2 questions: replacement tires, MT shifting

[atomiclightbulb]

I'm going to buy a used 7G this coming week.

On the cars I looked at, the tires are ok, but not in great shape, in the 5/10ths range. Most of them seem to have Bridgestone Turanzas, which get acceptable but less-than-enthusiastic ratings on tirerack.com.

What is a good replacement tire for 16" rims?

I did a search, but there seems to be no thread on this exact subject. On Tirerack.com, the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity, Michelin Primacy MXV4, and General Altimax HP received decent ratings for all sorts of conditions, and are within my price range.

I noticed that Honda manuals do not recommend skipping gears during shifting and say this can cause "serious damage".

Do you shift sequentially always?

I've skipped gears for years on my 5G and never had a problem. If I'm driving down a road at 45 MPH (in 4th gear), and slow down to make a right hand turn, I go to 2nd gear as soon as I'm in the 20-25 MPH range. Otherwise the engine clunks as the RPMs fall too low. It seems odd to me to shift to 3rd an then shift again to 2nd.

Likewise, if I'm on a short freeway on-ramp, I'll hold third gear to get myself up to 65 MPH ASAP, and then go directly to 5th gear when I reach this cruising speed.

I looked at some threads on 8thCivic and elsewhere, and there does not seem to be anything conclusive.

[Jeff]

I can't say anything about the MT shifting because i have an auto, but I can comment about the tires. I recently purchased a set of Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grids in 225/55/16 for my stock EX wheels, and I absolutely love them. I got them for $95 a tire at a local Tires Plus (they're owned by Bridgestone). The wider tire helps a ton with the traction and handling. If you don't care about that though, you could just stick with 205/60/16. I really like the more aggressive look the tire has in the wider version. The only downside is that if you're on stock springs, your wheel gap is just going to get larger, lol. I plan to fix that sooner or later.

[Clutch34]

On the MT shifting, I do the same thing -- slow down from 5th and go to 2nd and speed up from 3rd and go to 5th. I'm a first time MT driver tho, I've had my car for a year now. May want to get more opinions from people who have been driving MT longer then I have. Hopefully, for our cars' sake, we're not wrong in our shifting habits! lol

And is that why the engine clunks? Cuz the RPMs get too low? I had NO idea why the engine was doing that, but I knew it couldn't have been good. Doesn't always do it, but every now and again... looks like I'll have to test this out..

[Aceman196]

Originally Posted by Clutch34

On the MT shifting, I do the same thing -- slow down from 5th and go to 2nd and speed up from 3rd and go to 5th. I'm a first time MT driver tho, I've had my car for a year now. May want to get more opinions from people who have been driving MT longer then I have. Hopefully, for our cars' sake, we're not wrong in our shifting habits! lol

And is that why the engine clunks? Cuz the RPMs get too low? I had NO idea why the engine was doing that, but I knew it couldn't have been good. Doesn't always do it, but every now and again... looks like I'll have to test this out..

yes that is why it clunks. Gearing down no sequential is ok as far as going up I dont know but I do it every once in while in the same situation you described.

[ypsibird]

Here's a thread you might find interesting regarding skip-shifting. Be sure to check out the service bulletin pdf. Some of this might be more applicable to the 6 speed. The 5 speed might be a little more hardy.

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/sh...ght=skip+shift

[Furple]

I only skip downshift, but I usually give a throttle blip to get the RPMs near where they have to be. hmmm

Guess I'll be changing my driving habits.

[JBM]

Upshifting sequentially is a must.

However downshifting sequentially is not needed, so long as you don't go from 5th to 2nd.

No need to over rev and stress your stock honda motor/ transmission out.

[CarlR33]

I am driving a rental car with Goodyear Assurance and they are terrible in the rain (hydroplaining).

I just put Michelin Pilot Exalto on the Accord and so far so good. I had put on Michelin Harmonys but the car wondered all over the place. Took it back and they gave me the Exalto's and so far so good. The original tires were Michelin Primacy's (Energy's) and they were great for fuel mileage but poor for snow traction.

