Needed to hear this when I first got this car, driving technique improved!

[BlackDTeggy]

Hey guys, I’ve been driving a manual car since 09, and it was an 06 Rsx type S. Really the only manual car I’ve driven regularly until the Integra. I had a hard time with smooth shifts with the Integra, and really couldn’t figure out why.

Recently started leaving my foot on the gas pedal, and just raising slightly, but not really taking my foot off the pedal. this has caused way smoother shifts as I was just not getting on the gas quick enough when I would fully lift my foot off the gas between shifts.

i know it doesn’t seem like rocket science, but for whatever reason the Integra is more sensitive than the Rsx, and I just couldn’t shift very smooth every time until I started doing this. And then you get a better feel of the see saw motion.

Sponsored

 

[elh0102]

That is fairly common with a single turbo engine. If you are shifting at what I would consider a leisurely pace, you should be able to come off the throttle momentarily and then begin squeezing it back on before the clutch is fully engaged. If you are shifting fast, the engine isn't going to fall off much anyway, but some lag will still be there.

 

[UWU-mancer]

Everyone has their own way of doing it that works best for them. For sure

 

[s219]

I've owned/driven probably 40-50 manual trans cars over the years (I'm old) and they are all a little bit different. The biggest change in recent years is throttle management enabled by drive by wire throttle pedals. Among other things, the throttle map can be programmed to prevent stall during clutch engagement in first gear, which dramatically reduces the need to feather/slip the clutch when starting off. There are other features that affect throttle feel and behavior during shifts. Some programs even learn how you interact with the throttle pedal and adjust to it.

When I test drove the base Integra and Civic Si (same powertrain), I noticed both cars have pretty awful and undesirable rev hang. That has a big influence on shifting/throttle behavior and it's not so much a technique thing as you just have to get used to it and live with it.

The modern Integra Type S (and Civic Type R) has rev-matched upshifts programmed in. Some people mistake this for rev hang, but in reality the programming is setup to quickly drop revs to the correct RPM for the next higher gear at the current road speed and hold there until the shift is completed (it will time out if you delay the shift and allow revs to drop further). This greatly improves shift behavior and feel compared to traditional throttle programming. I can enable/disable this feature on my BMW M2 Competition, and boy does it feel awkward/abrupt to turn it off after getting used to it being on. Upshifts are seamless with it turned on.

 

[elh0102]

The modern Integra Type S (and Civic Type R) has rev-matched upshifts programmed in. Some people mistake this for rev hang, but in reality the programming is setup to quickly drop revs to the correct RPM for the next higher gear at the current road speed and hold there until the shift is completed (it will time out if you delay the shift and allow revs to drop further). This greatly improves shift behavior and feel compared to traditional throttle programming. I can enable/disable this feature on my BMW M2 Competition, and boy does it feel awkward/abrupt to turn it off after getting used to it being on. Upshifts are seamless with it turned on.

As weird as it seems, this feature is apparently not programmed the same in all ITS cars, as mine has never displayed it. On upshifts the revs drop immediately and fully, or at least well below the next gear level. So, the shifting technique is pretty much the same as in other MT cars that I have owned and driven, which is a lot as I'm 75 years old. There is some turbo lag that can get in the way of a perfectly smooth application of power, but that doesn't affect the shift itself. And I've learned to accept, and even like the Integra rev matching feature for downshifts. After many years of heel/toe downshifting it had become second nature to me. But the pedal placements in this car are, for me, not ideal, so I've come to appreciate the rev matching convenience.

Sponsored