Shifting

[Pancho91]

How do u know when the perfect time 2 shift is?

[RL1924]

RIGHT before you hit the rev limiter lol, There is no perfect time i guess it all depends on what your doing. Hitting it right before the rev limiter on all the time prob not as good as shifting at 4-5000, but then no fun with vtec.

[J'sS2K]

you should read the manual...i can't recall the exact numbers, but they give you the economical shift points.

[gomarlins3]

What I would suggest is for WOT driving/racing:

1. Have your car dynoed. Watch the power curve and see where it starts down the other side. Determine at what RPM this happens.

2. Do a few runs at a track and shift at the point where you begin down the other side of the power curve.

3. If you drop below VTEC, ride the throttle longer even though you are making less HP the further you go down the back of the curve.

4. If you do not drop out of VTEC (and I am betting you will not), you have found the proper place to shift.


Example. This is my first dyno with the S before any tuning:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v2...P1010001-1.jpg

Power starts to drop off after 8300 or so. After that I am making less power so shifting to start making power again would be my thought. I did not drop out of VTEC when I would shift so I continue to make more and more power.


This is just my reasoning, I have no proof that it is faster than continuing on all the way until red line, it's just what makes sense to me.

[Dmaye]

economical shift points? ANYONE KNOW THE NUMBERS

[AP2FTW]

are you serious? you cant figure out by driving the car where you should shift? im just saying its not rocket science

[Scooter]

Originally Posted by Dmaye

economical shift points? ANYONE KNOW THE NUMBERS

For AP2:
1st to 2nd 15
2nd to 3rd 25
3rd to 4th 40
4th to 5th 47
5th to 6th 52

From the manual, anyway.

[rusyus]

Originally Posted by Scooter

For AP2:
1st to 2nd 15
2nd to 3rd 25
3rd to 4th 40
4th to 5th 47
5th to 6th 52

From the manual, anyway.

Hm... i should try that.
I just shift @ 3000rpm
and usually i'm on 6th @45mph, sometimes even 40.

[AP2FTW]

dont you notice a lack of power in 6th gear @ 40mph? ie, you need to down shift

[bbcricketta]

Originally Posted by AP2FTW

dont you notice a lack of power in 6th gear @ 40mph? ie, you need to down shift

can you say LUG?

[gomarlins3]

I guess I viewed the question the wrong way. I didn't think the OP was asking for mileage reasons.

[kgf3076]

Originally Posted by AP2FTW

dont you notice a lack of power in 6th gear @ 40mph? ie, you need to down shift

Nope, not at all...

[turbosix]

Originally Posted by AP2FTW

dont you notice a lack of power in 6th gear @ 40mph? ie, you need to down shift

Originally Posted by bbcricketta

can you say LUG?

can you say "cruise" ?

if you are just maintaining a constant speed there is no reason you cant putt along in 6th on city streets.

[Not Sure]

Originally Posted by Scooter

For AP2:
1st to 2nd 15
2nd to 3rd 25
3rd to 4th 40
4th to 5th 47
5th to 6th 52

From the manual, anyway.

I shift at the speeds recommended by the manual (the exact same speeds are recommended for AP1) - it keeps the RPMs between 3k-4k where I assume the engine is the most efficient. City driving I'm getting about 25mpg when I follow the recommended shift points, whereas before when I would shift at 3k I was a getting around 20mpg.

But if the OP is talking about when to shift when you're racing I just shift after the tach blinks red but before fuel cut-off kicks in.

[J'sS2K]

really? i never got to 25mpg in the city...19-22mpg is my range.

[Not Sure]

Originally Posted by J'sS2K

really? i never got to 25mpg in the city...19-22mpg is my range.

I guess city driving varies, depending on how heavy traffic is, how many stoplights per mile etc...
Another thing I noticed was my mileage increased when the city synchronized the stoplights along my route - I catch mostly green lights so there isn't a lot of stop and go traffic.

[rusyus]

Originally Posted by Not Sure

I shift at the speeds recommended by the manual (the exact same speeds are recommended for AP1) - it keeps the RPMs between 3k-4k where I assume the engine is the most efficient. City driving I'm getting about 25mpg when I follow the recommended shift points, whereas before when I would shift at 3k I was a getting around 20mpg.

But if the OP is talking about when to shift when you're racing I just shift after the tach blinks red but before fuel cut-off kicks in.

Interesting. When i just got the car i tested it for fuel economy shifting at 3K rpm all the time and taking it to VTEC only a couple of times per tank, and i was getting 26-27mpg (mixed city/hw). Now i mostly shift around 4 and get 23 mpg on average.

today i noticed that on 'my' economical driving i do first 3 shifts @ 3k rpm, the rest @ 2500-2800. Now, THERE IS A CATCH. If i'm driving 40-45mph on 6th (cruising) and want to get my speed up to 50-55 i downshift to 5th. Speeding up on high gear (at low revs/power) will actually consume more gasoline (my observation from another car with econometer).

