Hello all...I just wanted to take a moment to say hi. I took delivery of a 2002 AP1 in Sebring Silver Metallic last Sunday with only 33,000 miles. I had a 2006 Honda Accord Coupe that I quickly grew bored of that I bought in February. I had a 2002 Honda Accord Coupe prior to that; hence the name "f23power".

Anyways...I love the s2000..fell in love with it when i first saw it as a senior in high school.

I have a few concerns and questions that I hope all of you can answer for this is my first manual tranny car:

1. When slowing down..I find it much easier to just push in the cutch, put the car in neutral and coasting to a stop rather than downshifting and revmatching. Any harm in doing so? Benefits of revmatching?

2. When I'm accelerating off the line....I hear a creaking noise coming from the rear. I'm assuming its the sound of the rear springs compressing?

3. When slowing down...I hear a "whirring" noise coming from under the car. I'm assuming thats the drive-shaft?

4. When putting the car in first when the stop light turns green..I hear/feel a gentle thump coming from the rear?

5. Is it just me or when doing high speed accelerating, going from 2nd to 3rd...3rd is hard to find. Its like 1/2 inch more to the right than I expecting. Is 3rd gear generally hard to get into at high speeds?

6. Whats a synchro?

7. Sometimes to avoid the "jerk" from downshifting, I'll release the clutch slowly. Any harm doing that?

8. Let say if I wanted to pass someone and I'm doing 70mph in 6th, can I shift directly to 4th? I don't know what my revs would be that why I've never done it. I usually just drop it to 5th

If you guys answered these for me and gave me any advice on driving a stick, I would appreciate it greatly!!

-a

 

congrats on your purchase.. I may be purchasing one tonight.

1. That is fine. By revmatching, you are using the engine to brake, instead of the brakes. A common saying that I find usefull is: "If you use your engine to brake, it will break" Now its not a totally bad thing to do, but on the street, might aswell use the brakes, they are cheaper to replace.

2. That creaking sound, from what I have read on here, could possibly be a shock spacer accidently left in there from the factory. Do a search on the forum, and there are some pictures of what to look for.

3. whirring noise.. im not sure, guess it could be the driveshaft.

4. That gentle thump could be something they have a TSB out on. Where they take off the spindle nut, lube it up, and retorque it to 220 ft/lbs. But im not positive.

5. Not sure... havent driven one much.

6. A synchro is what is on your transmission to make the gears in the transmission line up so the tranny wont grind.

7. Not too much harm, but you can get rid of the jerk by getting better at revmatching. Feathering the clutch will wear it out quickly.

8. You should be fine to drop it to 4th. Not certain on the gear ratios, but I think you would be fine dropping it into 3rd, but wait for an experienced driver.

I figure that should help for now. By no way am i a professional, but figured I would try to help some.

 

howdy!!

 

cool...thanks for the information. anyone else?

 

1. definitely downshift and rev-match...or at least keep it in gear while slowing down and move to neutral as you're about to stop. tons of threads here about it and opinions that go both ways.

4. hold down the clutch a few seconds before you shift into first...also, going from 2 to 1 instead of straight into 1 helps.

7. don't release slowly cuz it'll wear your clutch faster. it's called slipping the clutch. you want to rev-match for smoothless and less wear.

8. try not to skip shifts up or down. done improperly, you could get some serious wear (again, lots of threads on this). i can usually pass easily in 5th..if i really need to scoot, i go from 6 to 5 to 4. 4th gear in an ap2 hits about 98 mph at redline

Good place for stick shift tips:
http://www.standardshift.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6

have fun and welcome!

 

the whirring noise your hearing is probably just some gear whine, that noise along with many other little noises are normal. you will start to figure out, that compared to your old accord, this car is definitley not as quiet, and will get you worrying fast! the thump you feel, is from putting it into gear too quick. thats also normal. enjoy the car and dont freak out about the little things, i've done plenty of that, and have gotten nowhere but late nights staying up thinking about what "it" may be........HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!

 

Welcome f23power!

> Anyways...I love the s2000..fell in love with it when i first saw it as a senior in high school.

Amen! Gotta love the S!

1. When slowing down..I find it much easier to just push in the cutch, put the car in neutral and coasting to a stop rather than downshifting and revmatching. Any harm in doing so? Benefits of revmatching?

No problemo, you're just using your brakes to stop the car rather than the engine, which is totally fine. You may find that it's a lot of fun to downshift (I do). If you track your car, you will find yourself rowing the shifter to keep the engine at it's peak so that you have power when you exit turns -- coasting just isn't rewarding.

If you start practicing downshifting, just be careful not to overrev the car. You can toast your engine that way.

2. When I'm accelerating off the line....I hear a creaking noise coming from the rear. I'm assuming its the sound of the rear springs compressing?

Creaking? Could be something in the suspension, but I doubt it's the springs.

3. When slowing down...I hear a "whirring" noise coming from under the car. I'm assuming thats the drive-shaft?

Hmm, that's a concern. You're talking about once the engine has fallen down to idle, right (since you're not downshifting). I don't have a clue what that noise would be.

4. When putting the car in first when the stop light turns green..I hear/feel a gentle thump coming from the rear?

Completely normal. It's just how the tranny works. Slow down your motion of pressing the shifter into first, and you won't hear the sound anymore.

5. Is it just me or when doing high speed accelerating, going from 2nd to 3rd...3rd is hard to find. Its like 1/2 inch more to the right than I expecting. Is 3rd gear generally hard to get into at high speeds?

I've never had that problem. From 2nd, push the shifter up into neutral and let the thing center itself, then push up. Maybe you're just shifting too quickly.

6. Whats a synchro?

Search for synchro: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

7. Sometimes to avoid the "jerk" from downshifting, I'll release the clutch slowly. Any harm doing that?

Hmm, well, I thought weren't downshifting. There's not really any harm in what
you're doing, but you're using the clutch to drag your motor up in revs when you release the clutch pedal. It's better style to rev-match before releasing the pedal so that you provide less wear on the clutch. In practice, though, I don't think you're talking about a lot of wear.

8. Let say if I wanted to pass someone and I'm doing 70mph in 6th, can I shift directly to 4th? I don't know what my revs would be that why I've never done it. I usually just drop it to 5th

If you don't rev match, I wouldn't recommend it. Drop it down sequentially.

If you guys answered these for me and gave me any advice on driving a stick, I would appreciate it greatly!!

The best advice is practice, man. You'll get it. Also, get together with any friends that know how to drive a stick, and let them coach you. Don't be daunted. It becomes second nature very quickly.