Without paying much attention I was driving on D3 for about 5 miles on the hwy till I noticed the higher RPM. I kinda of understand what they are for, ie. going up hills and stuff, but who actually uses D3-1. Is there any advantage to using them in everyday driving? Why does honda even have them in there, I mean I'm almost postive 90% of the drivers like me wouldnt even know when to use it and how to correctly use it. I know it was my fault driving in D3 but it pissed me off that its pretty easy to make that mistake. Can anyone justify why honda keeps putting d3, 2 and 1 as a option? I think for automatics they should just have D, P, N and R.
D3, 2, 1????
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Without paying much attention I was driving on D3 for about 5 miles on the hwy till I noticed the higher RPM. I kinda of understand what they are for, ie. going up hills and stuff, but who actually uses D3-1. Is there any advantage to using them in everyday driving? Why does honda even have them in there, I mean I'm almost postive 90% of the drivers like me wouldnt even know when to use it and how to correctly use it. I know it was my fault driving in D3 but it pissed me off that its pretty easy to make that mistake. Can anyone justify why honda keeps putting d3, 2 and 1 as a option? I think for automatics they should just have D, P, N and R.
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in my opinion, i am glad that honda still does it the "old school" way.
simply put, D3 for passing or engine braking, 2 for passing in local traffic and to start off in snow / sand (car locks in 2nd gear), and 1st for engine braking to really help to slow you down in snow etc.... :wave:
simply put, D3 for passing or engine braking, 2 for passing in local traffic and to start off in snow / sand (car locks in 2nd gear), and 1st for engine braking to really help to slow you down in snow etc.... :wave:
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Good post. Drive is the only gear I ever drive in. To tell you the truth I don't think anybody has explained what the other gears are for??????? :dunno: I ready for the wrath of the driveaccord.net folks give it to me. :thumbsup:
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i cruise in d3 alot more often now a days. having that power at tap is pretty cool. you dont have to wait for the automatic to "decide" to downshift to pass cars. you'll be sitting at average 5k rpm on the freeway. and since its stays in a lower gear, your car picks up quicker and engine brakes (slows the car down quicker when letting off the gas) . only disadvantage. i've hit the rev limiter a few times at around 105mph on d3. but we all shouldn't be hitting that speed anyways. (my accords cost me 2 90mph speeding tickets in a year. the pickup compared to a 95 civic si helps. old civic had to really work to hit 90. lol)
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Well, Accords have had those options for some time now, and I find them useful in day to day driving.
If I feel the need to decide when the car should change a gear under hard acceleration, I will put the shifter way back in 1, and move it forward until I reach my desired gear. This is better than flooring it to get the transmission to say "I think he's trying to go fast, hold the gear longer". Or I'll use 1 in traffic so that I don't have to constantly feel the transmission cycle back and fourth through gears 1 and 2. Not to mention it causes less wear on the transmission itself.
2 is like a winter gear. You can start driving the car in 2nd gear to prevent wheel spin in snowy/icy conditions. 2nd gear has less torque from a dead stop than 1st does. Which is what minimizes chances of wheel spin.
D3 is great for city driving. The D in front of the 3 essentially means that the car will go through every gear up to 3rd gear. Should you ever not notice you're in D3 and you go too fast (very unlikely!) the technical nanny's in the car will shift up to 4 and 5 for you. I would not advise testing the limits though ;-). In your owners manual, it states how fast each gear is good for. On my car, D3 can take me all the way to 96 mph. With quite a bit fuss from the engine of course.
D4 really is D5 as it will go up to 5th gear. Honda just decided 5th was an overdrive gear I suppose. In the city, and when you're not on the highway the car may not even use 5th.
You can shift through the gears manually, but I do not suggest ever down shifting into 1st gear if the car is moving anywhere past 5-10mph as you'll get a good shake from the engine if you do. I usually put it in 1 once I'm fully stopped.
D3 is a great way to pass without flooring. - As long as you're within the limit; in your owners manual.
I use D3 on the freeway a lot so that I don't have to press the pedal half way down or so to get the car to drop a gear. Saves fuel and takes less time I suppose.
Anymore questions?
If I feel the need to decide when the car should change a gear under hard acceleration, I will put the shifter way back in 1, and move it forward until I reach my desired gear. This is better than flooring it to get the transmission to say "I think he's trying to go fast, hold the gear longer". Or I'll use 1 in traffic so that I don't have to constantly feel the transmission cycle back and fourth through gears 1 and 2. Not to mention it causes less wear on the transmission itself.
2 is like a winter gear. You can start driving the car in 2nd gear to prevent wheel spin in snowy/icy conditions. 2nd gear has less torque from a dead stop than 1st does. Which is what minimizes chances of wheel spin.
D3 is great for city driving. The D in front of the 3 essentially means that the car will go through every gear up to 3rd gear. Should you ever not notice you're in D3 and you go too fast (very unlikely!) the technical nanny's in the car will shift up to 4 and 5 for you. I would not advise testing the limits though ;-). In your owners manual, it states how fast each gear is good for. On my car, D3 can take me all the way to 96 mph. With quite a bit fuss from the engine of course.
D4 really is D5 as it will go up to 5th gear. Honda just decided 5th was an overdrive gear I suppose. In the city, and when you're not on the highway the car may not even use 5th.
