I am confused... Shifting Gears at a low RPM?

[NorthmanA]

Hi guys, I have a couple of questions about shifting gears, I am not new to the manual transmission but from watching few YouTube videos I am just wondering if I am driving the manual as I am supposed to or I am just slowly destroying the engine.

Current Car: 2017 Civic Hatch LX Previous Car: 2004 Accord DX model - Both manual

I heard few thing about shifting, one of the forum posts I saw a long time ago was saying that shifting (without flooring) at a lower rpm is good for gas consumption. When I drive my Civic I also see the green ring and try to adjust to it, and one thing that I see is if I am at a lower rpm in a higher gear, the ring stays green. On the other hand, I have heard of something that is called lugging the engine. It's recommended to drive at a higher rpm and shift at a higher rpm. I am getting confused here.

With my Accord, I got used to keeping the rpm between 1,000-2,000 to make sure the engine is silent, give is just a bit gas and accelerating over time. I am doing the exact same thing with 1.5 Civic, should I? My sweet spot for staying at the same speed of accelerating is 1,500 rpm. How do you guys drive your car? I also heard that some cars are meant to be driven at a lower rpm, is that true? Are Hondas...?

Please, guys, teach the pleb the good ways. I want to make sure that I am not ruining my car. Also, if you have other advice like, how the clutch release is supposed to be with my civic, please let me know. I am currently slow releasing the clutch but I saw few videos when they just tap the clutch when they drive, is that bad? Is that good?

Thank you in advance!

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[shire123]

Hi guys, I have a couple of questions about shifting gears, I am not new to the manual transmission but from watching few YouTube videos I am just wondering if I am driving the manual as I am supposed to or I am just slowly destroying the engine.

Current Car: 2017 Civic Hatch LX Previous Car: 2004 Accord DX model - Both manual

I heard few thing about shifting, one of the forum posts I saw a long time ago was saying that shifting (without flooring) at a lower rpm is good for gas consumption. When I drive my Civic I also see the green ring and try to adjust to it, and one thing that I see is if I am at a lower rpm in a higher gear, the ring stays green. On the other hand, I have heard of something that is called lugging the engine. It's recommended to drive at a higher rpm and shift at a higher rpm. I am getting confused here.

With my Accord, I got used to keeping the rpm between 1,000-2,000 to make sure the engine is silent, give is just a bit gas and accelerating over time. I am doing the exact same thing with 1.5 Civic, should I? My sweet spot for staying at the same speed of accelerating is 1,500 rpm. How do you guys drive your car? I also heard that some cars are meant to be driven at a lower rpm, is that true? Are Hondas...?

Please, guys, teach the pleb the good ways. I want to make sure that I am not ruining my car. Also, if you have other advice like, how the clutch release is supposed to be with my civic, please let me know. I am currently slow releasing the clutch but I saw few videos when they just tap the clutch when they drive, is that bad? Is that good?

Thank you in advance!

You'll probably get a number of different OPINIONs depending how people like to drive. My OPINION is based on how I've driven manuals all my life (65yo now). I've driven civic manuals since 2005. Basically, I shift at rpms around 1500 to 2000 depending on speed needs. Merging into traffic requires higher rpms. In fact I skip gears most of the time. With my 2017 ext manual, I almost always skip gears 1, 3 and 5. Start out in 2nd (if not on an incline or need a quick acceleration). Shift to 4th at about 2000rpm then to 6th at about 2000rpm. Did the same thing with my 2005 civic hybrid (although a 5 speed). Was at 315000 miles when the hybrid battery failed. Still was going strong then.
Some people have said my methods are hurting the engine. Couldn't prove it by my experiences.

 

[jks]

Let the green rings and the iFCD and aFCD be your guide. Lower rpms, higher loads, and wider throttle opening improve pumping efficiency which improves fuel economy. Too much load at low rpm increases boost which hurts FE. Hypermilers are in top gear by 35mph in the turbo Civics.

 

[ikbenben]

Shifting at low rpms is just good foor milage but not always that good for your engine. You can shift at low rpms but then you must touch the gas paddle very gently or you lug the engine like you said.
I myself shift most of the time between 2500 and 3500rpms.
Btw, I've driven manuals my whole life...for 20 years now. Never had an automatic.

 

[latole]

Shifting at low rpms is just good foor milage but not always that good for your engine. You can shift at low rpms but then you must touch the gas paddle very gently or you lug the engine like you said.
I myself shift most of the time between 2500 and 3500rpms.
Btw, I've driven manuals my whole life...for 20 years now. Never had an automatic.

I agree, mostly around 2,500 and 3,000 rpm
1,000 or 1,500 is too low most of the time.
The Civic I show here is my wife's car, I own a manual Toyota with 220,000 kms, my 3 third manual car in 30 years.
I hope to buy a 2018 Civic next year

 

[repeet]

I've been driving standard transmissions since 1972. If you feel the car shake, or the individual cylinders firing, then your lugging your engine.

Looks to me like the advice your getting from the other guys is spot on.

 

[Mikeybc]

I sometimes shift at 1500 or so if I'm just putting around slowly and feathering the gas, I wont go anywhere near half throttle at those low rpm's though. As long as you're not making the engine lug or trying to work it hard at low rpm you should be fine.

 

[CivicChina]

Our engine seems to run correctly just over 1500 RPM, so i try to keep it there when I cruise without hurry (RARE)
I upshift at around 2000 and I downshift if it goes under 1300 RPM.

 

[parshisa]

you are lugging your turbo engine. no bueno. shift it at at least 3k. this works best for me

 

[tsupersonic]

I find it easier to drive the turbo motors at lower RPMs because they make their torque way down low in the rev range. In the case of the Civic, it makes peak torque from 1700 RPM (CVT), or 1800 RPM (Manual) up til 5500 RPM. For reference, the naturally aspirated 2.0 LX makes peak torque at 4200 RPM, which is why it seems weaker in the lower RPM range

 

[Stock_07]

you are lugging your turbo engine. no bueno. shift it at at least 3k. this works best for me

I agree shifting at 1500 rpm is crazy low. Your valves must love you

 

[tsupersonic]

It's not just stats... My experience definitely differs from what you're saying, and I have driven/owned cars w/ turbos, so it's not new to me. I live in a mid size city, and am in the heart of traffic on my commutes. I find myself to get ok fuel economy with the CVT (it definitely shines on the highway/higher speeds). On the same commute with an older naturally aspirated Civic, it gets worse mileage.

Ok, sorry to steer this off conversation!

 

[hfpdohc]

3000rpm for the win!

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