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psyshack said:
Isn't there a book in the glove box that explains all of this at a 3rd grade reading level?
+1

In the owner's manual, it specifically states that one can manually shift through D1, D2, D3 like a manumatic, with no adverse effects. As well, all these people thinking that the tranny. is going to somehow spontaneously combust, need to relax. Honda DOES sell these cars (in foreign markets) with paddle shifters. Do you seriously think that all those cars have a "different" auto. trans. in them? C'mon, folks.


As far as ol' boy saying he's been "working on cars the last 10 yrs." etc. , that would probably make sense of a lot that he says. But this isn't "10 yrs. ago" we're talking about, and these are somewhat "new" technologies being discussed. Therefore, a lot of the typical auto. trans.-dogma, goes right out the window.

That being said, there ARE also criteria for when it's wise to shift to a certain gear. For example, if you're going say...70mph, shifting to "D1" will more than likely "ruin your day". & so-on, and so-forth.
 
Davori said:
^There is sometimes a real need to downshift from D to D3. On hilly highways, certain conditions will cause you to apply more gas, tranny shifts to 4th, you are going too fast, you let go of gas pedal, tranny shifts to 5th. you are now going too slow, you put in the gas pedal, etc. This is called gear hunting and I would assume this is worst on the transmission than shifting to D3 to lock the tranny in third and have more control over your speed.

I agree. Most people will not understand this unless they live in mountain areas. The little 4banger needs to use gears to get up the hills in my area.

I wish I could select 4th gear and hold it.
 
How do you guys feel about using neutral at redlights or down long hills (that don't require engine braking)? I live in the hills of eastern Ky and on some hills the car will actuall speed up if placed in neutral . One hill in particular. I can coast for over a mile (keeping with traffic flow) to reach the redlight in one direction or my turn off in the other direction.
 
ryker said:
How do you guys feel about using neutral at redlights or down long hills (that don't require engine braking)? I live in the hills of eastern Ky and on some hills the car will actuall speed up if placed in neutral . One hill in particular. I can coast for over a mile (keeping with traffic flow) to reach the redlight in one direction or my turn off in the other direction.
In a lot of states it's illegal to have the car in neutral at any time while moving. In Virginia it's a 3 point moving violation and stays on your record for 3 years (source: dmv.state.va.us) - something to do with having no control over a moving vehicle. Beats me as to how they'd prove it. Just fyi, not a lecture :biggrin: There also seems to be a debate as to whether shifting into neutral going downhill even saves any gas. Some say the ECU cuts off the fuel injectors if the wheels are enough to keep the engine above a certain RPM, and therefore shifting into neutral actually requires more gas as idle speed must still be maintained by the engine. No clue which is correct, but I try and leave my car in gear as often as possible (I do shift to neutral at long stop lights in my manual, not in an auto).

Some "hypermilers" will even turn the car off while going down a hill steep enough to maintain speed, and turn it on again near the bottom. Of course, there goes power steering, power brakes...not a good idea imo.
 
Avenger said:
Do NOT pretend you are driving a manual when driving an automatic........put it in D, and don't shift it. Not good for the automatic transmission to shift gears manually while moving.
Umm... :police:

One of my biggest pet peeves - someone who talks about something they know nothing of, yet choose to comment.

Before my SI I had an 06 LX Automatic. I had wanted a manual soo bad and I got the auto instead. Looked in the HONDA manual and you know what it says? The gear selecter can be 'shifted' while driving to be much like a manual transmission. Honda's word > your word. It's not bad on the transmission
 
I Vtec said:
Umm... :police:

One of my biggest pet peeves - someone who talks about something they know nothing of, yet choose to comment.

Before my SI I had an 06 LX Automatic. I had wanted a manual soo bad and I got the auto instead. Looked in the HONDA manual and you know what it says? The gear selecter can be 'shifted' while driving to be much like a manual transmission. Honda's word > your word. It's not bad on the transmission
+1

I'd like to hear that guy explain what the difference is between the transmission shifting gear when the driver tells it to and when it shifts gears automatically!?

Shifting gears, by it's very nature, produces a little wear and tear on the clutches. That's just the price of doing business regardless of whether it's a manual or an automatic. In the case of the automatic, it makes "no" difference whether the command to shift comes from the driver or the computer! Of course, that assumes the driver is driving sanely. If they're being stupid, all bets are off!

FWIW! :wavey:

Drive Safe,
Steve R.
 
you shouldnt really have to do anything your car does have a logic grade now so its not that bad but D3 is good when you need the power. otherwise shifting up and down like a manual is just putting extra wear and tear on the gears.
 
Firestrife said:
you shouldnt really have to do anything your car does have a logic grade now so its not that bad but D3 is good when you need the power. otherwise shifting up and down like a manual is just putting extra wear and tear on the gears.
Please explain why! Refer to my post above yours for my opinioin on the subject!


Drive Safe,
Steve R.

PS: For clarification, I rented a car with a "manumatic" in California. I got into some hilly country and tried leaving it in "D" and wasn't happy with the results. It tended to want to stay in too high a gear going uphill and didn't have grade logic so definitely didn't want to keep a lower gear going down a steep grade. The "manual" function on that automatic transmission was "very" nice under those circumstances and I wouldn't buy an automatic equipped car without that function if I had any choice in the matter.
 
Intrepid175 said:
Please explain why! Refer to my post above yours for my opinioin on the subject!


