I'm not sure if this is correct section, if not please forgive me. I just got an '02 ex coupe with a 5 speed. i've never driven a manual before, and i'm wondering what the best shift points are, both for power and also for efficiency. I don't know too much about hondas (or manuals) so i'm not sure if it's a good idea or not to run the engine up to around the redline every now and then. I know this is not an F1 car, but the sound of that engine around 5000rpm is so beautiful i've become addicted. On the other hand, i've got my friend telling me i should shift around 2100 rpm or i'll damage the engine. Can anyone help? Thanks.

not too sure what is the recommended shift points, but when i do my everyday driving, i usually shift around 4200+ rpms.. .. dont really look at the gauge much, i just listen to the sound of my exhaust and the feel.. just my 2cents..

WAY too low. You'll be lugging the engine after every shift. I shift around 3k in daily driving, and around 4k on freeway entrances. You never want your tach to drop below 2k.

in the owners manual, it says to shift at 3000 when you need better accerlation. 2000 if it's very little acceleration. I do shift at 2000 when the road is empty. Some mine find that odd, open road to me isnt always the opportunity to just mash the pedal. Now, dont need to fear if you get it up to 4000 or even red line. Honda's transmissions are alright... so they will hold up. If you want efficiency, shift at like 2500. There isnt such a thing as good acceleration and efficiency, well, that might not exist depending on what kind of acceleration you like.

Effeciancy= 15mph, 30mph, 37mph, 52mph- Owner's manuel will give exact numbers i think those are what the mph is

Power= exactly 5200rpms

Thank you so much guys. I got it used and there was no manual. i was actuall not all that impressed with the car before i got it (only the price impressed) but i'm really starting to like it now, i just wish i had more roads around here to open it up

Peak Torque is at 5200 RPMs.. but for maximum acceleration you need to shift past that point... and on an otherwise stock EX your best shift point is 6,500 RPMs.

He's calculated it

belive me you will not hurt your car by getting close to redline. I have bounced mine off of the rev limiter several times and it still runs great

With 2 years of autocross, the ammount of time I've spent bouncing off the revlimiter is in the Minutes.

This wouldnt be the 1st time I heard you say that haha!
I remember reading a thread about 2 weeks ago, it was about a person that accidently shifted from 5th to 2nd instead of 4th. They hit limiter (obviously), and b/c of that slight moment boucing off the limiter, there was damage.

once in a while glance at the guage, i usually shift at 3000 rpm maybe a little more. If some runs up against u shift down 2 gears putting u in torque range then floor.

redline your **** they put the rev-limiter on so you dont go into the rpm's that start to do damage!

If I remember correctly, my 2003 EX manual says to shift at 3500rpm for best gas mileage.

the manual only states the mph to shift at, not the rpm

In my car, 15/30/40/50mph happens at about 3500rpm.

You really almost have to play with it, to see exactly where you want to shift. I have found and roughly 1/2 - 3/4 throttle and shifting 1-2, 2-3 @ almost 3600rpm the car my bog for a moment. That is normal according to the honda techs and bulletins. If it does that you have found a point when the vtec(based on oil pressure) is about to kick in. So more or less dont shift at that point wait a few more hundred rpm then shift.

ummmm yea. that wasnt a slight moment and that was bouncing off the limiter that was probably like 12k rpm. so yes THAT will damage your engine.

what a horrendous topic....

I was wondering about this myself. I have a 2001 LX 5-speed, and I dindt get a manual for it...anyone got one with the shift points in it?

I could understand if you had a good sounding car, like a WRX or something that has an awesome motor sound, but a d17's sound is nothing to brag or enjoy that much.

^just plain mean..........throw it in our faces why dont you.........

The only thing worse than a d17 is a red wrx... hehe just teasin

what's worse is a red wrx without a drop, j/k.

around-town driving i try to stay in the 2500-3000 rpm range. If I'm going up a steep hill (I've got a lot in my area), sometimes I feel like I have to hold the rpms til i get to 4000 and shift, or else the engine chokes. I feel like we have **** for torque in our motors sometimes ...

Yea... I can't believe this topic isn't locked. Shift when you want. The sooner you shift, the more power you lose, however you'll notice a bit more mileage before you have to stop at the pump. If you wait and rev up to 4k-6.5k you'll get better acceleration but a bit more gas will be used. If you want to shift perfectly along with the manual or whatever y'all are trying to do, trade that biotch in on an auto!

I just shift at 3,000 to 3,500, and when I try to race I shift at 6,700