[rusyus]

Originally Posted by gomarlins3

I guess I viewed the question the wrong way. I didn't think the OP was asking for mileage reasons.

I think you are right in your first post, but discussion took 'better mileage' path.

[J'sS2K]

Originally Posted by rusyus

Interesting.
today i noticed that on 'my' economical driving i do first 3 shifts @ 3k rpm, the rest @ 2500-2800.

what? are you talking about the s2000?

[Old Guy]

Interesting thread, I guess I just shift when it "sounds" right. I rev higher than I would in most cars, and I've had passengers that freaked out that I didn't shift.

It's a fun car, meant to rev. Everyone knows the real fun comes after 6,000rpm. I certainly didn't buy this car with gas economy in mind.

[J'sS2K]

3000rpm this is car feels like nothing with this car...i don't pay attention to it but is it even possible shifting at around 2500-2800rpm after 3rd gear like rusyus said?

[TheSoundMan21]

Ya both my mom and dad get in the car and tell me to shift earlier. In response I will bounce it off the rev limiter a couple of times.

[J'sS2K]

Originally Posted by Old Guy

Interesting thread, I guess I just shift when it "sounds" right. I rev higher than I would in most cars, and I've had passengers that freaked out that I didn't shift.

It's a fun car, meant to rev. Everyone knows the real fun comes after 6,000rpm. I certainly didn't buy this car with gas economy in mind.

yeah, i can relate...like i said,,,3000rpm is nothing,,,i usually shift around 4000-5000rpm on a dialy basis....this car cruises at around 4500-5000rpm on the interstate. i don't see how you can possibly shift at 2500-2800rpm after 3rd gear.

[rusyus]

Originally Posted by J'sS2K

3000rpm this is car feels like nothing with this car...i don't pay attention to it but is it even possible shifting at around 2500-2800rpm after 3rd gear like rusyus said?

AP2 - a little more torque @ lower RPMs

[rusyus]

Originally Posted by Old Guy

Interesting thread, I guess I just shift when it "sounds" right. I rev higher than I would in most cars, and I've had passengers that freaked out that I didn't shift.

It's a fun car, meant to rev. Everyone knows the real fun comes after 6,000rpm. I certainly didn't buy this car with gas economy in mind.

If i wouldn't drive this car every day i would do the same. But since i use it as daily driver i try things. I even tried shifting @ 2k - it worked fine, but that was too slow Tried it out of curiosity.

[lonestarbuzz]

don't look a gift horse in the mouth. honda gave you 9K (or 8K) rpms, use them. this is not a civic, it is not a hybrid. i dd mine and certainly don't drive it like a pu**y. if you are going to lug your engine and drive it like a prius, give your car to someone else and buy a sunfire, i hear you can get good deals on those right now.

[Dmaye]

Originally Posted by lonestarbuzz

don't look a gift horse in the mouth. honda gave you 9K (or 8K) rpms, use them. this is not a civic, it is not a hybrid. i dd mine and certainly don't drive it like a pu**y. if you are going to lug your engine and drive it like a prius, give your car to someone else and buy a sunfire, i hear you can get good deals on those right now.

takes for saying that I didn't know how to and be nice about it.

[rusyus]

Originally Posted by lonestarbuzz

don't look a gift horse in the mouth. honda gave you 9K (or 8K) rpms, use them. this is not a civic, it is not a hybrid. i dd mine and certainly don't drive it like a pu**y. if you are going to lug your engine and drive it like a prius, give your car to someone else and buy a sunfire, i hear you can get good deals on those right now.

i take it to red line every day... but not every shift.

[bbcricketta]

Originally Posted by turbosix

can you say "cruise" ?

if you are just maintaining a constant speed there is no reason you cant putt along in 6th on city streets.

perhaps you are not as smart as i / you think you are, or maybe you have never really driven an S2000?


6th gear and 40 miles per hour ls stutter city, not putter city.

[Jessa1200]

my old car 5spd I would shift every 3k RPMS, but not in this car, I dont really care about gas mileage (but i only drive the car maybe twice a week), I like having fun, I usually just feel for when I should shift and I am never in 6th gear at 40MPH, I always down shift if thats my miles per hour because you cant really feel the power imo... at that gear and miles per hour...

[Honda007]

Shifting at too low of an RPM will consume more gasoline than shifting at or a little above the recommended shift points. There is a scientific way to explain it, but I'm not gonna bother.

[BoostedAP1]

WTF? Foo don't shift extend your redline to like 50k then you'll never lose.

[J'sS2K]

Originally Posted by BoostedAP1

WTF? Foo don't shift extend your redline to like 50k then you'll never lose.

yeah, what he said! omg!!!

[uneekvisions]

You just shift when it feels right, listen to the car, if that makes any sense. Take the car for a nice long weekend drive, you'll figure it out.