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Is downshifting bad?

 
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Old Oct 2, 2004
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Is downshifting bad?

sup all. i've had my 04 ex coupe for about 3 months now. On some days on the interstate, i'll occasionally downshift from 5th to 4th to get that extra needed speed. Now if I keep downshifting from time to time, will my engine/tranny wear out faster? Whats the difference between downshifting from 5th to 4th and from 5th to 3rd. Since I got my car, I've only been downshifting from 5th to 4th. I'm afraid that if I go from 5th to 3rd, I might break something, lol.
Old Oct 2, 2004
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lol im not sure.. i have the same question
my father also told me that when i come to intersections i need to down shift.. which seems hard ont he engine to me?.. any comments on this also?
Old Oct 2, 2004
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I don't think downshifting is bad. I do it every day. Make sure you are rev matching every shift (down or up) so that you don't have a jerky ride.
Old Oct 2, 2004
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down shifting when coming to an intersection is ok. Just brake at the same time. going from 5th to 4th is ok. when im going up a hill and someone is slow in front of me, i go from 4th to 3rd. its ok, just be sure to brake at the same time if you are coming to a stop.
Old Oct 2, 2004
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If i'm doing a hard downshift to slow down in a hurry I usually brake and gas at the same time to make my shift extra smooth. If I'm downshifting to get better acceleration then you only need to gas it for a smooth shift.
Old Oct 2, 2004
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Rev match. you are fine.
Old Oct 2, 2004
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rev and match is ok
Old Oct 2, 2004
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When just coming to a stop, your engine and transmission will last longer if you just use your brakes with no downshift. Everybody knows its cheaper to replace brakes than engines.
Old Oct 3, 2004
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if you are downshifting to get power (rev and match or double clutching) is ok but if you are doing it to slow the car down you are using your gear syncros too much and it can lead to wearing the clutch faster and some tranny and engine components.
also you waste more gas when you are downshifting to slow the car down
personally i only do it when i need to stop fast or to get power when changin lanes or stuff like that
Old Oct 3, 2004
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also in the manual it talks about downshifting
Old Oct 3, 2004
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5th to 2nd always works.
Old Oct 4, 2004
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Originally Posted by NeonImpact
5th to 2nd always works.
HAHAHA Dont Mess around like that ,,,,,,,,, i did it.. i was driving down the highway when some dumn *** though it would be fun to do about 90 and passed me up, then the Fu*$ hit his hazards like he won a race or somethin. So i went to downshift into 4th but it sliped into 2nd , dont ask me how, the E.C.U's Sincros didnt help much ( when you try to down shift and it wont let you) it just kind of cought the cluch and VVVVVRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOMmmmmmmmm (lets just say if i had a 10k rpm tac....It would be around 11K lol)
it ran for about a mile then just Died....... it wouldnt start so i tryed to push start it, wich worked until i started to smell fuel..lol.. i had it towed to the nearest honda dealer, wich lucky for me was 7 miles away ( the exact free towing mileage your get from AAA) it was around 11pm so i had to leave it in the overnight drop. they called me up and asked me what happend so i fed them a story about how i went to shift and it just rev'd really high then died.. Luckly it was under warranty ( wich they tryed to get around by asking me all types of questions some of wich were b.s like "did you fuel up resently , we think you might have put desiel fuel in the car" (we all know A desiel nosel wont even fit in a normal gas tank)) so anyway . they fixed it for free. and when i asked what had happend they told me there was "just to much movment" and it ended up Blowing each and every gascet, bend the lifters ( wich had hit the pistons so hard they had to take and resurfise them) ect. ect.. so its not a good idea to go from 5th to 2nd...................but if you are doing about 60 and want a good down shift from 5th go into 3rd when you hit about 80mph is when you need to go into 4th. please forgive the spelling , i've been up for like 18 some hours.
Old Oct 4, 2004
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This has been covered before...

http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh....php?p=2005194
Old Oct 4, 2004
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i double clutch when downshifting....nothings wrong with my car.......yet.....
Old Oct 4, 2004
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Good Idea

Originally Posted by NeonImpact
5th to 2nd always works.
LOL. I should try this. 5th about 70MPH and then downshift to 2nd, right?
Old Oct 4, 2004
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^don't forget to look in ur rearview when you do it!
Old Oct 4, 2004
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Originally Posted by sw388integra
^don't forget to look in ur rearview when you do it!
Why? So you can see the trail of metal parts behnd you?
Old Oct 4, 2004
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exactly!
Old Oct 4, 2004
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Originally Posted by Tinman
Why? So you can see the trail of metal parts behnd you?
hahaha. like some already mentioned....rev match and it'll be fine.
Old Oct 5, 2004
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Wow this thread is ridiculous. HAHA. If you are worried about downshifting too far, don't let the clutch out all the way. If you see your tach go up to 5 or 6k before you even have the clutch all the way out, then it is probably a bad idea.

Once I was cruising in neutral and some how i accidentally hit the "resume accel" button and my engine revved and i flipped out. Slammed the clutch down and luckily that disengages cruise control. Could have lost a well built D17 there hahaha, maybe insurance money would have bought me a k20 instead.
Old Oct 5, 2004
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You r suppose to downshift, so that since ur slowing down u might need the extra power to get bak up so u wanna be in a low enough gear. and no i dont think its bad, it designed for that
Old Oct 5, 2004
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manual is design to downshift, so i dont think there's noting wrong with it.
Old Oct 5, 2004
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so what about putting it into neutral when rolling to a stop, like when approaching a red light
Old Oct 7, 2004
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Originally Posted by Honda2k4
so what about putting it into neutral when rolling to a stop, like when approaching a red light
What could be wrong with that? Quit worrying so much and just DRIVE!! If it doesn't feel or sound bad for you car, than it probably isn't haha.. that's my theory anyways.
Old Oct 7, 2004
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No it isn't. WOT shifting eventually kills your tranny. Trust me, I killed three GSR's.
Old Oct 7, 2004
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I downshift alot and drive my car like I stole it. Also have a 50 shot of nitrous(I use it alot to),intake,and exaust My clutch starts to reak whenever i push my car hard and the second and third gears kinda crunch when i shift when its cold out but i really dont care right now. My car is in flawless condition so im hopping something goes wrong and i can get a new tranny before i put turbo on the car using my 7yr 70000 mile warrenty and they wont be able to say anything because my car looks like it has been babied.
Old Oct 7, 2004
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i meant wouldnt it be better to put it in neutral when slowing down, like any difference between downshifting, i mostly downshift but ive seen someone do it the other way
Old Oct 7, 2004
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Originally Posted by Honda2k4
i meant wouldnt it be better to put it in neutral when slowing down, like any difference between downshifting, i mostly downshift but ive seen someone do it the other way

what happens if you have to get back on the gas quick??? Keeping it in gear is a bit of a safty precaution, especially if you down shift, as it keeps you in the right gear to speed away quickly if nessisary.
Old Oct 7, 2004
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Originally Posted by Honda2k4
so what about putting it into neutral when rolling to a stop, like when approaching a red light
 
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