Shifting in Auto

[curtis265]

Benni is correct - injectors shut of completely so your fuel consumption is zero. If you're in an emergency situation where u need to accelerate, you'd be screwed if ur in N too.

[tinymoon]

I usually shift to N when waiting for green light specially at turn right lane (it takes too long to turn green light on). Save some fuel and release my foot off from beake pedal.
I sometimes shift from D to D3 when uphill (give engine more torque) or downhill (hold the speed)
Some say it will damage the gearbox to shift to N but i ask dealer, tech guys, mechanic guys, 9 out og 10 say it is ok to do so.

I almost never used 1 or 2

[dness]

Shifting to Neutral while waiting for the green light doesn't make as much difference as you would think.
Shifting the gear stick on auto too often ain't too much of a great idea either. So I wouldn't bother but whatever gives you peace of mind eh?

[curtis265]

I hate the vibrations from leaving it in D at the lights. Feels like you're doing your torque converter a favour

[drsilliez]

no putting it in N while going downhill is just dangerous and stupid, you will hardly notice any difference in fuel consumption if at all.

Just because your revs are lower it doesnt mean it's using less fuel. I

Also putting it in neutral means you are NOT in control of the car, which is why its dangerous.

Benni is correct - injectors shut of completely so your fuel consumption is zero. If you're in an emergency situation where u need to accelerate, you'd be screwed if ur in N too.

correct. this topic actually has been discussed many times before. Not sure if on ozhonda but definitely on other sites.

If i can remember correctly, it actually doesnt use less petrol but can be more. If in neutral (when ur coasting to a stop), wheels not spinning engine, so has to keep on injecting fuel to keep engine spinning hence using more fuel. Also the function of RPM to fuel consumption is like a positive parabola graph (if you guys understand maths) with the point of inflection around 2.5-4k (depending on the car and engine). So you use more fuel at lower rpms, as rpms reach around 3k, fuel consumption is lower then as ur increase rpms, fuel consumption increase again.
(dont tell me how that works, someone with more engine smarts might be able to explain that but thats what i remember)

there was a graph somewhere, i will try to find it.

Also like mentioned above, its bloody dangerous to cruise (slow down) or stay at the lights in neutral. For example, In an emergency, you would not have time to switch to drive and instinctly you would probably step on the acelerator but the car will go no where coz its not in gear. (like a car swerves towards you or something....)

[drsilliez]

^^...

for the H22 engine...



and a random pic i found on the net...

(ignore the with and without graphs...its the basic form which im tryin to get at)

[Bludger]

what?

yeah ok. go ahead.

[curtis265]

Apparently in my car the gearbox shifts down for you once you floor the accelerator....which has happened to me while cornering or turning at roundabouts which is pretty awesome (because I pump the accelerator at corners. I reckon it gives me better traction and plus its carry-on speed)-more speed through the corners. The manual said the downshifts can be down 1 or 2 gears depending on the speed. It also said that you can use the 1,2,D3 and D4 to drive like a manual but without the clutch! Just need to press the release button going from 3 to 2 to 1. It also said you can shift down to D3 or 2 for engine braking down hills to save your brakes. HAHA that's an all clear from the manual to use the gearbox to engine brake and drive like a manual when I'm in the mood. Some other autos do funny things when you change the way you use the brake pedal and accelerator too. Most cars will shift down for you once you floor the accelerator and some cars even engine brake by downshifting for you when you tap the brakes while going downhill where it can sense your acceleration.

all autoboxes do this... lol!

In my opinion that's a big thumbs up for auto... haha not bad for a noob thing

Just a postscript
Manual says for auto the max speed of each gear is as follows
gear speed(km/h)
1 59
2 123
D3 159
D4 Max

So the other day I was redlining it on D4 at about 120km/h plus a few more I think? So I think that corresponds to gear 2 which my car let me stay on but that was my engine pre-sevice. I think the computer works a little differently to compensate for the service now but still i find that pretty amazing.

Engine doesn't knwo when it's been serviced, it doesn't feel wear and tear.. ur wallet does.

Yes you were in second gear. It's quite easy to tell. In most cars the gears top out at those sort of range


at least ur learning

[Wilco]

There are some situations where switching to D3-2-1 is handy. Some of which is already mentioned but ill list them anyway.
1) Travelling uphill when you need the torque. (especially when there is alot of corners the auto can't decide what gear to use)
2) Travelling downhill in 60 zones. D3 can hold the speed up so you won't have to ride the brake to avoid speeding.
Worst case scenario is travelling downhill for a long period of time. I've seen friends ride the brake the whole way down and by the end we've had to pull over and let their brakes cool down.
3) Entering/overtaking on the freeway. I find my Integra's auto to be laggy when switching gears.
Other than that switching the automatic transmission manually is pretty pointless.

Well said, with 100% righteousness
thats exactly what i do, esp on downhills, uphills, or if you want the responsiveness when stuck in traffic at snail paced speeds.

in toyota's d3 is overdrive off. and on that note, i read the camry user manuals that state that if you want to shift to 1 - you have to do so at a stand still, and its recommended to be used when towing. i assume its the same logic with auto hondas.

either way, if you are shifting without the intention of using it with the purposes of what veloce pointed out, u are ruining your auto gearbox. your money in the pocket or in a mechanic's - your choice

[butterfingers]

123 in 2nd? tall gear ratio hmm

[dogcivic]

Did this once in my old civic. And fully impressed the chicks

[jeremydawg]

^they still talk about it to this day