Hi All,

I've recently purchased a 08 Accord Coupe EX-L V6 with Manual Transmission, I have been driving Manual all my life, starting at the age of 14, around 2000-2001. Up until recently, I've been used to driving my V4 96 Accord, which is completely different from this coupe. I'm sure you can only imagine.

To keep the story short, I am simply wondering if there are any other fellow V6 Manual owners here that can shed some light on proper shifting with this thing. I have also yet to learn the ratios in which VTEC kicks in so I'm fairly in the dark as far as what this car is capable of doing.

Can someone possibly point me in the right direction or give me some pointers on how to properly drive this thing.

My main questions are:

1. In a situation where I need to rapidly accelerate from 0 to 60 in as short of time as possible. I currently notice that I am giving the car way too much gas, causing the wheels to spin until I shift up.
2. When I'm riding casually, I notice that I skip 4th gear quite often, because I ride 3rd gear all the way to about 3500/4000 RPM, then drop it to 5th and coast 50-55 mph in the city (45 MPH Limit). Is this right?
3. When slowing down, I am used to downshifting to slow the car down, then I apply Brakes as needed. This has helped me save Pads over the years. However, recently I've been told "Transmission > Brakes" as far as cost go, and therefore I should use my brakes more often. What's the majority here agree with?

I guess I'm looking for advice on how to drive this puppy properly, and try to save myself some extra expenses with Brakes and Transmission.

Anything you can help clarify is kindly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

- Fellow Honda Fan.

 

1. Less gas-pedal and/or shift earlier. If you're overpowering your traction there's only one answer: only enough gas for not-quite breaking traction. You'll get used to the engine eventually. It probably wants less RPM than you're used to.

2. You don't need to ride 3rd so long. It's not a small-displacement high-revving engine.

3. Yes, changing a clutch or transmission costs more than changing brake pads.

I've done my share of downshifting, but my opinion is that you grind transmissions & wear out clutches by downshifting improperly. Can you downshift very smoothly? Say if you were to sidestep the clutch, have you matched revs properly so the car doesn't lurch? Lots of people think they're very highly skilled.... ?

 

Thank you Jim Blake for answering my questions.

I'm fairly good about matching the RPM with the gear I'm down shifting to. I know what you mean by the car lurching, and I try to avoid that at all cost. But it looks like I need to balance that out with more braking to avoid the maintenance cost of clutch/transmission.

Now in regards to VTEC, can someone point me at a resource or briefly explain to me at what RPM does it kick in? Is it always 5000 rpm? When utilizing VTEC (Rare occurance), do I ride the gear to 7000-8000 RPM (Redline) before I shift? I am watching a lot of videos where people are taking that RPM to its limits. Isn't that a bit harsh? There's also the chance that the cars they're driving are tuned, so I'm curious as to how I'm supposed to utilize it in stock conditions.

 

I'm not sure how they set it up for the V6, but suspect it switches at various RPM depending on load. So it's not like the older 4-cyl DOHC engines where it was a simple matter of switching at some given RPM. It probably switches at much lower RPM so you ARE "using" VTEC.

If it wasn't for spinning your tires, you should get maximum acceleration by going to redline. But that's for making videos, not good for engine lifespan. And it attracts the attention of those guys with flashing lights on their cars...