Advice for a new Accord Euro owner

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and this is effectively my first post. A lot of you guys have a wealth of knowledge and are willing to help so I thought I'd ask for some advive.

I have been reading a lot of the current and older threads before and after I purchased my Accord Euro. It is LE Tourer model, Black and 5spd Auto.

So far, I've only driven it sparingly (200 kms) but was wondering if some of you more experienced Euro owners could give me some basic advice tips on the Euro.

I have read in some threads on the following and have stuck to the advice, such as:

- Not to shift to 'N' gear at the traffic lights
- Slow throttle/acceleration at each traffic light so as not to rev up the engine so much
- Not to shift to 'M' gear as I'll let the engine mature a bit first
- Always letting the engine warm up before driving it
- Slowly shifting gears and waiting for the car to stop before shifting gears

Are there other basic care tips I should follow to keep the Euro in tip top condition? I have read the owner manual but it doesn't tell me everything.

Do you all change your oil yourselves? If so, do you use Honda oil? Also, I wasn't sure if there were anything I needed to do on a weekly basis in terms of maintenance, such as putting in water for the radiator coolent or putting oil etc

Sorry for the long post, but any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated!!

Ummm...

Coolant - Look at the bottle, if it gets low then its got a leak. The factory coolant should last 200,000 km and not need topping up in that time. If you must top it up then use distilled water, if you need to put a lot in then get Honda pre-mix, and get it fixed so its not leaking.

Oil- Do it yoruself if you like, but you wont get stamps in your book, if you care. I seriously doubt that many dealers do the checks listed at each service in the book.

above all else... READ THE MANUAL.

Don't forget the appearance of the car, make sure you use good quality products. Use incorrect or poor quality product can degrade the appearance of you car alot.

Clean it inside and out on a regular basis and your car will always look good. Remember to wax your car to protect the paint from the sun and so forth.

Bloody new car owners.. sigh

LOL jk I picked up my Tourer in September, lovin the satnav/touch screen functions yeh?

Check your oil level and just pay attention to the car in general (listen to abnormal noises, creaking in the interior etc). My SatNav isn't working correctly (Doesn't dim when set in Automode so i'm left blinded or I have to manually override the setting to Night mode) so pay special attention to that.

Also within the first few hundred kms after a decent drive you'll come across a burning like smell.. I called Honda and they said it's Just fine it's just the new brakes etc getting worn in so don't worry.

I dunno man, personally I wen picked up my car, within the first week I vtec'ed it 3 times and every other week 4-5 times up until now. I like it my way :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Not to shift to 'N' gear at the traffic lights

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It's a safety thing in case you need to accelerate in an emergency

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Slow throttle/acceleration at each traffic light so as not to rev up the engine so much

---

This is for better fuel consumption

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Not to shift to 'M' gear as I'll let the engine mature a bit first

---

You can use "M" as long as you don't rev the engine up high if it is cold. After it has warmed up, whether you want to rev it while the engine is still new is up to you. I hit 7000rpm in the 1st week of ownership.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Always letting the engine warm up before driving it

---

Let it warm up for about 30 seconds to let the oil circulate and then drive off gently using light throttle and don't exceed 3000rpm if you can without lugging the engine. After it has warmed up during driving, you can use more throttle and higher revs. It's not good to let the engine idle away for a long time to warm up because it wastes fuel, warms up slower and also glazes the bores of a new engine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Slowly shifting gears and waiting for the car to stop before shifting gears

---

You can't really slowly shift gears if your car is an auto.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

Are there other basic care tips I should follow to keep the Euro in tip top condition? I have read the owner manual but it doesn't tell me everything.

---

As soon as you see bird shit on your paint, spray water on it from a spray bottle to get ALL the shit off. The Euro's paint is very fragile and thin. If you plan to drive on long trips on the highway or interstate, I recommend you get those protective films for your headlights, bumper and bonnet. The paint is very soft and thin. My car is full of paint chips from my interstate trips.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

Do you all change your oil yourselves? If so, do you use Honda oil? Also, I wasn't sure if there were anything I needed to do on a weekly basis in terms of maintenance, such as putting in water for the radiator coolent or putting oil etc

---

If you haven't done servicing yourself before and you are not ready for the largish initial cash outlay for a jack, jackstands, tools and the time to learn, then just service your car at the dealer. I don't use Honda oil, I use either Castrol Edge 5w-30, 0w-40 or Motul 8100 5w-40. I recommend you stick to Honda oil or an equivalent mineral oil for the first 10,000km though.

