breakers93

I have an Acura CL 3.0 automatic transmission , will it mess it up to shift it from 1 to 2 to 3 and 4? is it bad for the car?

Master Bill Flex

It wont make one bit of difference. It may shift slower, if anything.

disgruntlednut

Yes, its bad. And pointless. The car will shift at redline at wide open throttle if you leave it in D4, which is what you're trying to do anyways... Believe the right term for what you're doing is "gate shifting".

breakers93

yea thanks i have seen it done and wondered if it was bad for the car or what

Master Bill Flex

i dont think its "bad" because it just tells the computer to shift instead of it doing it on its own. It just puts you in control, as if you were in snow and wanted to keep it a gear lower. No gain for normal driving use, probably just use more gas. If you see it done, slap a bitch

Tehvine

Well... from a past experience I would say it's terrible. I used to make my accord chirp gears by doing that. Needless to say, the trans no longer works. I wouldn't dare try that on a 3.0 glass transmission.

iansanderson

shifting the transmission manually will not "mess it up."

But if you're shifting manually while engaging in high RPM, heavy throttle-spirited driving; the added stress, heat and torque will shorten its life.

It's most important to consistently change the ATF about every 30-40K and always use Honda/Acura ATF-Z1 fluid.

Using the different gears is completely OK. Using D3 when driving in the city or driving aggressively is completely OK. Using 2 when driving in heavy snow or ice is fine. Using 1 when off-roading is OK.