RACER

brimstone

Sorry to interrupt, but what is it exactly that you're trying to prove here in this thread?

The man said he was trying to raise mpg, and asked whether shifting at low rpms was the way to do it. I don't see him telling anyone when they are supposed to shift before you came in and trolled the thread with your teenage james-dean-wannabe marlboro-man BS.

Just like you are allowed to shift when you "think it is time to upshift, and downshift when you think it is time to downshift," so can he. Until you scan and upload papers proving without a doubt that you are officially authorized by Honda to have the exclusive right to tell how people to drive their cars, shut up.

Oh, and by the way, recommended shift is at 15 mph for 1st gear, considering 43 mph to be max speed in 1st gear with 4.1/stock gears, go ahead and calculate what the Honda manual recommended shift rpm is.

I mean, really, who do you think you're showing off to when you tell us you shift in between 5 and 8.9k? Its a S2K forum, if you must be reminded, most of us actually own an s2000.

CaptainMike

Hi there noob. You really ought to watch who you call what around here. Really.
I've read probably at least 2000 of Mike G's posts on these forums over the years, 99% of them useful. He certainly doesn't need me or anyone else to jump to his defense. BUT, If you were to spend any time whatsoever in the "Racing and Competition" forum you would certainly be a little slower with the "Shut Up's" and the name calling. He is one of the most knowledgable and respected members on the forums. At least get your facts straight. There is some fairly credible evidence posted over the years here that lugging the AP1's engine actually yeilded worse mileage around town than revving a bit higher and staying in a more appropriate gear for the specific driving situation.
Just an FYI- I shift 7-8K RPM just about every 1-2-3 shift for the past 6 years. My mileage?, .. not so great... my fun factor? Ultra.
Can you shift at 3000 RPM every time? I suppose you could, but I think that if you do you are pretty much missing out on 90% of the joy of driving this beautiful machine.
Please come back and berate me for trolling up your thread. Please.
Cheers,
Mike

Dave-ROR

CaptainMike: I have also seen a lot of useful posts from Mike G, however, I'm with brimstone on this to a point. Mike replied to a user to tell THEM they bought the wrong car if they are shifting at such a low RPM. That's no different than mgp saying that's where you should be shifting at. Both were opinions, just like 99% of the posts on this site.

People can shift at whatever RPM they want to, it's their car after all. If there's evidence (read: fact) that they are doing something counter productive, or damaging, then tell them. Why bother wasting everyone's time with a post like the one Mike G made here?

And why the "noob" crap anyways? Do new S2000 owners/S2Ki members automatically know nothing? I guess I'm just sick of seeing "noob" these days. Luckily none of you were ever noobs....

mikegarrison

Showing off? I thought the discussion was about what we actually do.

I'll admit, I did make a judgement of sorts when I said that if you routinely upshift at around 3K RPM then you probably bought the wrong car. I think that is true, but of course if you have the money you can buy any car you like, for any reason you like, and drive it any way you like that's legal.

Nevertheless, if you routinely drive the S2000 around so far out of its powerband then really a Civic or Prius or Focus would have been a better selection, because those cars will get better mileage and actually even perform better than an S2000 when you are lugging the engine. I used to have a CRX Si as my second car, and I know that it responded better in daily driving situations than my S2000 anywhere below about 5K. Got better mileage, too, even when driven more aggressively.

My S2000 is now track only, so except for ferrying it between home and the track I'm basically either WOT or on the brakes with it. But even when I used it as a daily driver, I would tend to upshift so that RPMs would always stay above 3K rather than below 3K. That all depends, though, on whether you want to accelerate, whether you are on a hill, what the traffic is like, etc.

Just a statement of fact about how I drive, nothing else.

RACER

a_zepeda926

Per the Honda manual, it says to shift at 3,500 RPMS, but thats only Honda....

mikegarrison

Not on my car, but I suppose you have one of those johnny-come-lately 2.2L engines....

[I went and actually looked it up. There is no recommended RPM shifting point in my owners manual. There are recommended shift-point vehicle speeds for "the best fuel economy and emissions control". Those are way below the speeds at which I usually shift, but I think we've already established here that this is a matter of personal choice. They appear to be at approximately 4K RPM, although these are more related to federal standards than anything else. For instance, they suggest shifting into sixth gear at 52 mph, which is almost certainly so that the "highway miles" mpg test will be done in sixth gear.

On topic with the original question, there is also a delicately worded sentence saying, "Before downshifting, make sure the engine will not go into the tachometer's red zone."

I will also point out that even when driven in this manner (aiming for best fuel efficiency), the manual suggests that 3K RPM is not "doing it right" for an '02 MY car.]

RACER

3,500 rev's is a suggested shift point. Honda does not tell anybody to shift at any rpm.

CaptainMike

Dave-ROR, if you go back and READ all the posts leading up to the one where brimstone jumps down Mike G's throat and tells him to 'shut up' there was no reason for his reaction. My reply was posted hastily in response to that. I have learned a lot from Mike's posts (over 10,000) over the years, and the fact that someone with 150 total posts copped that attitude with a knowledgable and respected member of the boards ticked me off. Brimstone may know 1000 times more about S2000's and their workings than I do, but his attitude leaves a bit to be desired.
I apologize if I have offended anyone.
I will think twice before expressing my opinion in future.

%&$ing Noobs! (just kidding )

Slows, feel free to lock this one, I don't see it going anywhere.

Mike