Hello all. Before I start this thread I would like to inform everybody that I've been driving a TSX from my neighbor while he's been out of town for the past week. I will also say I've been driving manual transmission cars of many types for 9 years. With that said, I think the 1-2 shift on this car is fairly rough. My current car is a 2000 Audi A4. That shift is ultra smooth with no percieved power drop at all. When I drive this car I tach it up to about 3500, and even with a smooth transfer it seems like I can't keep up with the minivan ahead of me. If I try and let up sooner it feels realy jerky. Now I'm not jumping on this car, but I'm wondering if anybody out there could tell me a more proper way to 1-2 shift. This car is wonderful. Handling is crisp. All other shifts are great. I couldn't believe how fast I was going on the highway the other day. In any event, all help would be appreicated. Thanks

AKeaton

 

hey keaton this has been discussed many times here. A search might help you out. There are 2 issues with the 1-2 shift. The first is a notchiness that seems to get better after time but never really goes away.

The other problem (if you want to call it a problem) is the gearing. I , and many others here, feel that the gear ratios of 1st and 2nd are too far apart. So a shift to second causes a large drop in rpms. I have also argued that this is affecting the acceleration of the car as well.

Applying a litte gas into second and coming off the clutch slowly seems to help for normal driving.

Ideally a shorter second gear would have made for a much better shift, and better acceleration. We've got 6 gears to work with so to me thats even more reason to do it. But unfortunately though this would mean you would need a shift to 3rd to get to 60 mph and honda wants to keep 0-60 a 1 shift exercise.

 

I have to agree with you on this one. I've been driving my TSX 6MT since last April, and the 1-2 shift is often 'rough'. The only relatively consistent method by which I can achieve a smooth shift is to pause once the stick comes out of 1st position and before I drop it into 2nd position. Even then, if the angle at which I'm pulling is not perfect - I get that rough insertion. Not sure what to do about it. All other shifting is seamless however.

 

Just shift at 7400!

 

Thanks for the replies. Are there any other tips you could suggesst, or have they all been said on a previous thread. As I am new to this, and if that is the case, could you send me a link to the thread where the 1-2 shift is being discussed. This is a great car, but that 1-2 shift is really annoying.

 

It's true! For some reason, 1-2 is smooth as silk at anything over 5k. Weird....but I like it

 

Clutch:

Do you always give your 1-2 at over 5k? and is this safe for your engine? Does it kill your mileage? again, I am new to Honda/Acura cars and the TSX, I am just looking for some information so I can better make a decision. Thanks for everybody's help.

AKeaton

 

The answers to your questions (in order):

1. No.
2. It's fine as long as you're not bouncing off the rev limiter (i.e. if you shift at 5000 every time, you won't damage a thing).
3. Most definitely. The faster your engine is spinning (under the same load), the more gas you use. Period.

Hope that helps. I just made that comment because I thought it was a wierd phenomenon. The notchiness/hesitancy/whatever you want to call it goes away at higher RPMs. Try it.

 

My car will "pop" out of second gear when it's cold. Is this happening to anyone else?

 

no

 

I can't find the 1-2 shift thread. Can anybody send me the URL? Thanks a bunch.

AKeaton

 

Type "notchy" in the search thing. You'll get a whole bunch of tranny threads with the ATs conveniently weeded out Enjoy

 

I guess this car was designed to be driven fast. I'll try this tonight.

 

I think this may not be as bad as some people think. Sure, your car eats twice as much as at 5000 RPM as it does at 2500 RPM, but you're also going twice as fast, too (at least in the same gear). Also, you get to cruising speed (where mileage is best) faster. Optimal mileage is probably reached somewhere in between the two extremes of jack-rabbit starts and slooooooooooowly accelerating to cruising speed.

The main thing (IMHO) that kills mileage is using your brakes. Sounds sillly, but it's true. Every time you apply the brakes, you're tossing gas money out the window. With drive-by-wire, coasting is virtual "free" by comparison.

 

Could you explain how drive-by-wire (DBW) helps coasting? I thought DBW was just supposed to control the mapping of pedal position to interpreted throttle position.

 

Well, (at least in theory) with DBW you needn't supply any fuel at all to the engine when coasting until the RPM drops to near the idle point. There was a discussion about this here a while back.

Coasting is still pretty cheap even without DBW. I was just making the point that a good portion of brake usage (panic and other unanticipated stopping situations aside) really means that you had your foot on the gas previously when you could have taken it off earlier, saving said gas.

 

I noticed some complaints about popping out of gear in the www.acura-tl.com forums. Maybe you could find some info there.

My 1-2 shift has always been plenty smooth, so I'm one of the lucky ones in that respect. But the gear ratio thing is a problem we all have. I, too, take it up to 4000+ RPM in first, which makes the shift easier and diminishes the power lag. Like other guys mentioned, you can also jump back on the gas quicker/harder or release the clutch more slowly to smooth things out.

Does avoiding the 2-3 shift from 0-60 justify the annoying gear ratio? I don't care that much either way (I love my 6MT), but I'm curious to know the rationale.

 

Yup, and its getting on my nerves too

 

I'll have to agree with you on this as well, fdl described it perfectly. When I'm alone or with a buddy I don't mind revving it up to 5 K and there is no perceived problem, but when I'm with the family or with a customer I don't want to race out of the intersection, but don't want the minivan in front of me either, so it does bug me.

I haven't had any issues with second popping out, and its been COLD here. About the only reason I can think of would be the that the shifter wasn't in all the way. Typically I run the car's stick from neutral back and forth in its gate and then to first and then first to second when I'm warming up the car (Takes less than 10 seconds). Was an old habit from what was a truly notchy shifter in the cold with one of my firsts: a 1980 VW Rabbit GTI.