Shifting Tecniques

Shifting
You may think shifting is a no-brainer function, but in a sport where the difference of winning may be 1/100th of a second, every detail counts. In this discussion we point out how to acheive smooth, quick shifts that are easy on the hardware. We're assuming the use of a typical H-box shifter in a street car for this.

Many people fall into two bad habits on the street when shifting. First, Hollywood has taught everyone that it looks cool to always leave your right hand on the shift knob. Wrong! You may as well tie your hand behind your back as leave it on the shift knob. Your hand belongs on the steering wheel--always. When you need to shift--shift, and get your hand back on the wheel. Don't even rest it on the shifter for a few seconds a head of time to "get ready." Every time your hand leaves the steering wheel you've given up 50% of the tactile feedback you have from your hands, and 50% of your capability to control the car. If you're racing with other cars around you, you never know when you may get tapped. Even when racing alone, mechanical failure may cause handling trouble. You'll want both hands on the wheel when that happens.

The second bad habit some people have is shifting with excessive force. Too tight a grip, and slamming from one gear to another will actually slow your shifting down, and cause excessive mechanical wear. Proper shifting uses an open palm grip on the top of the shift knob, and a gentle but fast guide from one gear to another. We repeat---all shifting is properly done with the hand open and cupped over the top of the knob, not wrapped around it like a fighter plane control stick.

To shift from the top of the H to the bottom, start by forming a cup with your palm and fingers. Place the palm of the hand over the top of the shift knob. Using the underside of your fingers and your palm against the knob, use a smooth straight-line motion to guide the lever to the next gear. Assuming the shift lever has a fairly short travel, the action involves your wrist for the majority of the movement. Do not attempt to slam it or force it faster than it wants to go. If you are locking your wrist and moving your whole arm at the shoulder, you are using too much force.

To shift from the bottom of the H to the top, again start by forming a cup with your palm and fingers. This time when you place the hand over the shift knob, the emphasis of contact is on the heel of the palm. Start with the wrist slightly bent up. Push the lever using the palm heel in a straight line using your wrist to extend the position of the palm heel while following through with a gentle push of the arm. This shift is more arm motion than wrist.

When shifting across the H such as between 2nd and 3rd gears, do not try to make a conscious jog in your hand movements. The linkage needs very little input to make the diagonal path across neutral. Your shift should almost look like a straight diagonal line. Making a distinctive zig zag through neutral is strong-arming the shifter and will slow the shift down.

Using smooth, soft control of the lever does not imply doing it slowly. A gentle force of the lever will allow the shift linkage to move freely through its natural motions. If you strong-arm the motion you will end up forcing the linkage through lines that have more resistance. This will slow the shifting down. Use as much wrist movement as possible in place of moving the whole arm.

Some of you may be tempted to learn the techniques of "speed shifting"--shifting without using the clutch--in the interest of saving time. Many schools and professional racers have shown over and over that there is no speed or lap time advantage to this, and it carries a much higher risk of gear box damage.

First Generation Honda Accord

The first generation Honda Accord was launched in 1976 as a two-door hatchback with 68 horsepower (51 kW), a 93.7-inch (2,380.0 mm) wheelbase, and a weight of about 2,000 pounds. It was larger than the tiny Civic at 162 inches (4,115 mm) long. The Accord sold well, due to its moderate size and great fuel economy. In 1978 an LX version of the coupe was added which came with air conditioning, digital clock, and power steering. In 1979 a four-door sedan was added to the lineup, and power went to 72 hp (54 kW) with the introduction of the 1751 cc EK-1 engine. In 1980 the optional two-speed automatic of previous years became a three-speed automatic. Slightly redesigned bumper trim, new grilles and taillamps, and remote mirrors on the 4-door (chrome) and the LX (black plastic) models. The CVCC badges were deleted. In 1981 an SE model was added for the first time, with novio-leather seats and power windows. Base model hatchbacks received the same smaller black plastic remote mirror that the 4-door, LX, and SE 4-door received at the same time. Instrument cluster revised with mostly pictograms, instead of the worded warning lights and gauge markings. Nivorno Beige (code #Y-39) replaced with Oslo Beige (#YR-43). Dark brown was discontinued, as was the bronze metallic. Shifter redesigned to have a stronger spring to prevent unintentional engagement of reverse, instead of the spring-loaded shift knob of the 1976 through 1980 model cars.

