With all the cautions warning us not to shift into 1st gear when moving, I usually shift into 2nd when making a 90 degree turn (normal driving circumstances) at a speed of around 15mph give or take. The rpm would be around 1500 rpm. Is it better to accelerate from 2nd at that low rpm , or rev match and shift into first at a bit higher rpm. Lugging the engine is one of the worst things to do to it. At what rpm in a given gear would it be considered lugging?

 

I take 90 degree turns in 3rd! Sometimes second. But i go pretty fast. I dont think I would consider going into first thats for sure.

Really? I have not heard this before. Whats so bad about it? Can you explain? Thanks.

 

Me too. These gears are freakin' short! The tranny won't even let you put it in first when you're going that fast (15mph) unless you double clutch it, which is not the most convenient thing to do at every turn. 1500 is definitely not lugging this engine. As long as you're over 1000, you should be fine.

 

Is lugging the engine when the rpms are too low and the motor "shakes"? Sometimes i do this from a start if i dont give the car enough gas...

 

Pat Bedard of C&D wrote an editorial about this some years back. He insisted that lugging the engine was not harmful to it. He was talking about lugging the engine as a way to save gas - rather than downshifting and accelerating.

He was trained as an engineer and worked for Chrysler for several years. I'm not an engineer, but maybe some of the engineers on this board could comment.

In any event, 1500 rpms in 2nd gear shouldn't be in the lugging range.

 

<engineer>It seems to me like the vibration of lugging damaged anything, it'd be the driveshafts. Maybe the engine mounts. The engine should be fine. </engineer>

 

Well, I eventually killed the clutch in my Integra by underclutching on my launches all the time. Still, it lasted 155K miles so I have little room to complain.

 

Underclutching? What do you mean by this?


Also...if lugging is bad...then wouldnt it be bad to launch the car at low rpms every time. So in other words you should engage the clutch above 1500 rpms? Maybe this is even what you mean by underclutching.

 

I have an easy solution for you. Do what I do:

Go like hell. You'll spend most of your time in 3rd through 6th.

 

Guess it's not really the correct word, but I use to indicate launching at lower than optimal RPM.

 

OK, so what rpm should we be launching at? I usually rev to 2000, and then quickly let it down to about 1500 as i let the clutch out. Would something else be better?

 

I don't purport to be an expert in this area, but I tend to err on the side of too few RPM's (risk of shudder/vibration/luggging) instead of too many (wears the clutch plate a wee bit more).

As I recall from my test drives, the TSX launched fine at 1200-1500 RPM.

 

Right. But killing clutch does not equal engine damage, either.

I underclutch, too. I usually rev to 1500 RPM and let the clutch action drag it down to 1000 by the time the pedal's all the way out. When I miss, it's usually on the low side and it lugs at or below 700.