Just look at the coolant overflow bottle when your engine is warm and it should be near the max level. When the engine is cold, it should be about 1-2 cm below max. You don't add water for your coolant, you need the proper Honda coolant. You won't have to add any unless you have a problem with your engine though. Check your oil every 1000km that you drive. You can check it when it is cold or after driving by waiting about 5 minutes for the oil to drain back down. You level should be at the max dot or up to 1cm above max. If it is below max, I recommend you add a little bit of oil. Between the min to max dots, it is about 1 litre of oil, so you don't have to add too much. You can run the car down to the min dot and it should be fine if you are not the kind to rev your engine up to 7300rpm all the time. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aaronng

It's a safety thing in case you need to accelerate in an emergency

This is for better fuel consumption

You can use "M" as long as you don't rev the engine up high if it is cold. After it has warmed up, whether you want to rev it while the engine is still new is up to you. I hit 7000rpm in the 1st week of ownership.

Let it warm up for about 30 seconds to let the oil circulate and then drive off gently using light throttle and don't exceed 3000rpm if you can without lugging the engine. After it has warmed up during driving, you can use more throttle and higher revs. It's not good to let the engine idle away for a long time to warm up because it wastes fuel, warms up slower and also glazes the bores of a new engine.

You can't really slowly shift gears if your car is an auto.

As soon as you see bird shit on your paint, spray water on it from a spray bottle to get ALL the shit off. The Euro's paint is very fragile and thin. If you plan to drive on long trips on the highway or interstate, I recommend you get those protective films for your headlights, bumper and bonnet. The paint is very soft and thin. My car is full of paint chips from my interstate trips.

If you haven't done servicing yourself before and you are not ready for the largish initial cash outlay for a jack, jackstands, tools and the time to learn, then just service your car at the dealer. I don't use Honda oil, I use either Castrol Edge 5w-30, 0w-40 or Motul 8100 5w-40. I recommend you stick to Honda oil or an equivalent mineral oil for the first 10,000km though.

Just look at the coolant overflow bottle when your engine is warm and it should be near the max level. When the engine is cold, it should be about 1-2 cm below max. You don't add water for your coolant, you need the proper Honda coolant. You won't have to add any unless you have a problem with your engine though. Check your oil every 1000km that you drive. You can check it when it is cold or after driving by waiting about 5 minutes for the oil to drain back down. You level should be at the max dot or up to 1cm above max. If it is below max, I recommend you add a little bit of oil. Between the min to max dots, it is about 1 litre of oil, so you don't have to add too much. You can run the car down to the min dot and it should be fine if you are not the kind to rev your engine up to 7300rpm all the time. :)

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Can't explain any better than that :p

On a side note, it is not advisable to baby your engine, as it will be basically "under developed" in terms of power. Give it a VTEC every now and then, but make sure you only do that when your engine is properly warmed up (i.e., your engine has reached its optimum temp for at least 5 minutes). This will also help prevent damage (or blockage?) of the sollenoid (spelling?).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by neborama

Bloody new car owners.. sigh

LOL jk I picked up my Tourer in September, lovin the satnav/touch screen functions yeh?

Check your oil level and just pay attention to the car in general (listen to abnormal noises, creaking in the interior etc). My SatNav isn't working correctly (Doesn't dim when set in Automode so i'm left blinded or I have to manually override the setting to Night mode) so pay special attention to that.

Also within the first few hundred kms after a decent drive you'll come across a burning like smell.. I called Honda and they said it's Just fine it's just the new brakes etc getting worn in so don't worry.

I dunno man, personally I wen picked up my car, within the first week I vtec'ed it 3 times and every other week 4-5 times up until now. I like it my way :)

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Try to reduce the brightness of the odometer lights -1, it will fix the probs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by geekmonkey

Try to reduce the brightness of the odometer lights -1, it will fix the probs.

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What probs?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euro77

Can't explain any better than that :p

On a side note, it is not advisable to baby your engine, as it will be basically "under developed" in terms of power. Give it a VTEC every now and then, but make sure you only do that when your engine is properly warmed up (i.e., your engine has reached its optimum temp for at least 5 minutes). This will also help prevent damage (or blockage?) of the sollenoid (spelling?).

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Thanks for the re-assurance. I was getting a little paranoid about destroying my engine.

