Flooring it at low RPM, higher gear

[Zeffy94]

Maybe I’ve been hanging out in the Civic Si forum too much, but I’ve had this lingering question in the back of my head for awhile now.

If you’re at low RPM, say 2k, in about 3rd gear and you mash the throttle, is it bad for the clutch/engine? Not necessarily WOT either; more like 50-75% throttle pressure (according to the dashboard display).

I know that if you do this in an overdrive gear such as 5th or 6th it can be more harmful, but the other gears I’m unsure of. The only one that I would guess is fine is 1st gear for obvious reasons. I am guilty of accelerating at about 35-45% throttle at 2200RPM in 5th gear to maintain my speed, I don’t know if that is causing any harm or not.

I’ve read that you don’t necessarily want to be flooring it in a turbo car at low RPM in a higher gear because of something to do with boost pressure and the engine internals or something. Plus I think it causes the clutch to wear faster and cause it to start slipping?

I know it’s a dumb question

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[_dc_]

Yes, it's bad for the engine. It's known as lugging, and it can damage your engine. This can be one of the causes of LSPI in turbocharged engines. You should always be in an appropriate gear for the throttle application.

 

[willskiGT]

Yes, it's bad for the engine. It's known as lugging, and it can damage your engine. This can be one of the causes of LSPI in turbocharged engines. You should always be in an appropriate gear for the throttle application.

It's not lugging the engine if you're at 2k rpm. The car is already making 50-55% of peak torque at that engine speed.

1k rpm/sub idle engine speed is lugging the engine.

OP, there is no problem with accelerating starting at 2200 rpm in any gear.

 

[swah_fk7]

It's not lugging the engine if you're at 2k rpm.

1k rpm, yes.

OP, there is no problem with accelerating starting at 2200 rpm in any gear.

Wide open throttle at 2200 rpm??

If i do this in sport mode in 4th, RPM shoot up 2000 and it'll slip until i let off.

 

[willskiGT]

Wide open throttle at 2200 rpm??

If i do this in sport mode in 4th, RPM shoot up 2000 and it'll slip until i let off.

Then your clutch is slipping. Are you tuned or something? I see your profile says "Civic Si", we're discussing the Type R.

My car does not have any clutch slip and accelerates smoothly without lugging from 2200 rpm.

 

[swah_fk7]

Then your clutch is slipping. Are you tuned or something? I see your profile says "Civic Si", we're discussing the Type R.

My car does not have any clutch slip and accelerates smoothly without lugging from 2200 rpm.

WOT at lower rpm on a higher gear than 3rd is lugging the engine, sorry.

 

[Zeffy94]

Yes, it's bad for the engine. It's known as lugging, and it can damage your engine. This can be one of the causes of LSPI in turbocharged engines. You should always be in an appropriate gear for the throttle application.

1k RPM to 1.5k RPM I can see lugging, but even 2k?

 

[MonkeyConQueso]

We'd need someone with datalogging (Ktuner/Hondata) to bring actual values to the table to show where the risk lies. But I don't believe (edit) equal to or above 2200RPM in 1st to 4th that mashing on the throttle would produce a 'lugging' behavior.

Although I'm curious if some people are confusing turbo lag with lugging...

 

[krees]

I don't go more than 1/3rd throttle under 3k and I try not to go more than 1/3rd throttle in 5th and 6th.

 

[Zeffy94]

We'd need someone with datalogging (Ktuner/Hondata) to bring actual values to the table to show where the risk lies. But I don't believe below 2200RPM in 1st to 4th that mashing on the throttle would produce a 'lugging' behavior.

Although I'm curious if some people are confusing turbo lag with lugging...

I know when I’m lugging because the car shakes. Sometimes I keep it in 2nd gear to avoid stopping and get back up to speed in 2nd. From about 5-8 mph you can feel the car shake with light throttle but it goes away once you hit like 10mph.

 

[boosted180sx]

2k in 3rd is probably not a big deal. Hell, most WOT dyno pulls or datalogs you do asks you to do it from 2k to redline in 3rd.

2k in 5th or 6th though WOT is a different story. The rpm does not climb as fast and it produces a ton of boost. That can lead to LSPI (low speed pre ignition) which is not good for your engine.

partial throttle though? It all depends cause everyone has different throttle response settings. Just try to keep it from hitting high boost under 2k and you'll be ok. You should be able to feel if you are lugging the car or not.

 

[MonkeyConQueso]

Honestly downshifting in this car is so easy, either with rev match on or off, that I'd say to just not be lazy and do it when you need to accelerate. On the flip side, I'm pretty lazy when I'm just gently accelerating around 2500+ in 5th/6th, but if I'm doing damage at those RPMs, I would be very surprised.

 

[TonyD]

The car will let you know. You won't damage anything but the computer will pull timing to prevent detonation as mentioned above. Less timing equals slower acceleration and lack of boost pressure etc.

I've noticed that if I am lazy the car performs poorly. Example, cruising middle lane 70 mph in 6th on the highway. RPMs are probably 2500. If I dip too far into the throttle to pass without a down shift its noticeably laggy and I can smell a faint hint of sulfur/exhaust.

This car is much happier to rev higher and hold gears than something like my STI was.

 

[_dc_]

The car will let you know. You won't damage anything but the computer will pull timing to prevent detonation as mentioned above. Less timing equals slower acceleration and lack of boost pressure etc.

I've noticed that if I am lazy the car performs poorly. Example, cruising middle lane 70 mph in 6th on the highway. RPMs are probably 2500. If I dip too far into the throttle to pass without a down shift its noticeably laggy and I can smell a faint hint of sulfur/exhaust.

This car is much happier to rev higher and hold gears than something like my STI was.

The computer can pull timing when it senses knock. However, it won't be able to do anything about LSPI, which can be a serious risk if you lug a TGDI engine.

 

[Zeffy94]

The car will let you know. You won't damage anything but the computer will pull timing to prevent detonation as mentioned above. Less timing equals slower acceleration and lack of boost pressure etc.

I've noticed that if I am lazy the car performs poorly. Example, cruising middle lane 70 mph in 6th on the highway. RPMs are probably 2500. If I dip too far into the throttle to pass without a down shift its noticeably laggy and I can smell a faint hint of sulfur/exhaust.

This car is much happier to rev higher and hold gears than something like my STI was.

I’ve smelled that too in some situations. Is that normal?

I’ve also been content to ride in the 3k RPM range more often and even doing that my fuel economy is still increasing (I’m at 28.6mpg combined now).

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