calijeff

So I just got my car like a week ago, and this weekend was the first time I really took it for a drive. 5th gear is more to the right than I am used to. So there were a couple times when I went from 4th to 3rd when I intended to go to 5th. I was only going about 55mph and I let the clutch out slowly. When I saw the rpms go up to about 5500 I put the clutch back in. I only had the rpms that high for about a second and it’s not like I hella popped the clutch. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be too concerned by this, but since I’ve never broken in a car before and I’m only just over 100miles, I’m wondering if this could have caused any damage.

On another note, is it bad if say you’re cruising in 5th and you know you’re going to have to slow down ahead but no sure how much to just go to neutral and then select the appropriate gear for your speed say for example 3rd?

Thanks for the help…

TSX.Fury

couldn't tell ya if you caused any damage ... although I would highly suspect it. About the gear selection, nah it isn't bad as long as you pick the right hear and rev match.

SDCGTSX

Rev match! Learn rev matching before you mess around too much with the tranny. Also someone had a good tip on shifting and knowing which gear w/o looking. If you push up or down from ANY gear it'll go into 3 or 4. To go into 1, you have to put considerable pressure toward your left, and same for going to 5 / 6 you have to put pressure to the outside. You'll never have to look to shift again.

calijeff

I wasn't trying to mess around, but you think i did cause damage? I know the micropolish everything so breaking in a car today isnt like it was years ago.

Dan Martin

Don't worry about any damage, your car is fine.

There's a hand placement technique for shifting that helps to prevent mis-shifts. It involves placing the palm of your hand either on the left, right, or top of the knob depending on what gear you're going to.

Upshifting:
1-2: Palm on the right, pressing slightly to the left.
2-3: Palm on top, allow the spring to center the knob in the gate and press straight forward.
3-4: Palm on top, pull straight back.
4-5: Palm on left, slight pressure to the right.
5-6: Palm on left, slight pressure to the right.

Downshifting:
6-5: Palm on left, slight pressure to the right.
5-4: Palm on top, allow the spring to center the knob in the gate and pull straight back.
4-3: Palm on top, push straight forward.
3-2: Palm on right, slight pressure to the left.
2-1: Palm on right, slight pressure to the left.

Sounds convoluted at first but it doesn't take long for it to be second nature. Moving your hand for each shift creates muscle memory and you're far less likely to mis-shift when shifting quickly.

SDCGTSX

I think I definitely damaged something. The gears have more "give" between gas and no gas. A more minor version of the problem I had w/ my CL.

Dan Martin

What did you do?

calijeff

did u do the same thing?

NightShredder

I don't think you did to much damage shifting into 3rd going 55mph. At that speed you still would be pretty far from the Rev Limit. 3rd gear is pretty good until about 70 mph. Besides I think the car locks gears at certain times. You cannot mistakenly shift into reverse while going forward or 1st while going over a certain speed and so on.

NightShredder

I don't want to hijack the thread, but...

Dan, BTW your avatar reminds me of my freshman year at the University of Colorado. One Saturday some guy was wearing a box going around to where all the college kids hang out to party. He would sit on the corner and wait. A group of people walk buy and he jumps up scares them to death sprints down a block and squats back down. I saw this guy hours later doing the same thing to others. Goes to show you that with a good imagination and a box you can have hours of entertainment.

Dan Martin

There is only a reverse lock, all other gears are fair game while moving forward.

I agree about the 3rd gear and 55mph comment.

Dan Martin

If there ever was a that was it.

SDCGTSX

Heck w/ an imagination and a box, all I need is a fast internet connection and one free hand....

afici0nad0

ya, you should be fine. as long as you don't make it a habit.

just slightly push to the right when you are shifting from 4th to 5th.

when i shift from 3rd to 4th, i just flick it down with my 2 fingers...basically no pressure at all.

i accidentlly grinded my gear when i was rolling down my driveway once. rolling down my driveway, popped it into reverse w/o coming to a complete stop, and heard the grind. i was hurting...

daddydliv

Your car will be fine; it can take a licking and keep on ticking. I'm sure that's part of the reason you bought an Acura.