[BlueBlahBleh]

I see no issue with skipping gears when downshifting or upshifting. As long as you are an experienced driver and know how to shift well, this should not be a problem.

If one is going to downshift for acceleration, be sure to rev-match properly for smooth transition and ease of use. (Don't want to wear out the tranny with rough downshifts.) When downshifting due to deceleration, then it really isn't necessary to rev-match (assuming you are within 2,000 RPM or less in a V6) because the synchros work well in Honda Accords and should withstand the test of time. Anytime a person downshifts and ends up in the 2,200RPM range or higher, it is better to rev-match.

When upshifting, again there is no problem if you want to skip gears. Honda transmissions are well-built and have very good synchros. Shifting sequentially might save some money on gasoline, but the difference is negligable. Personally I upshift sequentially most of the time, but occasionally I will skip a gear (usually 3rd or 5th gear.)

This advice is under the presumption that one is driving in a mature and adult fashion. If you want to get the best 0-60 times, however, then upshifting sequentially is a must. Good luck and drive safe!

[04PinoyAccord]

I have Michelin Primacy mxv4, Let me tell you .. it is very smooth on those hard bumps but then again my old tires were super worn out. Primacy in the rain is very stable!! It was pouring out and i could give it a good amount of gas on a turn without feeling any slips, and this turn was about a 90 degree turn from a stop sign! so i can't really compare it to the old Michelin Energy's .. Primacy has a high cost so I hope it will not wear out fast, if it does I don't think it is a good buy. So far with 1,000 on it I recommend it!

[dan442]

I don't know if the way I shift is good or bad, but it does not feel bad. When accelerating, I am usually at the speed limit(35) by third gear and I usually go straight to fifth. I do take my time going into fifth when doing that that. Don't know if this means anything, but it goes into gear perfectly smooth. When getting ready for a turn while in fifth gear, I usually will put it in neutral and release the clutch, and when I get to a slower speed, I then shift into second

[namegoeshere]

Originally Posted by atomiclightbulb

I did a search, but there seems to be no thread on this exact subject.

Maybe not exactly, but there are a few that might be helpful.

[Clutch34]

Originally Posted by dan442

I don't know if the way I shift is good or bad, but it does not feel bad. When accelerating, I am usually at the speed limit(35) by third gear and I usually go straight to fifth. I do take my time going into fifth when doing that that. Don't know if this means anything, but it goes into gear perfectly smooth. When getting ready for a turn while in fifth gear, I usually will put it in neutral and release the clutch, and when I get to a slower speed, I then shift into second

I do the exact same thing.

[ATR]

You could also "double clutch" so that you match the engine speed to the transmission speed of the gear you'd like to go into. That cuts down on syncro wear immensely if you practice "double clutching" often.

Also to the OP... what kinda tires are you looking for?
do they ever see snow?
Only in a warm area that never sees snow?
Tread life important? if so how important?

[ypsibird]

Originally Posted by BlueBlahBleh

When upshifting, again there is no problem if you want to skip gears. Honda transmissions are well-built and have very good synchros. Shifting sequentially might save some money on gasoline, but the difference is negligable. Personally I upshift sequentially most of the time, but occasionally I will skip a gear (usually 3rd or 5th gear.)

I'm glad you are not having problems with your 6 speed -- so far. But if you keep skipping 3rd gear that might not continue for very long. It's your car - feel free to ignore Honda's advice that "SKIP SHIFTING IS BRUTAL ON SYNCHRONIZERS" as noted in the Jan 06 service news. BTW, don't let your dealer know you do it or you might be denied warranty service when your 3rd gear synchro goes bad as per the service news indicates.

http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SN/A060100.PDF

Not all Honda transmissions are well-built and have very good synchro's. The 6 speed has significant problems with the 3rd gear synchro and/or 3-4 shift sleeve. The bulletin notes that it covers 03-07 and some 08's. That's a pretty good number of transmissions. Abusive driving isn't necessary to cause it.

http://automotivetech.org/at/6spdtsb.pdf