i recently learned that flooring, neutral drops, shifting through 1,2,d3,d4 and stuff like that are bad for my automatic transmission :/ yea i dont know that much about racing but im learning

ive heard many different suggestions from different people and even some flames and shit about swapping to manual but i dont have the money for that

uhh do i get better results from shifting at redline? or shifting around like 5500?

and to get it to redline or 5500, i would have to either floor it (since normal driving in d4 it usually shifts around 3-4000) or use 1,2,d3,d4

which way is safer? with 1,2,d3,d4 i wouldnt have to floor it to get high rpms, but i hear shifting it is bad, and even if i dont floor it while shifting and getting high rpms, does that even make me any faster?

with flooring it to redline, i heard its also bad

umm also if i was to take a corner, would it be better to downshift before or after the turn?

i could downshift to from d4 to d3 after the turn so that i could get better acceleration on the straight and then shift up, but then i could also downshift as i am braking for the turn (also for better acceleration later)

OR i could just brake , turn, and floor it (since flooring automatically downshifts) but this would have to be at the end of the turn and the beginning of the straight


finally if i do shift my auto transmission, would it be safer to lighten up on the gas as i am shifting since theres no clutch?

if i do this as i am downshifting i would feel a jerk though, and isnt that bad for the tranny? or would it be better to gas it so there wont be the jerk (kinda like heel toe for manuals) ?

would gassing it while it shifts on an auto be bad also?

if i am upshifting , and i let go of the gas as it shifts ( if this is actually safer) wouldnt it be better if i might as well just floor it with no shifting? but then again i heard flooring is bad for auto trannies


what should i do, i dont give a shit if u call me noob so go ahead but i would like to learn how to deal with my auto, im not getting a manual swap any time soon, so i would like to keep my auto transmission in the best condition while having the using it to its best potential

 

I don't know what Accord you're driving, but mine makes its peak power at 5800RPM (150 horsepower.) However, dyno charts for parts I've bought (AEM CAI, DC Header) show peak power being produced up until 6300 (redline, fuel cut off is 6500).

I've got a slipping transmission already, not horrible but when I leave in 15 minutes for the day, it'll slip a few times till it warms up. More than likely it's my own fault.

I don't know about letting off the gas to simulate a clutch, but I've got an AT and this is how I've raced:

1. From a stop, on the line, throw in N.
2. Rev to about 3-4K, depress brake as hard as possible while revving
3. Release gas pedal (stopping rev in N), keep brake held down as far as possible
4. Put in D3 or 1 (Whereever you feel comfortable starting)
5. When brake still depressed from revving in N, rev motor to maximum revs without letting the car move forward (For me it's about 3K)
6. When the light turns green (I'm talking drag lights, not stop lights ) release brake + push in gas as hard as possible

As far as shifting, I just shift right before fuel cut off without using the brake at all (not simulating a clutch?)

If you're going to downshift (suppose you're going 50, and you punch it, it'll drop to 2nd gear) I'd punch it, let it shift, drop gear shifter into whatever gear it's currently in and wind it out

i.e.
1. Going 50MPH (WOOHOO!!)
2. Punch it, it drops to 2nd gear
3. Put shifter in 2nd (ECU says max gear now = 2nd, instead of downshifting manually)
4. Upshift at around 6300/71MPH (We ARE on the interstate, RIGHT? )

Like I said, I don't know what you're driving but the basic boltons will improve performance, a turbo kit, nawzzz, et cetera. If you're going to be doing this a lot, a transmission cooler might be a recommended upgrade.

Hope this helps!

 

Good post Kenton..


anymore on this?

 

don't race your auto..

if you want to run it at the track a few times for shits and giggles that cool, but just drive it normal if you don't want it to break. your car is slow deal with it, your not going to win many street races. the ones you do win, aren't worth braggin about anyways. work on handling and learn to carve corners..

 

Here's how to race your automatic transmission:

LEAVE IT IN D4.

If you want to race from a stoplight, LEAVE IT IN D4 and depress the brake fully. Rev it up to a couple hundred RPM, then floor it and release the brake when the light turns green.

Revving in neutral and then putting it in D4 destroys your transmission.

Upshifting (1-2-3-4) manually on an automatic tranny is stupid. It 1) will break your tranny faster and 2) you'll upshift slower.

Stop pretending.

 

Who are you telling to stop pretending?? I didn't say "Do a neutral drop", revving in N allows the brake pressure to build up, i.e. allowing you to push the brake in further, thus allowing you to do a stronger torque brake, giving you a (seemingly?) better launch.

While it is true you will upshift slower, my optimal shift point is NOT 5800RPM. I keep making power until fuel cut off, so that's where I feel like shifting. If I keep it in D3 and just punch the **** out of it, it's going to shift anywhere between 5800-6000, I've still got another 500-700RPMs before fuel cut off.

There were a few months back in the day when I thought I was true F&F riding around in a damn Honda Accord, those days are gone but I can only provide the experience I gained while tearing up my transmission.

 

Don't pretend. You have an automatic. Put it in D4 and let it be happy.

My car upshifts at redline when floored.

 

And another thing, how is upshifting manually on an AT causing it to upshift slower? As far as I've understood, throwing it in second does not equal a shift to second NECESSARILY. Putting the shifter in 2nd tells the ECU "hey man, let's not use any gear above 2nd, ok?" I fail to see how putting the shifter in 2nd (from say. . . 4th) while the car is already in 2nd hurts it.

Situation:
Car is already in second gear accelerating, you put the shifter in 2nd, a downshift does not occur because you're already in 2nd, so thus the ECU is instructed that the maximum gear is 2nd.

We already know how smart the ECU is (Throw it in 1st from. . . 80MPH results in 3rd gear being selected, even though ECU is instructed to use 1st. You've got a guy tailgaiting you, slide the shifter to R (yes, REVERSE) and the car is instructed to shift into neutral because obviously NO ONE wants to go into R above 20 MPH (the cutoff is actually somewhere around 5-7MPH, but I've never tested it below 20.). I'm saying the ECU is smart, but it's not winding out any particular gear above around 6K.

Random tidbits. . . Flames welcome.

 

The transmission upshifts slower when you manually do it, haven't you ever driven before? My tranny takes at least 3/4-1 full second to upshift.

 

Leave the tranny oin D4, if u want a lil more umph then run it on D3. I've seen too many friends run by N dropping and raced several of them when they did it or even manual staging the tranny. Last one I ran was on the track. 2 things happened... My slow accord beat his integ.... The chasi made it past the finished line, his trany felt at home about 4 ft from the finish line where it literaly fell apart.