On another note, my 1st gear feels really weak, even up to 5000rpm. Is this the case for everyone else too? I can rev it up to 5000 on first and still have the slowest launch at the lights. Am i suppose to quickly up-shift to 2nd to get the power? (It's not that i wanna race, but the person behind me always gives me death stares and signs of impatience/frustration. They'll overtake at any given opportunity at warp speed and stare)

hey aaronng, u mention glazin the bore if u just let it idle wen new and stuff, its irreversible isnt it, hafta re-machine the cylinders right? how much efficiency and power would i lose as a result of glazing

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cupnoodle

Thanks for the re-assurance. I was getting a little paranoid about destroying my engine.

On another note, my 1st gear feels really weak, even up to 5000rpm. Is this the case for everyone else too? I can rev it up to 5000 on first and still have the slowest launch at the lights. Am i suppose to quickly up-shift to 2nd to get the power? (It's not that i wanna race, but the person behind me always gives me death stares and signs of impatience/frustration. They'll overtake at any given opportunity at warp speed and stare)

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nope on my 2003 euro (its auto too) i havent noticed the 1st gear to be too bad.. i'll pay more attention next time i go for a drive

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cupnoodle

Thanks for the re-assurance. I was getting a little paranoid about destroying my engine.

On another note, my 1st gear feels really weak, even up to 5000rpm. Is this the case for everyone else too? I can rev it up to 5000 on first and still have the slowest launch at the lights. Am i suppose to quickly up-shift to 2nd to get the power? (It's not that i wanna race, but the person behind me always gives me death stares and signs of impatience/frustration. They'll overtake at any given opportunity at warp speed and stare)

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Are you using full or part throttle in 1st gear? Acceleration is not linear with accelerator position because it is a DBW car. You'll have to press the pedal about 3/4 to fully to the floor to get the acceleration. When taking off from stop, pressing the equivalent of say 30% on a cabled throttle would probably be only 10-20% on the Euro's DBW. It's programmed like that so that you can accelerate smoothly from a stop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by phobolism

hey aaronng, u mention glazin the bore if u just let it idle wen new and stuff, its irreversible isnt it, hafta re-machine the cylinders right? how much efficiency and power would i lose as a result of glazing

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Yup, re-hone the bores. Did you give it a good 1/2-3/4 throttle in the first 100km? If you did a few times, then your bores shouldn't be glazed.

acceleration was on 1/4 to 1/2 throttle but i didnt drive much so id start car engine durin week when i dont drive it n just let the oil circulate a bit so when i did, the cylinders wouldnt be bone dry. ah well guess i wont lose a significant amount of power

Quote:

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Originally Posted by phobolism

acceleration was on 1/4 to 1/2 throttle but i didnt drive much so id start car engine durin week when i dont drive it n just let the oil circulate a bit so when i did, the cylinders wouldnt be bone dry. ah well guess i wont lose a significant amount of power

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You started the car once a week or every day in that week that you didn't drive? The cylinders are lubed by oil when you start. It's a small fraction of time where the oil is circulated but as long as you let it idle for 30 seconds or so before driving off, you don't need to keep starting your car if you are not driving it. Before you bought your car, it was sitting on a ship for at least a few weeks without being ever started. If it got through that, it will get through your week without problems.

Thanks to everyone for the replies!

This may sound silly but I am actually learning a great deal from you guys sharing your knowledge....just goes to show how little I know about cars.. :(

I'm keen to learn though as I really want to take care of my new car.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by one4spl

Ummm...

Coolant - Look at the bottle, if it gets low then its got a leak. The factory coolant should last 200,000 km and not need topping up in that time. If you must top it up then use distilled water, if you need to put a lot in then get Honda pre-mix, and get it fixed so its not leaking.

Oil- Do it yoruself if you like, but you wont get stamps in your book, if you care. I seriously doubt that many dealers do the checks listed at each service in the book.

above all else... READ THE MANUAL.

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Wow, the factory coolant should last 200,000 km? Thats heaps, I only travel about 10,000 km per year so I probably wont have to worry about it!

Going forward in the long run, I suppose it would be a very cost effective option in putting in the oil myself, but if I don't get the dealer's stamp in my book, would that mean I wont qualify for the 3 year factory warranty?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by traumatized

Don't forget the appearance of the car, make sure you use good quality products. Use incorrect or poor quality product can degrade the appearance of you car alot.

