peace,
Polfus

Tegger wrote:
> "alfred" <tomboy83=@yahoo.com> wrote in
> news:CrPRj.30838$KJ1.16631@newsfe19.lga:
>
>>> AAAAAAAAAAAGH! STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!
>>>
>>> You are causing 20 times the amount of wear in your transmission each
>>> time you drive like this. At this rate, you will be looking at a
>>> complete rebuild in about two years.
>>>
>> I seem to remember in the car manual that it said that the car can be
>> driven like a manual if you want, by using the gears. Why would this
>> put strain on the tranny? Its just like driving it the reular way
>> except you are shifting it.
>
>
>
> Shifting manually will do no harm at all; the tranny is designed for this.
>
> According to the Owner's Manual:
> "To shift from Second to First, press the release button on the bottom of
> the shift lever. This position locks the transmission in first gear. By
> upshifting and downshifting through 1, 2, D3, and D, you can operate this
> transmission much like a manual transmission without a clutch pedal."
>
>
> Have fun. Just make sure you shift below the redline.

1. the only "fun" alfred ever has is finding things to worry about.
[and bleat on newsgroups about.]
2. it's impossible to manually abuse that transmission. it's all
electronic, so the ecu won't let you shift in a pattern that'll harm
anything.

>
> "Slow down faster"....like what situation are you talking about?
>
> Peace,
> Polfus
>

I just mean if you are on the highway going 60 mph for instance and you want
to take an exit and as your breaking in D you realize that there are cars
going slower than you thought in front of you. You can then put it in D3
when your going about 45 mph and this will help you slow down faster.

I think speed wise its better to use D3 in the city and when the rpms get
high enough, such as 3000 at a cruising pace, put it in D. Then if your
going slower you can always drop it back down to D3. If you know anything
about New England you know that we have some very steep hills. Sometimes 2
is good when going down one of these. I also like to use 2 when accelerating
in snow from a stop, so the car takes off from 2nd gear. I think this helps
with wheel spin. Although having traction control probably does the same
thing anyway.

Al

alfred wrote:
>> "Slow down faster"....like what situation are you talking about?
>>
>> Peace,
>> Polfus
>>
>
> I just mean if you are on the highway going 60 mph for instance and you want
> to take an exit and as your breaking in D you realize that there are cars
> going slower than you thought in front of you. You can then put it in D3
> when your going about 45 mph and this will help you slow down faster.
>
> I think speed wise its better to use D3 in the city and when the rpms get
> high enough, such as 3000 at a cruising pace, put it in D. Then if your
> going slower you can always drop it back down to D3. If you know anything
> about New England you know that we have some very steep hills. Sometimes 2
> is good when going down one of these. I also like to use 2 when accelerating
> in snow from a stop, so the car takes off from 2nd gear. I think this helps
> with wheel spin. Although having traction control probably does the same
> thing anyway.
>
> Al
>
>

take the bus alfred. it'll absolve you of all responsibility and worry.
then you can stop wasting our electrons.

In article <_YadnRZhefcicYDVnZ2dnUVZ_i2dnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote:

> take the bus alfred. it'll absolve you of all responsibility and worry.

I can't WAIT to see him blow up his engine! Or will the transmission go
first?

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article <_YadnRZhefcicYDVnZ2dnUVZ_i2dnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
> jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote:
>
>> take the bus alfred. it'll absolve you of all responsibility and worry.
>
> I can't WAIT to see him blow up his engine! Or will the transmission go
> first?
>

neither - he'll get hit by a meteorite.

>
>> take the bus alfred. it'll absolve you of all responsibility and worry.
>
> I can't WAIT to see him blow up his engine! Or will the transmission go
> first?
>

I guess I didn't see Jim Beam's post till now, I have him blocked because we
determined he is a troll from way back in January.

Elmo, I will not be blowing up the engine. I actually did the same practice
with my 2005 Accord and had it for 3 years with no problems. I just wanted
to know if this would be different on the 2008 Accord. Its a lease and under
warrenty anway. I don't think entering the highway in D3 and bringing the
rpms to 5000 rpms and switching to D is anything out of the ordinary. I am
sure most people drive the same way if they are performance oriented.

Al