How safe is driving in D3 with a Honda?
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Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2008
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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.
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.
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From: Someplace with cones=AUTO
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.
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.
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Last edited by CivicSiRacer; Aug 27, 2008 at 07:52 PM.
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From: Assplosion, NE
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)
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)