wrongway15

iTrader: (1)

im new and suck at 5 spd...ppl also say my clutch may be going, but since im new, i dont know...anyways

last nite on my way home from a concert and i came up on an accord in the left lane (2 lane highway)...he eventually moved over and i passed him. eventually realizing i was driving faster than i wanted to be, i slowed down a bit and the accord eventually caught up on my right. well my drunk roomate hangs his middle finger out the window, and he pulls up to me pretty ****ed.

i pull a little and he pulls too(80-85 ish). he slows way down and i decide to get in the right lane (but i also slow cause im curious as to what this guy is doing)...he pulls ahead on the left, cuts in front of me and jams on his breaks....

i go left lane and figure ill pull on him then end it, but on my downshift to fourth, i screw up majorly and hit second....oh god.
(i figure i was doing somewhere in the 60,s when this happened)

how bad is this for my clutch/transmission? has anyone else done this?

seemed hard to start in first a few time (but i may have a bad clutch, suck at 5 spd, was on hill, and legs were sore/tired)

if i have time ill take her out today and see if first still feels much different

i was so embarrassed and ****ed off

nadir_s

well, first of all you shoudn't be racing or attempting any spirited driving if you are still new to the stick. The main concern w/ downshifting to 2nd like that is unleashing hell on you're engine because the RPM jumps up like hell. You're clutch and tranny takes a beating too like that.

How about you just spend the next couple of weeks practicing it because one of the main problems with me was missing gears when trying to shift.... it comes naturally to you eventually. Just have to find that sweet spot to push the stick into.

Haha reading threads like this makes me appreciate my friend for allowing me to learn stick on his RSX-S. Anywho, good luck learning!

wrongway15

iTrader: (1)

well i wasnt really racing, i do not condone street racing, but it was an empty highway and i was energized from the concert i was at

anyhows, i figure i missed the shift because i grabbed the shifter wrong

i usually miss the 2-3, can anyone give me hints on how to hold the shifter (usually pistol grip gives the best results, but i usually rush it and miss)

thanks

iansw

iTrader: (7)

The VQ Engine loves to be pushed hard - unless you went over redline, your engine is perfectly fine - I must go over 5000RPM at least 5 times every day.

Anyway - your clutch and tranny, for that one instance, were probably not really damaged, but if you do that alot, you may as well start saving for a new drivetrain.

You're OK - this time - be careful out there.

plurco

iTrader: (1)

no let me tell you what happens to the VQ when you do this. (cause I have done it at least 5 times) not only does it exceed redline it damn near goes off the scale. I did this at the strip a couple times
and I saw the tach hit near 8K. I know the rotating assy. can turn that fast with no prob but what I figure the prime target for damage would be in this situation would be the valves. With stock springs the valves might want to float at this RPM. is that happens you could bend a valve and cause some serious havoc. I hve started turning my hand upside down when I shift to avoid this from happening. someone correct me if I am wrong.

Dev

iTrader: (5)

if you were going in the 60mph range in second gear...there's nothing wrong with that. as long as you REV MATCH...the clutch will be fine.

wrongway15

iTrader: (1)

well i may actually have been doing a little less than 60 cause i remember breaking hard, but i def. did not rev match

how do i know if i did valve damage?

thanks

plurco

iTrader: (1)

and I was also is excess of 80mph. The rev limiter will do nothing to protect you from this. maybe this is the reason I have replaced trans, clutch, and maybe engine soon.

Dev

iTrader: (5)

nothing is wrong with your valves or anything, since you didn't go past redline, there won't be any floating.

if you didn't rev match, then you just put a lot of wear on your clutch...but it could have been worse.

while downshifting, always blip the throttle to get the revs up to speed of the next gear.

plurco

iTrader: (1)

oh you would know it. somking, not idleing, acting like complete $hit if it ran at all.

iansw

iTrader: (7)

My point was only that this didn't happen to him.

I'm Auto - thank god - but I'll be 5spd soon - so thanks for the tip however.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

2nd gear (on the 5 speed) can go all the way up to 68 mph at redline, so you didn't over rev the VQ. Most probably a little wear and tear on the tranny, clutch, etc. It's all good. Don't make it a habit, though. Once you get comfortable with stick, make sure to always match, or come very close to matching, engine speed with the tranny's speed. Blip the throttle upwards. It's easier on the car if the engine is going faster than the tranny, not the other way around, which you experienced. Your car will love you for a long time when you do that.

DW

plurco

iTrader: (1)

yeah true. I was just letting him know that this is a potential problem. I consider myself very good at driving a stick, I have been driving one for 12+ years. but still this keeps happening to me. Maybe it is that I just get excited and try to pull the stick slightly towards me when I am shifting into fourth. But as I said I think I have found a solution for this.

multiplexor

so uhm.... how would one go abotu being able to tell if he's done damage to these valves you speak of?

Could one kinda hear it if it was light damage? or?

greenmax95se

iTrader: (4)

i once did this too, and i also down sifted to 2nd from 5th by mistake missing 4th. but i was doing like 50-55 mph, and it does shot the rpm's up, but nothing happened to me, i tihnk if you go any faster then 65 it might cause something to go wrong.

Dev

iTrader: (5)

if you don't go past redline...don't worry about the engine.
shifts that don't match revs wear out the clutch excessively.
hearing a grinding noise is the tranny...thats not good.

for shifting from 5th to 4th, just go downwards - it will be guided into 4th and not reverse, so dont worry.
don't go down into neutral, then left and try to find 4th, then down again. i just do it in one motion...pointing to 7:00 it will be guided into 4th.

superloon

Here's how I was taught to shift:

From first, grab the **** with your palm on top and your fingers/thumbs curled around the front, and pull straight back. From second to third, relax all your fingers and push forward on the **** with your palm, maintaing pressure with your thumb. Rinse/repeat for 3-4 and 4-5 upshifts. Usually, to shift into 5th, I have to grasp the **** again and deliberately move the shifter into the gate, but you usually don't have to make this shift in any kind of hurry.

As long as your car's running okay, you shouldn't feel too terrible about the mistake. I've driven stick shifts for 15 years, and I did the exact same thing to the Max in the first week I had her But to date, all is well. The VQ is a remarkably resilient motor. It does sound like your clutch may have suffered some damage, especially if it was weak to begin with. Might be time to read up on clutches.

Oh, and if it ever happens again, the *first* thing you should do is push in the clutch. You'll instinctively let off the gas, but sometimes it's harder to remember to simultaneously disengage the clutch. If you're paying during the mis-shift, you can easily catch it before any damage occurs.

theLoon

tomj

I'd guess probably everyone has done this. I did it the first week when I was getting off the highway. No probs 50k miles later. Just live and learn.

AssyrianRacer

Dude go crusing around your block a couple times a day, youll get bvetter and better every time, thats what i did, but with my freinds Prelude, and Sentra.... Damn Wire Clutch

multiplexor

As a side note, it's surprising how fast you fly foreward
when you do that misshift... I was accelerating pretty good when i misshifted to second... I swear the car felt like it hit a brick wall or something.. was not ready for it... luckily i hit the clutch fast enough as i watched the needle dive into the red. Yikes! :-/