As far as revving high after idling in neutral - I don't know. I do the same thing sometimes and I don't know if it is bad or not. That's a question I'd like to have answered myself. e.g. - you're coming up to a toll booth on a highway in 6th, push the clutch in and cruise for a few and then downshift, going from idle (1500 rpm) to 4k rpm in a heartbeat. Is that a bad thing to do?

afici0nad0

yes, it is a bad thing.

rev it to about 3000rpm while you have the clutch pressed down, then ease off the clutch. it should be a smoother transition than your example. i'm assuming you're downshifting from 6th to 5th?

daddydliv

Sometimes I'll be going about 75 MPH in 6th, push the clutch in as I roll up to a toll booth and then start downshifting usually 4th, then 2nd. I almost never rev back up above 4k, but I go from 1.5 to 4k that fast. No good?

pr0tek025

I've done this to my '96 Accord before (and I'll spare myself the humiliation of telling you how) and this did not damage the transmission. I also would coast at about 55, the put it in gear kinda quickly and did not cause any damage either. After I had my car for over 5 years, I would feel a little give (at 3rd, 4th and 5th gears). I had asked my Honda Service department about this and they explained that there are self adjusting "tensioners" that will self adjust the clutch so that it will not show any effect on the way that you drive. If you are having this problem, you are still within the warranty period and should have it checked out. If you feel the give in 2nd gear, I would definitely take it to the dealer to check it out.

My Accord is now totaled and I'm looking at a new TSX to replace it. Nice to know that there are other owners that are willing to give their 2 cents when questions come up.

mg7726

i've misshifted on a S2000, bounced off the rev counter once at the tracks. i was too scared to tell my friend that day. he loves and babies the car that i think he would have a heart attack...was reliefed when he said 'don't worry 'bout it'

the TSX 6MT gearbox is SOOO buttery good. i'd be surprised if some didn't misshift

dmbfan36_23

Actually, I've learned the hard way... twice (doH!) that the reverse lock applies when rolling backwards as well... If you're rolling backwards and want to shift into reverse to give it more throttle going back you can't... grind grind!.. you have to come to a full stop before shifting into reverse....

afici0nad0

try revving it up to around 3000-3500rpm before easing off of the clutch when downshifting from 4th-3rd-2nd. you should notice a smoother transition.

TSX.Fury

Ok, I've driven manual my entire life (yeah not that long but a good 6 years) and I learned on old Bristh non-syncho cars. So I'm not a total noob but I have never gotten an answer to this question.

Lets say I'm at a stoplight and everyone starts to move a little so I start creeping forward, not fully engaging 1st gear, just letting out a little to creep. Then traffic starts to move and I shift into second and go. Will that cause any harm because I was never all the way in first.

I have a somewhat bad habit (being cause by learning on a non-syncho car) to start up all the time in second. I mean, not it I'm at a complete stop but even if I'm just rolling the littlest bit I go into second.

GIBSON6594

I do the same thing, i don't think its bad. I think you are only supposed to go into first if you are at a dead stop or really close to one, otherwise go into second

afici0nad0

ya, i don't think you should have anything to worry about...

The Chad

3rd gear at 55mph shouldn't be a problem on any car, I wouldn't imagine. I've mis-shifted my S2000 once when downshifting when I first learned how to drive stick, and was approaching a corner. I looked for 4th and found second. Wasn't going fast enough to over-rev the engine (which can occur on downshifting even with a rev-limiter), but the gear engaged perfectly, throwing the rpms up and caused the back tires to hop.

When I first was learning (I learned how to drive stick on my S, I'm a quick study and have done no real harm), sometimes when I was accelerating "briskly" I would hit 5th gear instead of 3rd. I learned after awhile it was because I was being too "forcefull" with the shifter. By using the palm method, not pistol gripping the shifter, especially in the S, the car seems to find the next gear by itself, whether you're upshifting or downshifting (almost telepathically, I might add). I'm assuming from all I've read the TSX's tranny is the same way.

I don't think my transmission is as smooth as butter. It's not vague like several Civic manuals I've driven, the throws are shorter than a GM tranny. There's a noticealbe, tactile "snick" when gear changing. It doesn't require force, but gives enough feedback to know if you've completed the gear change, and a good feeling for what gear you're in and the throws are or so short and effortless. Again, assuming the TSX is similar, I would disagree with the "i'm suprised there isn't more mis-shifts" comment.

Not hating, of course. Man, I really need to drive a MT TSX and see if I like it (I'm on this board because I'm thinking of one for a more practical S2000 replacement).

Powered by Honda

hahaha your car is fine. 5000 is nothing.

Motohip

I wish I was 22 with an S2K.

And I think the TSX would be a great replacement for the S2k without losing much of the fun factor....that or the RSX-S.