ed_423

okay..so i read the manual, not getting a lot of info there..so did a search in the forum...not too much either. google..same. mrocto from this forum said that think of using the shifters as playing a racing game in ps2 or osmething. so i decided to try that out on the freeway the otherday..

so i shift into S mode, and it was already at gear 4 while going around 40, so as i was accelerating to 60 and press + to go to 5th gear at around 4000 rpm. then i realize that it was harder for me to accerlating when i step on the paddles then, so i press - and found it easier to accerlate?

oh, also, i do NOT need to let go of the gas to shift correct?

this is my first car with this funciton..so thanks in advance. feel free to add anything u might think i need or wnat to know

MrOtocinclus

hehe, glad to see you try out the paddles. Here are some answers:

You know how some people call manuals 5-speeds or 6-speeds? It's because each gear is used for a certain speed. So, in your situation, you are in too high of a gear at too low of a speed. That's great for gas mileage but not so great for acceleration. As many people have said, Hondas are high-revving cars and the sweet spot for our cars is around 4 to 5k RPMs in terms of acceleration.

Usually, if I'm accelerating to 60 MPH, I'm in gear 3. For regular California speed limits, I hardly ever venture into gear 5 unless I'm just looking to cruise and save gas.

You do not need to let go of the gas.

If you want some fun on an open road, downshift one gear and let it go up to 7K RPM before you shift. That will allow you to feel the power of the car.

ed_423

ahh mroto thankyou! i remmber when i first got the car, my parents (dont konw too mcuh bout cars) warned me : DONT TOUCH THEM!
but of course, like all teenagers, i did, but at that time i didnt really know them at all..
i have already figured out what 5-speed and 6-speed meant, but i did not know that i was in too high of a gear. now it makes sense! haha whenever i downshift, i feel the car kinda lag one bit, like it chocked or osmething. dont really know how to expalin it, like i tap the break a bit, that is normal am i correct? sometimes i feel like i might hurt the car LOl. althoguh i've been told i shuoldnt since the car computer protects it.

but thanks mroto. answers a lot of my quesotins

TSteezyX

Haha, it's pretty intuitive.

fceeviper

Is there video on this, I would like to know how to use this feature.

TSteezyX

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NViaZJ51U4I

Didn't even watch it. Looks solid, though.

Like Oto said, you don't want to shift into too high of a gear at too low of a speed because the car will bog(although this can't happen in the TSX...the ECU cuts off 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears at certain points when the speed of the car is too low to accommodate those respective gears).

Just the same, you don't want to downshift into too low of a gear while traveling at too high of a speed(I'm pretty sure the TSX has a dummy system that prevents this from happening also, but I'm not positive) because you'll over-rev and cause damage to the engine.

The car jerks slightly during downshifting because of a.) the torque converter and b.) the ECU's attempts at rev-matching the speed of the engine with the speed of the vehicle. In a true manual, downshifting without raising the RPMs results in an even boggier exchange and unnecessary wear and tear on the engine. To prevent this, the ECU automatically raises the revs during downshifting to reduce wear and make smoother shifts(I find that the downshift rev-matching by the ECU always leaves me 500-1000rpm lower than where I want to be, and blipping the throttle just a little bit makes shifts even smoother and sweeping corners even quicker )

Hope this helped. I typed it up quickly. Anyone feel free to correct me.

ed_423

haha wow how did u find that vid? i searched on youtube and i coudlnt find anyhting LOl.
but thanks man, that answers a lot of my questions too.
so according to the video...downshift one gear to make a turn? do i have to press break to downshift? or they are just doign that in the vid cuz they need to slow down to make a turn lol

solid write up guys. very helpful!

black label

You are correct that it won't let you downshift if the shift would take you into red line. What it will do is blink the gear number you were trying to get to, if your speed drops enough in the next 5 seconds (my memory is shaky on the exact time allotment) it will make the shift, otherwise it will just over ride you.

TSteezyX

Haha, I searched "How to use paddle shifters" lol.

I'll have to actually watch the video, but you don't have to downshift one gear to make a turn. Depending on your speed/how sharp the turn is/whether you're driving aggressively, you might want to stay in the same gear or downshift twice. It's conditional.

For example, if I'm in third gear at 20mph and I want to blast down an on-ramp, I'll downshift to second, putting the car in second gear at 20mph and higher RPM(this puts me at a better position to now speed down the on-ramp than if I had stayed in third gear because the car would have been at a lower RPM)...at which point I could go WOT to redline before shifting back into third. It's relative depending on what type of driving you're doing, etc.

In normal city/neighborhood driving, I keep the car in D. There's no sense in fooling around with clicking the paddles between stoplights. I'll use the paddles when coming up to stop lights which have just turned red, while exiting the highway, or aggressive driving. The two former to prevent extensive brake wear, and the latter to...well...have fun.

You don't have to brake while downshifting. You can be costing while downshifting, braking, or giving it gas. The ECU takes care of everything else. Don't worry about using the paddles too much. If anything, use them to help you slow down. Try watching some more videos about how/when to use them in relation to aggressive driving...they do make the car much more fun when used properly.

civichbdx

I usually just use them when I need to get around some idiot. You dont have to be on S to use paddles at leaste I don't. figured it out one day by mistake I was pissed off and I normally drive stick so instinct took over. Drove around like a maniac that day hehe good times lol

patcracks

Love this car and its paddle shifters!!!!!!!!!!

ed_423

haha yeah i dont use the paddles in locals. in fact, i rarly use them becuase i am not too familiar with it lol, but now i am starting to experiment it on the freeway so i jsut want to learn it lol. thanks guys

MrOtocinclus

Yeah, I wonder if the people who do the 0-60 tests take into account the paddle shifters? For those of us who use them regularly and have understood the nuances, how would we compare with a 0-60 done on an MT? Something to think about for sure...

Since I've been driving with the paddles I've come to understand one of the reasons that people like MT, which is control. But I also like the convenience of AT when I want it. Best of both worlds!

cb1021

play gran turismo 5 to learn how to drive for performance

baltimorecaesar

your kidding right?

cpmajai

dont be afraid to push the engine past 4k. VTEC doesnt even kick in till after that anyways
i used to be afraid to rev my Yamaha R6 when I was a noob...but give it a couple weeks of practice, and it'll be like 2nd nature. you can shift in your sleep soon enough. I stopped looking at my actual gauges, and started feeling the vibrations from the engine, that's when you know your truly comfortable driving your vehicle

MrOtocinclus

Actually, it's not that far-fetched. Obviously a game is not a substitute for real life, where you can feel the actual physics, but there are plenty of other things in the game that you can learn about driving.

I've seen some videos where race drivers actually used GT5 for practicing courses or demonstrating driving techniques (i.e. drifting) to students.