You can shift through the gears manually, but I do not suggest ever down shifting into 1st gear if the car is moving anywhere past 5-10mph as you'll get a good shake from the engine if you do. I usually put it in 1 once I'm fully stopped.
D3 is a great way to pass without flooring. - As long as you're within the limit; in your owners manual.
I use D3 on the freeway a lot so that I don't have to press the pedal half way down or so to get the car to drop a gear. Saves fuel and takes less time I suppose.
Anymore questions?
D=forward, numbers=which gear.
Lower the number the more the torque for that gear. So up a really nasty hill some use a lower gear. Or in icy, like already stated.
The higher numbers are geared for the open road/freeway.
The only time we use a lower one in the Accord is DOWNHILL so not need to ride the brakes. Gives a bit more control that way.
Mine has D, D3, 2, 1 (without the Ds in front of them)
Being really OLD....we've owned a "Hondamatic". In those you had to take off from a stop in 1st gear.... then shift to Drive. It complained big time if you forgot!!
Here's what Honda says: (since this was posted in the 8th gen section, I'm posting the '08 info)
Lower the number the more the torque for that gear. So up a really nasty hill some use a lower gear. Or in icy, like already stated.
The higher numbers are geared for the open road/freeway.
The only time we use a lower one in the Accord is DOWNHILL so not need to ride the brakes. Gives a bit more control that way.
Mine has D, D3, 2, 1 (without the Ds in front of them)
Being really OLD....we've owned a "Hondamatic". In those you had to take off from a stop in 1st gear.... then shift to Drive. It complained big time if you forgot!!
Here's what Honda says: (since this was posted in the 8th gen section, I'm posting the '08 info)
I use D3 in my '94 Accord all of the time. It is great for city traffic, as the tranny tends to drop it in 4th, too high of a gear, when I get up to a decent cruising speed yet still in that in between area, and then have to drop my speed back down when the traffic slows, etc.
The shorter answer: it eliminates the "gear hunting" in stop and go traffic.
The shorter answer: it eliminates the "gear hunting" in stop and go traffic.
I've always found Honda's Grade Logic to work pretty well, and I never have to do this.
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I use the D's when doing city driving....
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It really wouldn't change anything besides holding 3 though...
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accordlover is right.
you would be better off starting in first, then shifting when you want it to....
i have done that many of times in the 93..... :naughty:
you would be better off starting in first, then shifting when you want it to....
i have done that many of times in the 93..... :naughty:
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I guess I'm still used to driving a stick...I use D4 D3 2 1 every day, it is extremely helpful in the city where the tranny can't see traffic lights. I cross the paths of 15 stop signs or traffic lights on my way to the train station, which is exactly 2.7 miles from my house. If you do the math, you see that some of them are bound to be quite close together. I counted that when I leave it in D4, in the worst case scenario the tranny does 42 up or down shifts in 2.7 miles. When I have my way, and usually I do, it only does 1 shift on the way to the station - the 1-2 upshift. On the way back, it's all uphill, so it has to shift a few more times. Still that's a lot of wear on the clutch packs that you could be saving.
I take off from one light and I can already see the next one is red and not changing anytime soon - that's when you use 1. I use 2 all the way to the station (all downhill so it pulls fine off the line in 2nd) instead of having it do the 1-2 and 2-1 shift so many times (2nd gear clutch pack has issues on my tranny, less I use it, less likely to fail). I use D3 on local highways where the speed limit is 40. It prevents a shift into 4th, again when there's so many traffic lights its just unnecessary. It's also useful when you take off from a light and you're going to be getting onto an onramp. It might shift into 4th, then you'd brake for the onramp and get back on the gas and it would just shift back into 3rd again anyway. You could just leave it in 3rd and let it rev a bit higher for a little while (or go slower like I do) and prevent that unnecessary shift.
And I have to do all this with the column shifter on the Ody :banana:
I take off from one light and I can already see the next one is red and not changing anytime soon - that's when you use 1. I use 2 all the way to the station (all downhill so it pulls fine off the line in 2nd) instead of having it do the 1-2 and 2-1 shift so many times (2nd gear clutch pack has issues on my tranny, less I use it, less likely to fail). I use D3 on local highways where the speed limit is 40. It prevents a shift into 4th, again when there's so many traffic lights its just unnecessary. It's also useful when you take off from a light and you're going to be getting onto an onramp. It might shift into 4th, then you'd brake for the onramp and get back on the gas and it would just shift back into 3rd again anyway. You could just leave it in 3rd and let it rev a bit higher for a little while (or go slower like I do) and prevent that unnecessary shift.
And I have to do all this with the column shifter on the Ody :banana:
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1: Can be used to crawl (like in a parking lot)
2: Use this to take off in snow/ice. It is very helpful in keeping traction
D3: You can use this to downshift on hills and such to keep from using the brakes.
D: Everyday Driving.
There isn't any difference in how the tranny shifts for D3 and D. Both will take your engine all of the way to redline.
2: Use this to take off in snow/ice. It is very helpful in keeping traction
D3: You can use this to downshift on hills and such to keep from using the brakes.
D: Everyday Driving.
There isn't any difference in how the tranny shifts for D3 and D. Both will take your engine all of the way to redline.
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That depends on when and how you use it.
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