I know this topic has been discussed many times, and i have done a search and looked through all the past threads, but this is really bothering me...

Yes, eventhough i am a newbie when it comes to stickshift, i'm safe to say that i'm getting the hang of it... i've even try matching rev during downshifting, which does smooth out the shift a lot (plus the nice throttle sound). But... the 1-2 shift is really hurting me (or my car)

Here is an example situation:

I'm the first car at the light in the passing lane. Light turns green, i let go of the clutch and give gas as usual. Once i get to 3000 rpm, i shift to second. If i do this shift quick, i jerk the hell outta the car. In order to be smooth, i have to shift very slow, and let go of the clutch very slow. By the time i'm in second gear, the second car (sometimes the third car) in the other lane will already be ahead of me....

The conclusions i got from other posts was:

Shift slow and just ignore the other people, or

Shift at redline...

Can anyone give me any advice??

On a Honda, during a 1-2 shift, you need to get back on gas slighlty before you let go of the clutch. Consider it almost as if you were launching again for a second time, you will need to give it gas before letting go of the clutch, and to smoothen it out, you might also want to dwell ever so slightly on the clutch pedal as well.

Most folks will not be passing you if you get to 3K RPM briskly - but yes you'll have a short period of slowing accelaration as you shift while everyone else in the AT cars keep speeding up. Here in Europe where virtually everyone has an MT it's kind of funny to see 3-4 cars take off from the light almost at the same time and everyone shift 1-2 about the same time.

I also agree with sauceman!!! I myself had the same problem as you when I just got the car and how I overcame that problem was I paid more attention and feel the pedal and the car. After that, you won't need to pay any attention to it at all!!!

So is the the problem that the shift is jerky, or that you're being passed?

It's either go fast, or smooth shift. It's difficult to get both unless you shift slowly at a much higher RPM (4000+).

Edit: Or you could do what I do and just stomp on it once you're in 2nd gear (the reason why 2nd is my favorite gear)

Remember your driving a car without much torque so when you shift at 3k and the rpms drop when you push in the clutch you wont be getting the torque you were before when at 3k. I always tend to give it some gas and slip the clutch some when shifting from 1-2. Also the TSX seems to have a pretty big gear ratio gap in between 1st and 2nd. Going from 2nd all the way through 6, it seems they put the gear ratios closer together.

Blame all the magazines (and readers) that put so much stock in 0-60 times. The 1 and 2 gear ratios seem to be selected with 0-60 time as the only priority. That is why this shift is so hard to do smoothly. A shorter 2nd would allow much smoother shifts, but a shift to 3rd would be required to get to 60 MPH.

The transmission earns its keep with the sexy 3-4, 6-3, and pretty much every other shift. If you aren't facing uphill and aren't in a hurry, starting in 2nd is an OK way to stay smooth. Just make sure you give it enough gas.

Seems that the 1-2 shift was improved in 2009 TSX. Does anyone know the old/new ratios?

Thanks

MBA

3000 is a little on the low side. Your not really in the power band until your closer to 4000. The TSX is a little on the heavy side (relative to its HP and torque output), so we need to give a little extra throttle to overcome that.

Wow guys, this thread is over 4 years old. Although, it has some good info in it.