How safe is driving in D3 with a Honda?
 

My car has a catback and a header with a D16Z6 motor. When I'm in D4, the car fells like it accels slower then in D3. The sound that comes out of the cat between the 2 is different. The sound pitch is a little higher in D3.

Picture it in your head for me:

D4 = Brrrrr

D3 = Brreee

It's sounds like I go into some kind of overdrive or something.

How safe is this? The motor is properly tuned. Everyone that knows anything about motors tell me I have a great engine and accels good or better than average. I have know idea about the engine internals because the car was given to me. The person that had it passed away a few years ago.

All you're doing is leaving it in 3rd gear instead of letting it go into 4th. The noise and power level are different because you're driving around at a higher rpm when the car is supposed to be in 4th. This is dumb and I'm sure it's killing your mileage too.

yup

Thanks for the tip. This only went on for one day during a trip to the store. It even felt dumb when I did it.

When you are driving around in the city (70km/h and less), there's really no need for you to be in 4th. By leaving the gear selector in 3rd, there is one less gear to downshift when you need to GO, I do it all the time in my wife's automatic car, it makes a big difference if you're already rolling and want to accelerate. If you're driving at a constant speed and not in stop and go traffic, there's really no need to lock it in 3rd. It also will make no difference from a dead stop, only in situations where you are in 4th and need to get into 2nd quicker.

Alternatively, if I'm in 4th and anticipate needing to speed up, I'll slip it in 3rd before I start my pass. It's not going to hurt anything.

1st off it's bad for your tranny especially an automatic to be driving around in too high rpms.

2nd it's bad for your gas mileage.

If you want to want to pick what gear you want to be in sell your automatic and learn to drive stick. Don't be stupid thinking you are cool by driving the way you are cause it makes you look even more dumb.

I find it funny when people drive all pimp with their huge N1 exhaust, cold air intakes, body kits, 18" wheels, slammed suspension, thumping stereo and they pull away in their automatics.

Agreed. I drive a 92 Si, and I get into 5th gear as soon as I can. I actually rarely go over 3k. We all know how fast that tranny winds.

leave automatics alone. lol.

It's fine if you have an automatic. Just don't pretend it's a manual and nobody will make fun of you.

i don't pretend. i can shift my auto like a manual.....

but in all seriousness,

that would be retarded. mine shifts like an manual sometimes tho. rough. its getting old:( , i mean the transmission. maybe its time for a swap.

Thanks for the tip!:draco:

Ummm weren't we just talking about this? You don't shift your auto like a manual, you realize there's a clutch for manual trannies? Moving the auto level up and down will make your engine fall out of your car some day. It's not meant to be rowing up and down the gears like a manual. It's call SHIFT SHOCK and is bad to do.

Moving your auto tranny up and down the gears IS pretending you have a manual.

On all my cars (which are manual) and my wife's Odyssey of course is auto I try to stay well below 3000rpms. Even on my 00 Civic Si I had I wish it had another gear so I could cruise on the highway below 4000rpms. Anything above 4000rpms is really show-boating or trying to think you are cool but revving the snot out of the car. Remember Civics were made to be fuel efficient, not race cars. So driving around town in D3 you are just WASTING gas, wearing out your tranny/axels/bushings/torque converter/engine bearings/gears quicker.

i was kidding. that would be retarded.

put an ls fifth gear into your Si :oh:

If you are going up a steep hill, it can be helpful, as well as going down a steep hill, but it would be best in the long run if you went into D3 prior to the trans. shifting up into 4th, so you aren't forcing it to downshift. Doing it preemptively in those situations is fine.

I used to occasionally downshift into 3rd while slowing down when I drove an auto, several different cars, but not all the time. In theory it can save a little gas and allow a little less use of the brakes, but the at the very least you are wearing out the trans. fluid faster, if not the clutch pack material, bearings, etc.
Pretty much the only Hondas where leaving it in D3 might improve the responsiveness, at least on paper, is the ones with the older style sportshift, where it's labeled S3. In that setting you can push a button on the shifter to choose between S3 (allows 1-3) or S4 (allows 1-4) and it holds lower gears for longer, so that in theory you are more likely to be in the right gear during spirited driving. It did work as far as holding lower gears, but unless you are in a lot of stop and go driving, or where you have to speed up and slow down quite a bit, you'd still get better mileage by leaving it in D4 - and it would still function the same at WOT, same shift points, etc. (pretty much pointless)