How do you think Acura would do in their CLS sales if they put shiftlights in the 6 spd CLS and maybe even the GSR, Type-R tegs? Nothing tacky though, a nice round led, with a brushed aluminum outline, placed where it's visible to use, but not tacky. This could come stock from the factory on only the 6 spd CLS or the 5 spd tegs I mentioned above. it could be like a free option since there's some older folks out there that wouldn't want it. but i do think it would be a good market gimmick for acura to get to the younger crowd. there could be also buttons or knobs where you could turn it off, turn it to different modes for different shift points, and etc... and acura would of course research for the best shift points for the setting you choose....

Just thinking about this again...how about a circular digital light on the navi screen? or even the whole navi screen blinks when you should shift...

 

I vote NO !!!!!

I don’t see the need for this.
When you learn the car and the engine there is no need for a shift light.

Shawn S

 

i think the problem with a shift light is that in general people drive a manual car because they want to be in control of the gearing. Personally i think it would be annoying that a little led light comes on through out the gears

there are different people with different driving habits

after mastering the cars transmission there should be no need for a shift light

YES

i think its a good idea for novice manual drivers but not so great for the long run

sidemarker

 

awesome answer sidemarker

i agree

 

thanks oce01acura32cl

sidemarker

 

My 92 Civic VX hatchback had one from the factory. Little green arrow on the dash would light up when to upshift. I never paid attention to it but I'm sure it would help some novice drivers.

 

I think a shift light is a good idea.

If you want to race your car and shift at redline, but not past redline, it is a great aid. I obviously have a lot more of a vested interest in not bumping the limiter though.

 

I'm planning on getting a shift light for my car. Nothing too large. I never race, but the couple times I did, I went over the redline. Plus I get max HP at 6200 RPM. I think it would help out a lot. Obviously, It wouldn't come on all the time. Only for what I set it for when racing.

 

Hmm first of all..... not all young people can afford this car. Secondly, why would the option of a shiftlight improve the sales of the 6spd? Lastly, from what I hear from ppl who drive manuals, a shift light in it would :ghey:

 

What's the point of a shift light? Its a light that comes on at redline? Don't we have a big tachometer with redline painted on it? That's all I've ever needed.

 

From what you hear?

Sheesh, drive a manual car before you give your "opinion".

 

I would have to agree - a shift light would be :ghey:

It would also be annoying to see the light stay on every time I wanted to pass the predetermined shift point (probably a conservative 3 or 4K). This may be a good device for a novice, but it would soon be useless...and, I'm going to go out on a limb here, the MT CL-S is not a novice transmission!

I know the shift points from the feel and sound of the car - plus there's that big dial device in front of me with numbers from 0 to 7000 and something called a redline.

 

I drove a manual...........i think it would be annoying to see alight everytime you had to shift. Look at the huge frickin tach and you know when to shift!!!

 

Since I would never ever drive a manual shift CL, I think it would be great to have one of those lights for the other guys only. Rather than a small shift light, I would blink the interior dome light so at night, there's no mistaking that you should shift. It would be a fast blink and it would be red for upshift and blue for downshift. And if you don't shift after awhile, the computer should shift it out for you!

Oh and I would blink the Navi too. Just think a short 5-mile trip to the grocery store in medium traffic on the side-roads; yeah it would change the sales of the 6-sp: people would be bringing them back.

 

I agree with Shawn S 100%
When you learn the car & the engine you would not need a light.
Guys I drove 5 speed HONDA cars for 20yrs before getting my TL. I did this almost everyday for 20yrs you will know when its time to shift . I must have did okay without one I never put a new clutch or engine in any of my other cars. My 1st Generation 1980 PRELUDE is what I learned to drive a manual tranny on. I got it brand new & had only took a one hour long lesson with EASY METHOD DRIVING on a small Chevy before I got the my new HONDA from the dealership. The PRELUDE must have cut off at least 30 times before I got it home from the dealership. This was because as I said I did not know how to drive a manual. When driving a manual you learn the sound & the feel of the car. The only point of a shift light is to get max feul economy. I don't think a person buying a 6 speed CL would be thinking about a shift light. They would be thinking about how to move that thig out just like that TV add. The one with the guy looking to buy a new house with his wife. He doesn't look at the house but the twisty road to get to it.

 

Well, I was thinking of a totally different type of shift light.

If all you pansies are worried about is the MPG race, then I wouldn't get one either.

 

But again as I & others have said you will know when to shift by the feel & sound of the car.

 

But again, I was thinking of a racing application...and in a fast car....

