Hey guys, just wanted to get your opinion on this reccurring debate i always go through. i think it's better to shift at 8,000rpm (stock gauge) while you're dragin or whatever, but a lot of people say that a stock or mildly modded 5th gen doesn't make power that high so there's no point in doing so, and that by reving that high you are in fact slowing down your acceleration.

so i'm curious if that's true or not? all opinions and input on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

IMO - 8k is a bit too high, 6-7k would be about tops to stay in the power curve - unless of course you're built.

 

at 8k on teh gauge you are at around 7500-7600 on the engine usually, and to me that is when you should shift. least i have had the best results at the track that way.

 

Gotta remember stock gauge is inaccurate at high RPMs. When it says 8000, it's actually more like 7600 (correct me if I'm wrong.)

Best way to find out is to get it on a dyno. I usually shift about 7800 on stock tach when pushing my car...

 

yeh guys, i totally understand the stock tach is off, that's why i noted it when i said 8000 hah. i'd never push it to 8000 true engine rpm, i'm scurred.

so yeh, i realize it's shifting around 7,500-7,600 when the stock tach says 8,000.

however a reputable source i asked on another forum said:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by "reputable source" &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not true, cuz after you shift your revs drop, and the higher you shift the higher in the next gear you'll land. If you shift lower you might shift and be out of vtec and/or land at a lower rpm which equals less power."</TD></TR></TABLE>

are you saying he's missinformed?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Storm_Rider &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">are you saying he's missinformed?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, but we are assuming that if you're racing then you know how to properly shift, without having to wind completely out to make up for your slow spaghetti shifts.

 

it depends on the gear, but in first gear you want to shift to second right around 8000 (indicated) so as to land in vtec in 2nd. the rest of the gears don't require the same stipulation.

ideally you want to shift right when you hit peak hp, which should be around 7200 (real) rpm.

 

i have tried to pay more attention to where peak torque is not peak horsepower. i would prefer to shift so that the RPM falls to land on peak torque even if that means shifting past peak horsepower.

 

i shift at 8000 rev limit), and my friend shifts at around 7200 (redline). when we raced the only mods we had were cold air intake (him) and a short ram intake (me). even though he should win with the cold air, every shift i would pull ahead by about 1/2 car length. then he got mad and got skunk2 stage 1 cams and cam tuned them (no ecu tuning). shifting at the same point, we were even. so i say shift at 8000.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lewdin’ Incognito &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">No, but we are assuming that if you're racing then you know how to properly shift, without having to wind completely out to make up for your slow spaghetti shifts.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha. i don't really get your argument though.. so you're saying if you shift poorly.. you shift higher rpm to make up for it??

soooo that means if you're an outstanding shifter, you shift lower rpm to handicap yourself???

say wha now

as to bb6racer: from my understanding of intakes, the short ram gives you more low torque for that stop and go racing you're doing. the cold air would only benefit him on a highend power freeway race right?

 

Not exactly, by "properly" I meant quickly (without missing). If you've got your shift rythym down, then you can shift with almost no delay. However, if you're don't quite have the "groove" yet, then the delay in shifting will cause your rpm's to drop - like what he was talking about.

No, you don't handicap yourself - but I notice a quite a few people over-rev to make up for their slow/inaccurate shifts (especially at the first couple spring races, lol)

 

go get a dyno test on your car and that will tell you when the max hp is produced, and thats were you should shift.

 

personally i still don't agree with shifting at the max hp. after max hp our cars are still producing power, may not be as much but it's still accelerating none the less. and shifting at a lower rpm point lands you even lower on the next gear. wouldnt you want to be at the highest rpm possible on the next gear?

bah i'm so confused

 

Why are you guys recommending shifting at peak HP? ??? As wouldn't you WANT to shift at the RPM where you always have the most power? This said, with any H22 dyno power does start to fall off after 7200 RPM. Shifting at say 7600 RPM (redline) gives you XX amount of power, but regardless that's a hell of a lot more power than you have in the next gear after the shift.

I've yet to see a relatively stock H22 dyno where it makes less power at redline than whatever the RPM drop power would be. Someone please explain the logic NOT to shift at redline. As shifting at peak HP only means you're shifting into less power regardless...?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Storm_Rider &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">as to bb6racer: from my understanding of intakes, the short ram gives you more low torque for that stop and go racing you're doing. the cold air would only benefit him on a highend power freeway race right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

this race was from a 10 mph stop all the way to 100 mph. i launch better than him so thats why we started at a 10 mph roll.

 

Drag racing: What all Hondas were designed for. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!!!

 

i know the tach is off and all but when i rev to 7200 on the tach and shift to 2nd from first i land right at 5000, staying in vtec. maybe my tach is just more accurate.. who knows. but i agree when you shift you want to land where youll be making the most torque in the next gear.

 

when to shift all depends on your power curve. if you shift at peak power (say 6800 rpms) then you will fall somewhere around 5500 rpms after the shift. but if you wait till 8000 rpms, your rpms will be around 6200 and you will be closer to your peak power and you will pull harder. it comes down to the driver in the end, just learn your car and when to shift for the best results/performance.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BB6racer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it comes down to the driver in the end, just learn your car and when to shift for the best results/performance.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

I shift at 7,800rpm on the stock tach. I feel that's the optimum rpm to shift at in my car.

 

anyone else

 

usually if i want to worked the engine i shift at 7800, sometime when i shift at 8k, the rev limiter kicks in so i just shift at 7800

 

thanks for all the replies guys, really appreciate it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BB6racer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it comes down to the driver in the end, just learn your car and when to shift for the best results/performance.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree with base it upon results but logic has to come into play here as well. What, if any, reason would you shift below redline on our cars? I don't see a single reason why anyone would on a relatively stock H22 especially in a drag race. Is there a reason why people were recommending shifting earlier??

Heck, unless you're on slicks with a stockish H22 IMO you shouldn't even bother shifting to 4th gear. Just bounce it off the limiter. Unless you find shifting to 4th gives you 96+ mph trap speeds, but I doubt it will. You only loose momentum shifting just before the end. Just bounce it a few times and you'll probably get better quarter times.

 

You should be shifting when the torque to the wheels in the next gear begins to exceed the torque available to the wheels in your current gear.