The first few generations of Hondas suffered from rustproofing issues in areas where salt is used to melt road ice. Under these conditions, it was not uncommon for the strut towers to rust out and fail, turning the car into a parts car.

Honda Accord SM4

In 1990 a new, larger Honda Accord based on the "CB" chassis was launched in Japan. This generation was the first not to feature a three-door model, and the first one to be exclusively sold by the Honda Clio dealer network in Japan. A sister car, called Honda Ascot, differing only slightly from the JDM Accord sedan, was launched for sale in the Honda Primo stores that also carried previous-generation Accords. On the other hand, the Honda Vigor, previously closely related to the Accord, became a rather different model, fitted with longitudinally-mounted inline five-cylinder engines.

This was one of the first US production cars to feature optic reflectors with completely clear lenses on the headlamps replacing the more conventional sealed beam styled lighting. Unlike most manufacturers moving away from traditional sealed beam lighting, Honda chose to transition to a multi-reflector headlight style while maintaining the use of a glass lens instead of polycarbonate as is most common today.

The more conservative Accord now bore a resemblance to the first-generation Acura Legend. The Accord had matured into a larger car now approaching the likes of the Ford Taurus, but was still given "compact" status. The LX-i and SE-i trim levels were renamed EX and SE respectively, leaving US models with DX, LX, and EX trim levels. The Canadian Accord trim levels varied slightly from the US models with LX, EX and EX-R. Fourth generation EXi Accords sold in Australia and New Zealand offered the same 4-wheel steering technology as was available optionally on the US Honda Prelude.

For this fourth generation Accord Honda made significant engineering design improvements. A completely new 2.2 liter, 16-valve engine would replace the previous 2.0 liter 12-valve model. All Accords sold in North America came with a 2.2 liter electronic fuel injected engine standard. Also noteworthy, all Accords equipped with automatic transmissions used an electronically controlled rear engine mount to reduce low frequency noise and vibration. The mount contained 2 fluid filled chambers separated by a computer controlled valve. At low engine speeds, fluid routed through the valve damping vibration. Above 850 rpm, fluid routed around the valve making the engine mount stiffer.

A 125 HP 4-cylinder engine was offered the DX and LX models, while the EX received a 130 hp (97 kW) version. Cruise control was dropped from the DX sedan, with air conditioning remaining a dealer-installed option. The LX kept the same features as the previous generation including air conditioning, power windows, locks, and mirrors. The EX added 10 horsepower (7 kW) more due to different exhaust manifold and slightly bigger exhaust piping, 15 inch machined aluminum-alloy wheels, sunroof, upgraded upholstery, dual-outlet single exhaust, rear stabilizer bar and a high-power 4-speaker stereo cassette.

Because of tightening auto safety regulations from the NHTSA, all North American 1990 and 1991 Accords came equipped with motorized shoulder belts to comply with passive restraint mandates. These semi-automatic restraints were a two component system; a motorized shoulder belt along with a non-integrated and manually operated seatbelt. The shoulder belts automatically raced around each window frame encircling both the driver and front seat passenger whenever the front door closed and reversed to release them when opened. The seat belts however, still required manual fastening.

For the 1992 and 1993 model years, the awkward motorized shoulder belt system were replaced with a standard driver-side airbag and conventional shoulder/seatbelt arrangement for all but the center rear passenger. A redesigned manual transmission with hydraulic clutch was standard equipment while an all-new electronically controlled 4-speed automatic transmission was optional for all models. Some new dealer-installed accessories were now offered including a single-disc in-dash CD player or trunk mounted 6-disc CD changer, fog lights, security system, rear wing spoiler, trunk lip spoiler, luggage rack, full and half nose mask, center armrest, equalizer, window visors, sunroof visor, car cover, and cockpit cover.

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