Honda Civic LX 5 speed manual, when to switch gears ?

I have a 2001 Honda Civic LX 5 speed manual transmission.
At what RPM should I switch from 1st to 2nd?
At what RPM should I switch from 2nd to 3rd?
From 3rd to 4th?
4th to 5th?

 

You bought this thing used and don't have an Owner's Manual, right?

 

I have a 2001 Honda Civic LX 5 speed manual transmission.

Wow! Thanks for that insightful input. People like you and your
replies make these newsgroups truely helpful.
Glad to see that people are still contributing their time by posting
useful messages.

 

I'm assuming you are new to driving a manual transmission. There really is
no straight out answer as to what RPM you should shift to the next gear, you
just sort of feel it as you go. For instance if you are on a level road you
can shift at a lower RPM than if you are climbing a hill or passing another
car. Different cars have different gear ratios adding another dimension to
this question. Basically, as long as you aren't revving the engine (and
definitely not going near the red zone) you are probably just fine.

There are some cars that come equipped with a shift light to tell you when
to shift for maximum fuel economy. It's also useful for the novice to
follow. I guess that your Civic doesn't have this feature.

Unfortunately, I have no idea where you could get a manual for your car. I
hope this was of some help.

Richard

 

Hey, no prob. Always glad to share my immense experience and wisdom with
the unwashed masses.

And to answer your question (now that I know that you cannot just go and
Read The Fine Material), shift below 3K when cold, and with light throttle,
so as not to stress the engine unnecessarily.

When full-warm, shift at anywhere between 3K and 7K depending on how fast
you want to get from A to B. Other than that, there are no set rules at
all, believe it or not.

 

Let me get this striaght.

You have a manual transmission car, and you don't even know when to
change gears? I can tell you're not in the EU, since if you don't pass
the test in a manual, you can't drive em. Must be from North america,
where getting a driving license is automatic, and can be gotten even
if you can't read.

If you don't know when to change gear, there's only one thing i can
sugest.

GO AND TAKE SOME DRIVING LESSONS AND LEARN HOW TO ACTUALLY DRIVE - who
knows, maybe more americans will take this radical advice, and save me
from the hell that is americans driving (the only place worse is
malta, where the local custom is to drive in the shade)

 

I don't think that is fair - everybody who drives a stick now learned to
drive one somehow, and most of the real experience comes from years of
practice. Maybe where you come from there is a problem with people learning
to drive something new on lightly travelled roads (I guess your new drivers
take driving lessons on closed courses somewhere), but here we can handle
that. I assume you don't take professional lessons when you change from one
vehicle to another, or even when changing from one class vehicle to another.
I have only had professional instruction before I got my license and for
lift trucks, although two weeks ago I put more hours on the department's
Tucker Sno-cat than on all on-road vehicles combined. We just aren't as
self-righteous here, I guess.

Mike

 

I, like every other brit, learn on standard public roads. Personally,
i learnt on the streets of blackpool (one of the most popular british
holiday towns) in the middle of the summer season.

Lessons for each class is required by law in the UK.

No, the fact of the matter is, if you don't know when to change gear
in a manual, its clear you've had no instruction in driving one, and
that obviously you've never passed a driving license in one. in the
EU, if you pass a driving test in an automatic gearbox vehicle, your
license is restricted to automatic gearbox cars. My Wife is american,
she's never had any formal instruction in manual's either before we
met. I have given her many hours of instruction in driving a manual on
a closed track, and, despite, or possibly because of, her 15 years
automatic experiance, i still wouldn't trust her to drive safely on a
public road.

When is the right time to change gear, when your experiance tells you
it is.

 

....It *is* a stupid question.

I've always adhered to the "3-5" rule: 3500rpm or 35mph, until the
drivetrain is fully warmed.

Doesn't it maximize acceleration to shift such that the engine doesn't
significantly pass it's power peak and the next gear (up or down)
picks up at the engine's torque peak?

Around town, and on twisty roads, I always like to be in the fat part
of the torque curve.

 

At the redline, all.

....It *is* a stupid question.

I've always adhered to the "3-5" rule: 3500rpm or 35mph, until the
drivetrain is fully warmed.

Doesn't it maximize acceleration to shift such that the engine doesn't
significantly pass its power peak and the next gear (up or down) picks
up at the engine's torque peak?

Around town, and on twisty roads, I always like to be in the fat part
of the torque curve.

 

In California (USA), there is a class C license for non-commercial drivers,
where one can legally drive a stick with a license obtained driving an
automatic.

Class B and A require that you test in the vehicle type you intend to
drive - stick, automatic, air brakes, haz mat, tanker, semi, doubles,
passengers - all are separate endorsements.

I agree with you though. I maintain that a person who can "drive" ought to
be able to drive a stick for safety reasons. Suppose you're incapacitated
out in the sticks somewhere with a companion who can drive, but not your
stick-shift vehicle? You may well die as a result.

 

No it's not. You'd be amazed how many people do not Read The Manual. It's
all in there.

Of course, when cars are sold on, the previous owner often either can't
find it, or has kept it as a memento. My question was innocently and
sincerely asked. I attacked only when fired upon.

 

yeah, i live in georgia now - lots of morons who just can't drive.
Actually, november 01 was the first time i ever drove an automatic,
and that was from treasure island to sausalito, at night. I'd driven
them on tracks before (most notably my skidpan training was in an
automatic) but still, i was nervous, and didn't feel wholly safe (it
was also the first time i'd driven in the US, so that had something to
do with it too)

UK/EU licenses aren't so strict with restrictiosn, instad, there's
restrictions in what type of vehicle you can do your commercial or
passenger vehicle tests in, which include all of those. well, not
hazmat, but airbrakes, etc.

not even in the sticks, if they drive it and get into an accident -
change gear at the wrong time, cause an accident by being distracted
trying to change the gear, or something. I've got one project on the
go, ad its using off duty cops as tests, when it was mentioned about
high speeds (over 70 they consider 'high speed' - to me its 130 or
more) in a manual vehicle, doing manouvers -most were visibly
panicked. (not half as much as when they were sitting passenger
whilst i showed them the first manouver - starting at 120mph, approach
a 100 degree bend, and negotiate it, in a manual vehicle, whilst
having a running comentary to the passengers (this is a standard part
of the british traffic pursuit qualification traffic cop drivers need
in the UK)

Driving is a privilidge that should be earned by knowledge, not a
right that is to be automatically convayed.

 

Standard road 4 cyl engines (as opposed to sports engines, like the VTEC
DOHC in the S2000) are designed start pulling well and efficiently at around
2000-2200 rpm or so, with maximum torque (ie maximum engine efficiency) at
around 3500-4000 rpm. Maximum power occurs around 6000-6500 rpm. So, if you
want MAXIMUM acceleration, change at 5500-6000. There's little point in
reving any engine past the maximum power rpm. For normal driving, change at
3500-4000, but don't be afraid to rev to 7000 if you have to pass with
safety.

Don't expect the engine to work well below 2000: change to the next lower
gear. This does NOT mean changing to 1st at 25kmh. And if you are passing in
4th and a car comes the other way, change back to 3rd (not 5th) and gun it,
because you want to go quickly (3rd) back to your side of the road, not fast
(5th).

And lastly, take some driving lessons on how to use the clutch properly, eg
not sitting at lights with your foot holding the clutch pedal in, or
slipping the clutch to hold it on a hill start. Both cause undue wear on the
clutch (latter way more than the former).

Stewart DIBBS