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Hello fellow Civic owners.

Well this question only applies to those that know how to drive manual/standard. I have been driving my standard 2005 Civic EX coupe for about 2 months now. Its not that i have a problem shifting, i was just wondering what is the proper way to shift to do the least damage to the clutch/engine/car.

For example: When approaching a stop sign, at about 500 metres before it i will engage the clutch, put it in neutral and then disengage the clutch untill i come to a stop. is this ok? or should i be downshifting from lets say 4th to 3rd to 2nd to 1st and then come to a stop??

Also is it bad to rev the engine and if not, to what extent can you rev the engine?

Thanks a lot and every bit of advise will help!

 
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*NEVER DOWNSHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR* Only downshift to second. Downshifting is for quick reduction of speed or to save your brakes. So you want to ask yourself which you would rather replace- brake parts or your transmission.

Don't know rev limits. Sorry.

 
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First, nothing wrong with cruising in neutral to a stop. If you have time and distance, engine braking is fine, too. I find that engine braking is particularly useful in winter, but otherwise, I'll drop it into neutral and coast to a stop using the brakes. Besides, brakes are a LOT cheaper to replace than an engine or transmission lol.

As far as revving the engine, there's no problem within reason. I mean, the engine HAS to rev, right? But realistically, even under "spirited driving", there's no reason for a Civic to redline. Just be smart about your revving and gear choice and you should be OK.

 
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Thanks for the info!

 
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lazylong is right. I believe our cars, like a lot or manuals, don't have synchros for first gear, so you really shouldn't be down shifting into first to slow down. i generally don't down shift to slow down because it puts unnecessary wear on the clutch unless you blip the throttle just right.

But i will stay in gear while braking to slow down (unless it's a hard stop) until the revs fall to about 1k. The cool thing about having a manual car is that if the engine speed is above idle and the accelerator is in the neutral position (your foot is off of it), the fuel injectors will cut gas. This is how you can improve your fuel economy. If you shift into neutral, your car still uses some gas to keep the engine idling as opposed to none when engine braking. I use this technique all the time and usually average about 40 miles per gallon.

as far as revving goes, after the engine is nice and warmed up, i have brought it up to just below the red but i never drive in the red. i never cruise on my vtec either. I don't think it could cause any actual immediate damage if you did, but you would get crappier mileage and your engine would wear out faster just like anything mechanical that gets over used.