Clean it inside and out on a regular basis and your car will always look good. Remember to wax your car to protect the paint from the sun and so forth.

---

When you say good quality products, do you mean the more pricier items? Also, where do you normally go for your car care products? Do you mainly go to Supercheap Auto and Autobarn or are there other stores out there?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by neborama

Bloody new car owners.. sigh

LOL jk I picked up my Tourer in September, lovin the satnav/touch screen functions yeh?

Check your oil level and just pay attention to the car in general (listen to abnormal noises, creaking in the interior etc). My SatNav isn't working correctly (Doesn't dim when set in Automode so i'm left blinded or I have to manually override the setting to Night mode) so pay special attention to that.

Also within the first few hundred kms after a decent drive you'll come across a burning like smell.. I called Honda and they said it's Just fine it's just the new brakes etc getting worn in so don't worry.

I dunno man, personally I wen picked up my car, within the first week I vtec'ed it 3 times and every other week 4-5 times up until now. I like it my way :)

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Yeah, the touch screen function and interface is awesome!

I haven't nocied any weird noises or burning smells yet...

When you said Vtec, what do you mean by this?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aaronng

It's a safety thing in case you need to accelerate in an emergency

This is for better fuel consumption

You can use "M" as long as you don't rev the engine up high if it is cold. After it has warmed up, whether you want to rev it while the engine is still new is up to you. I hit 7000rpm in the 1st week of ownership.

Let it warm up for about 30 seconds to let the oil circulate and then drive off gently using light throttle and don't exceed 3000rpm if you can without lugging the engine. After it has warmed up during driving, you can use more throttle and higher revs. It's not good to let the engine idle away for a long time to warm up because it wastes fuel, warms up slower and also glazes the bores of a new engine.

You can't really slowly shift gears if your car is an auto.

As soon as you see bird shit on your paint, spray water on it from a spray bottle to get ALL the shit off. The Euro's paint is very fragile and thin. If you plan to drive on long trips on the highway or interstate, I recommend you get those protective films for your headlights, bumper and bonnet. The paint is very soft and thin. My car is full of paint chips from my interstate trips.

If you haven't done servicing yourself before and you are not ready for the largish initial cash outlay for a jack, jackstands, tools and the time to learn, then just service your car at the dealer. I don't use Honda oil, I use either Castrol Edge 5w-30, 0w-40 or Motul 8100 5w-40. I recommend you stick to Honda oil or an equivalent mineral oil for the first 10,000km though.

Just look at the coolant overflow bottle when your engine is warm and it should be near the max level. When the engine is cold, it should be about 1-2 cm below max. You don't add water for your coolant, you need the proper Honda coolant. You won't have to add any unless you have a problem with your engine though. Check your oil every 1000km that you drive. You can check it when it is cold or after driving by waiting about 5 minutes for the oil to drain back down. You level should be at the max dot or up to 1cm above max. If it is below max, I recommend you add a little bit of oil. Between the min to max dots, it is about 1 litre of oil, so you don't have to add too much. You can run the car down to the min dot and it should be fine if you are not the kind to rev your engine up to 7300rpm all the time. :)

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Thanks for the pointers Aaronng!

What do you mean when you say "lugging the engine"? And by throttle, you mean how fast you hit the accelerator right?
You mention that the Euro's paint being very fragile and thin, I wont have to worry about getting protectors as I don't go on long trips, however, what would you recommend for washing the exterior of the car? Is it best to DIY at Carlovers or better to purchase higher quality products and using it at home....though water restriction is an issue.

If for the first three years I do get the car serviced at a Honda dealer and considering I drive 10,000 kms per year, is there a need for me to also purchase the Honda oil to have it handy at home, in case I need it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euro77

Can't explain any better than that :p

On a side note, it is not advisable to baby your engine, as it will be basically "under developed" in terms of power. Give it a VTEC every now and then, but make sure you only do that when your engine is properly warmed up (i.e., your engine has reached its optimum temp for at least 5 minutes). This will also help prevent damage (or blockage?) of the sollenoid (spelling?).

---

I'll give it a try but I always thought that by revving your car (especially new car) too much and too frequent will hurt the engine in the long run....but I see your point about not baby-ing the engine.

By giving it a VTEC, do you mean revving it past 7000 rpm?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

I'll give it a try but I always thought that by revving your car (especially new car) too much and too frequent will hurt the engine in the long run....but I see your point about not baby-ing the engine.

