shifting techniques

[wb7h]

Hey, this is my first post here. I have a 100% stock '91 2 door Accord EX that I just got a few weeks ago. I hope to make this a very fun and fast car to drive. The car is in amazing condition both inside, outside, and under the hood. (here's my cardomain site on it:
Here )

But enough of that... On to my question:

This is the first car I've ever owned with a manual transmission(my previous car was a '92 Ford Tempo, and compared to it my Accord is a god ). I want to know whats the best technique for accelerating as fast as possible, such as for a 1/4th mile run or a 0-60. What I've been doing so far is holding 1st gear till right before i redline, and same with 2nd. Around what RPM would it be advisable to shift? Keep in mind as of yet my Accord is completely stock.

Thank you for reading! My knowledge isn't much on cars compared to what you all know, but i hope to learn as much as i can because my Accord is awesome.

[lowoctane]

accords are not race cars, lol.

basically shift at about 6300 or so (through 1-2-3-4-5), because redline is the maximum number of rpm's before you can damage the engine, that would be the best way to get her going quick, other than that take it easy on her, she not a performance machine just yet, lol.

and/or you can do some launches, with some redlining...Muahahah Muahahaha

[chessboxer]

always shiting at 6k will fuck up the ole engine. however, just doing it while racing should be okay. if youre driving it before it gets warm try and not go over 2500 rpms when shifting, and then when it gets warm just shift where it feels natural, i shift at about 3-3.5k rpms while driving normally. however, for racing, lowoctane has it about right i do believe.

[91accord4door]

ya when i am just driving normal i shift aroun 3k,sometimes 3.5k,but like chessboxer said shift were it feels natural.and when racing i just did the quarter mile for the first time with this cb7 and i shifted about 6k and a couple times 6.4k.i did really well i went 3 times and was pleased.but it depends on how you feel/basically go with the flow.just dont kill her.

[akkordlayinkit]

I thought our F-series, and the H series as well, lose power in the higher rpms, like the opposite of a high revving b-series...? So if you run it the redline, all your really doing is setting up your next gear to start out at a higher rpm, and at the same time losing some power just trying to push the rpms higher. Isnt the best rpm to shift in an f22aX about 5.5k???

Are my thoughts correct? If not please correct me.

Jay

[91accord4door]

well thats my first time at the strip.i beet the other drivers so i had to dosomthing right.but i did notice a loss of power above 6k.at 6k i was fine.but around 6.2-6.5 it sucked.i think the best point to shift (on my car) is 5.8.i have been practicing for awhile now and your right about the higher rpms.but i like it aroun 6k overall.it redlined so much quicker when i shifted above 6k.but hey let an expert tell ya,thats just my experience.i did beat 3 cars though.and that was my first 3 races ever in this car.cb7's kickass.

[lowoctane]

my automatic, shifts at about 6k or so when im gettin on it.....automatics =no time loss in between gears!!

and when you get that intake on her, in 1st gear take it to about 6300 or so to get that BWAH! sound lol ,makes it sound like a performance machine.

[wb7h]

hmm, thank you all very much for your replies!

I don't run her hard at all. Normally i shift around 3k as well. I just wanted to know whats best for the once in a great while time i need to race

[wed3k]

i always thought u should shift at 5500-5800.
as for launching it takes practice or deflate tires until u can make them grab properly.
do the shift linkage mod, it works!

[Fearit22]

When racing a stock f22 I wouldn't really take it quite that high. Maybe to about 6k at most. Once you start modding it then it will be a little more beneficial to rev higher. For example, I have to take it a little higher because I have a lightweight flywheel, and if I shift to early I will lag hard in the next gear. You have the right idea about why to shift higher, accordlayinit. From what I have heard yall say about launching you are nowhere near how to launch correctly. When my car was completely stock I used to launch at about 3-3500 rpms at most. You will get the best launch there trust me. Anything higher is just a total waste, and you will fry your clutch. It looks like you got yourself a nice cb7, wb7h. Welcome to the board!

[Maple50175]

do the shift linkage mod, it works!



and what would that be?

[theone]

Originally posted by akkordlayinkit
I thought our F-series, and the H series as well, lose power in the higher rpms, like the opposite of a high revving b-series...? So if you run it the redline, all your really doing is setting up your next gear to start out at a higher rpm, and at the same time losing some power just trying to push the rpms higher. Isnt the best rpm to shift in an f22aX about 5.5k???

Are my thoughts correct? If not please correct me.

Jay

i kno mines do.

practicing my launches i notice i get a better 0-60mph time when i shift at 5500-5600
than shifting at 5900-6000

[MRX]

I wasn't originally gonna reply to this thread because i figured it would turn into a debate but since it hasn't...What i do is hold 1st gear out to about 5800 rpm and without really letting off the gas shift into 2nd. The tach usually hits 6K during this shift b4 2nd gear engages. I consider 1st gear the power gear in this car but catching 5800rpm in 1st gear is a bit tricky if you don't know the rate of speed your tach climbs through 1st gear. 2nd gear i usually shift at about 5600-5700, 3rd gear is about 5500 and 4th i'll usually hit fuel cut. If you have a stock or lightly modded setup then 5200rpm is where your power starts to die off. Shifting at redline will get you in a higher rpm for the next gear but whats the point in that when u just wasted a couple tenths of seconds trying to get to redline while losing power drastically? Why not just shift at the right rpm and rev during the shift to keep the engine speed up, eh?
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthre...id=2837...that should give you a decent idea of what rpm to launch at...because 3500 rpm on stock tires on the street or strip just roasts my tires and i sit there spinning.

[akkordlayinkit]

Originally posted by wed3k
i always thought u should launch at 5500-5800.
as for launching it takes practice or deflate tires until u can make them grab properly.
do the shift linkage mod, it works!

You lauch at this...? Even with my soft tires they'll just spin if hold it to anything about 4.5k then drop the clutch, so why would you wanna lauch at these rpms, all its going to do is smoke'em....


i kno mines do.

Originally posted by theone
practicing my launches i notice i get a better 0-60mph time when i shift at 5500-5600
than shifting at 5900-6000

Thats what I thought...but needed some proof since I dont race.

Jay

[wb7h]

Wow thanks ALOT for all this info! I've never known much of anything about launching in a manual, so i hope to try it out this weekend. All these shifting techniques make me very antsy to go out and have some fun practicing!

Sadly though, in Montana here we dont have any sort of race tracks to experiment on, but the upside is we have ALOT of long, straight, empty country roads with 65 mph limits.

Again, thanks!