Drive Safe,
Steve R.
mainly since the principle of an automatic transmission is using planetary gears and its all compacted together it could tend to run slightly hotter than Manual Tranny's. And i dont think we have a transmission oil cooler or anything so its just a little more wear and tear plus since the computer does adapt to your driving not sure how it might work out in the long run. It wont be anything short term damage but in the long run could do something.
im not saying its good or bad but just pointing out that little fact.
 
Firestrife said:
mainly since the principle of an automatic transmission is using planetary gears and its all compacted together it could tend to run slightly hotter than Manual Tranny's. And i dont think we have a transmission oil cooler or anything so its just a little more wear and tear plus since the computer does adapt to your driving not sure how it might work out in the long run. It wont be anything short term damage but in the long run could do something.
im not saying its good or bad but just pointing out that little fact.
I've never heard of a modern automatic that doesn't use an oil cooler that integral to the radiator. You can check this on your own car by looking for a pair of oil lines that run from the bottom of the radiator. I don't know what side they'd be on for your car, you'll just have to check. Vehicles that do a lot of towing or routinely carry heavy loads usually require an auxiliary cooler.

As for the planetary gear sets, I can't comment on how much heat they produce, in and of themselves but I doubt it's that big a deal. The primary heat producer in an automatic transmission is the torque converter.

Also, I don't know about "all" Honda transmissions, but I had an '01 Odyssey minivan that I bought a shop manual for and discovered that it's automatic transmission "did not" use a planetary gear set. Instead, it had what looked like a regular manual transmission with independant clutch packs for each forward gear. I thought it was a pretty cool idea. It would be interesting to see if the same applies to your transmission as well.

Drive Safe,
Steve R.
 
Moving the stick to D3 is no different than driving on the highway in D, flooring the car and having it shift into 3rd gear itself. The only way it could be bad for you car is if you shift more than the D position does itself, or if you cruise at 45 mph in second gear with the revs real high. Other than that, as I believe Intrepid said, a shift is a shift.
 
Firestrife said:
you shouldnt really have to do anything your car does have a logic grade now so its not that bad but D3 is good when you need the power. otherwise shifting up and down like a manual is just putting extra wear and tear on the gears.

Have you driven an Automatic in the hills of West Virginia? 6-12% grades

I will assume that you have not due to your posting. I'll explain that if I am using cruise control the car at 65mph. The car will slow down to 63mph and down shift (UNDER LOAD) then attempt to get back to cruise control setting of 65mph. But it can't (ecu programming) so it slams down again in to third. But by the time all of this took place I am near the top of the hill but in 3rd gear:sadwavy: When if I could have started the hill at 65 in 4th it would (probably) held 4th gear at 65 and would need to down shift --- loose speed or need to speed up.



---------------------------
AMG the performance division of Mercedes Benz. They make 300-600hp supercars are ALL automatic and since the late 90's have had a form of manual-matic shifting. Countless car manfactors include a form of manual-matic shifting. I use my wifes Mercedes SUV to tow a trailer with atv. It just climbs hills better if I attack them in the proper gear. The human mind is the only computer in/on the car that is able to look ahead and view the road elevation or traffic conditions.
 
Agnt004 said:
Moving the stick to D3 is no different than driving on the highway in D, flooring the car and having it shift into 3rd gear itself. The only way it could be bad for you car is if you shift more than the D position does itself, or if you cruise at 45 mph in second gear with the revs real high. Other than that, as I believe Intrepid said, a shift is a shift.
Actually moving the car to d3 could be better for the trans. Based on this:

You need to pass the car is in D you have two options.
  1. Just punch the throttle. Which allows the engine to make a greater amount of power at the crankshaft. The tranny is fully loaded with full engine power. The ECU then downshifts while the tranny is under full engine load.
  2. Or you can view the road and observe the area to pass safley. You down shift before you begin. You shifted the gears with the engine not producing max power and less stress is place on the tranny. Now when you attempt to pass your in the Correct gear and OFF you go without the downshift delay. Saving one less powershift on your tranny. Once you pass or reach speed simply let off throttle (decrease load) and place in D.
 
ryker said:
I agree. Most people will not understand this unless they live in mountain areas. The little 4banger needs to use gears to get up the hills in my area.

I wish I could select 4th gear and hold it.
LoL. I've always thought that too. Being able to select 3rd is good, but sometimes being in 4th is much more desirable.

ryker said:
How do you guys feel about using neutral at redlights or down long hills (that don't require engine braking)? I live in the hills of eastern Ky and on some hills the car will actuall speed up if placed in neutral . One hill in particular. I can coast for over a mile (keeping with traffic flow) to reach the redlight in one direction or my turn off in the other direction.
yeah, one of the few things i remember from driver's ed class is that shifting to neutral while going downhill can be dangerous because of lack of control. about shifting to neutral at a stoplight, i've heard that it is better for the engine/transmission. but on the few occasions that i've actually tried that, i've sometimes notice a 100-200 increase in rpm. not sure why though.
 
5th gear for the little 1.8l engine is turning very very little RPMs at 70mph. I've driven v6 anv v8's that turn more rpms at 70mph. An Audi TT in 5th gear turns something like 3500rpms at 70mph. And that is a turbo engine at 180hp.

The civic is awesome on flat roads and small hills. But a good size mountain and the car will shift to 4th then down to 3rd.... which is noisy and is pushing some RPM's. I don't think Honda spent enough time road testing the car in the real world. Otherwise the gear ranges would be different or we could select and hold 4th.
 
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