By giving it a VTEC, do you mean revving it past 7000 rpm?

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I think the vtec kicks in at 6300 or 6500 (been away from euro too long I forgot), rev it past that, but try not to hit the rev limiter (it's limited around 7100 or 7300 something like that).

I'm not saying do it often, just once a while. I always did mine at least once during the day when I drive it (I didn't drive it everyday).

It is true though that it shortens your engine life if you often put it in high rev, but for street, this is unlikely, only on track you'll be able to do this to your engine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

Going forward in the long run, I suppose it would be a very cost effective option in putting in the oil myself, but if I don't get the dealer's stamp in my book, would that mean I wont qualify for the 3 year factory warranty?

---

If you don't do the proper checks and that part fails because it was neglected, then your warranty can be void. If you are new to cars, then service your car at the dealer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

When you say good quality products, do you mean the more pricier items? Also, where do you normally go for your car care products? Do you mainly go to Supercheap Auto and Autobarn or are there other stores out there?

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www.waxit.com.au. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

Thanks for the pointers Aaronng!

What do you mean when you say "lugging the engine"? And by throttle, you mean how fast you hit the accelerator right?
You mention that the Euro's paint being very fragile and thin, I wont have to worry about getting protectors as I don't go on long trips, however, what would you recommend for washing the exterior of the car? Is it best to DIY at Carlovers or better to purchase higher quality products and using it at home....though water restriction is an issue.

If for the first three years I do get the car serviced at a Honda dealer and considering I drive 10,000 kms per year, is there a need for me to also purchase the Honda oil to have it handy at home, in case I need it?

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Lugging the engine is being in a gear too high, rpm too low and too much load on the engine. You'll feel the engine shaking and vibrating, and it's not good at all for the engine. With an auto, the transmission will downshift on its own to prevent lugging, so you should be alright.

Throttle is how much you press the accelerator, not how fast or slow you press the pedal.

I prefer to wash the car my own. Which state are you in? If you are in vic or qld, then tough luck. At least you can still use a bucket and watering can in metro NSW.

What you can do is buy 1 bottle of Honda oil, tell the dealer that you are bringing your own oil for servicing. They should reduce your servicing cost for the price of the oil and ask for the remaining oil back so that you can top up. Just keep that oil at home. People say that oil can go "stale" if you keep it for long, but I prefer stale oil than running the engine on low oil. :)

With each service, I'm sure you'll be able to accumulate quite a bit of leftover oil. I just serviced both cars and I got 1L of oil left over, just enough for topping up.

most important thing for a new car i think is running in the engine, there are threads around here that show you how, but in short i think the best way is to warm up your engine completely,10 minutes normal driving should do it, then let your engine rev out alittle longer in each gear (use M mode) after 200km's of babyish driving i let it reve out to 6.5 -7 a few times in 2 second mainly, get on a freeway and do a couple of laps so you can get to a decent speed. thats my 2 cents this done in the first 1000km's is especially good and dont worry about oil burn or anything cos unless you thrash the guts out the 1k service will change the oil.

wash the car every friday b4 you go out! and then find any excuse just to drive it around town... =]

Quote:

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- Not to shift to 'N' gear at the traffic lights

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I feel that if I keep it in D or M and use the brakes, or handbrake, the Euro just wants to go forward, and the engine vibrates slightly more from idle. I feel that I might be wearing somthing out, so I always put it in Neutral, besides it's more quiet and less vibrations

Quote:

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- Not to shift to 'M' gear as I'll let the engine mature a bit first

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only u can read the road, use Manual mode, it's fun, like short shifting downhill, downshift when in need, somethings automatic mode can't do.

Quote:

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- Slowly shifting gears and waiting for the car to stop before shifting gears

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i've been doing that lately, using the brakes than gearbox, because u suppose to rev match during downshift, which auto trannys don't do, so I loose engine braking, but for the love of the gearbox, i'd rather downshift when the euro comes to a complete stop

Advice for new accord euro owners
1. Check out the CL9/CL7 picture thread.
2. Get ideas on mods
3. Work your ass off to buy a new set of wheels, bodykit, coilovers, airsus, cuscos, intakes, exhaust, decals, hids.
4. Take your ride to ozhonda meet ups / take photos
5. Create a thread on the appearance/gallery section dedicated for your euro.

the rest is up to you.... hehehehe just kidding...