 

well, i autoX AND i drive my car on tracks (thunder hill and buttonwillow) so having a shiftlight isn't a bad idea when racing.

sometimes you are paying so much attention to the track/course itself that you cannot look down at your RPM's to see when to shift, and sometimes even the sound of the engine revving is drowned out by concentration on the track.

i am going to put a very small pill shift light in my car that i can "switch on" when i am racing events, but i will not have it on while driving normally around town.

 

another good reason that i'm going to put a small shift light in when racing is because when i was at Buttonwillow, i was constantly revving the car too high and bouncing off the rev limiter which would make my tranny get way too damn hot and it would then stop my tranny from shifting WHILE RACING!

after about two laps of WOT, my car would suddenly be stuck in 2nd gear! it would take about 30 seconds of deceleration in order for it to finally kick back down in the RPM's and change gears again. it would do this because i would be constantly bouncing off the limiter and being at WOT so damn much in such a short time.

later that day , i started to learn to shift my car WAY before the redline just so that it wouldn't get too close to the limiter and get stuck in gear. my shifts needed to be in the mid 6,000's in order for my tranny to not "flip out". so what i was going to do is to set my shift light to come on at precisely 6,000 or 6,100 rpms because of the 1 second delay in shifting. i want to time is just right so that when it finally shifts it will be at 6,600 rpms or so just so that the tranny doesnt get stuck in gear from over-revving.

it takes a bit of experience in racing our cars to it's max when talking about shifting problems like this. (and no, i don't have a problem with my tranny, this is just what it does when you push it so damn hard)

 

TypeSDragoon -

You mean you can't shift precisely by "the sound and feel" alone and can't stare at "that big round thing with the redline" while racing?

I'm sure these experts in here could, especially the ones who've never driven a manual.

Thanks for inputting some racing experience in the thread.

 

nope, sometimes you can't take a sec to even look down when you have about a dozen cars around you and are flying up to a turn that you need to brake really hard on and downshift at the same time. sometimes you just can't

to be more precise, sometimes it's hard to hear your engine in order to shift between 6-7k exactly. and what you really want to do is to shift at 6,600 precisely. BUT, how can you shift at that precise point by only looking down once. you can't in certain places and times. you really have to look down twice. one to see exactly where the rpm's are at while accelerating, and one to make sure it shifts at the 6,600 rpm. but it's a matter of half a second sometimes, and when can you take half a second to look down when flying up to a turn with cars around you. you can't. which is why in my racing experience, a shift light would be helpful for me even for safety reasons. the second reason is so that i don't mis-shift and bounce off my limiter so much thus making my tranny wig-out.

you have no idea how pissed off i was that day at buttonwillow. i spent a couple hundred bux to race during my sessions and ended up only driving half of the day and only half of my 20 minute sessions sometimes and it was all due to my damn tranny acting up. i had to pull over so much just to let it cool down because of the over-revving and it not wanting to shift.

put yourself in my shoes. the track is two minutes long. half way through it starts acting up and i'm stuck in second. the two BMW m3's in front of me are now pulling away because i'm stuck in a low gear. finally, 20 seconds later my tranny is all better and i can start going fast again. i'm catching up to the m3's now, and by the last turn, it makes a left 90degree going into a BIG long straightaway. i take the left turn right behind the M3's expecting to pass them because i'm going to take the turn better than them and have more power on the exit. just as i start getting to the point where i'm passing them. WHAB WHAB WHAB WHAB WHAB goddamn rev limiter and i'm stuck in gear again on the goddamn straight away. bouncing off my rev-limiter right in front of the crowd with my buddies video taping the whole thing.

hope that helps.

 

I think the problem in here is that some of the guys think that the Shift light would be used for daily driving. Most people even with Huge Tach's don't even use then unless they are racing. I have never head of anyone setting a shift light to 3000RPM. It is for racing. I totally agree with what was said about not being able to take my eyes off the road when racing.

Would it be better to set my shift light to be right before my redline, or at 6200RPM (I get peak at 6300RPM)? Which one and why?

 

I think a shiftlight that is programable and can be turned off is a good idea. I have driven manual for a long time and a shiftlight is useless for normal driving. But if you are racing a visual cue as to when you are APPROCHING redline is useful. You dont have to take your eye off the road. Where you set it (how close to redline) for racing depends on how you shift.

Im not sure but I think the 350Z will have a programable shift light on some models

 

Exactly, I have my shiftlight set to go off at 6400 RPM for the track and 5900 for the street, which allows me to shift at 6800 and 6300 respectively. I have learned my reaction time shifting to when the light comes on is about 400 RPM, so I shift right on time.