If I get into a situation where I have to show a little S2000 love for all those who want a piece, is there a guideline on which gear I need to downshift to in order to get that instant punch? For any gear?

For example, let's say I'm cruising down the freeway at 65mph in 6th and suddenly, I have a need to pick up as much speed as I can at that very moment... being a new driver, I have no clue as to which gear I need to downshift to for maximum velocity.

How do you guys know if the downshift is going to hit the rev limiter? Is it just pure memorization of the car's engine response or is there a simple rule of thumb for downshifting fun?

[This message has been edited by SpaceNeedle (edited December 13, 2000).]

At 65 you should drop into 3th gear.

Drive the car and figure out what speed 6000rpm is in each gear and what max speed is in each gear. Then you will know what gear to downshift to and when.

It was a guessing game for a long time! I tried doing the 6-4 but that proved to be very hard! You could probably run in 3rd for a split second to get a nice jump at 65!

Much faster than that and you will be red lining before you know it and with minimal power. So at that speed a quick 5 and back to 4 move is a good way to go. Floating the stick into 4th from 6th is gonna be hard!

Drive the car in different gears at different speeds and get a good feel for what speed VTEC engages in each gear. Later it will come naturally as to what gear you should be in

3rd gear is good until around 93 mph, so either it or 4th would be good for accelerating away at 65 mph

Try this.
These are the top speeds for each gear.

1st - 30mph
2nd - 60mph
3rd - 90mph
4th - 120mph

These are approximate, so don't rip me on this too much guys, but its what I've used to estimate the best gear to go into.

Basically, I know that if I'm doing 65, thats too fast for 2nd (it tops out at 60), so I pop it into 3rd.
If you're doing 95, for example, drop it into 4th (because 3rd tops out at around 90)

Go into the lowest gear you can based on the speed that you are traveling for that instant VTEC jump.

Panty Dropper,

Your post is giving me a good idea of what to expect. Thanks!

Why is going from 6th to 4th hard to do?

With the gears so close together, it's easy to slip and go from 6th to 2nd.

Only if you are shifting from the passenger seat :D

You will get the feel for this in time, just be careful until you do.

I have found the easiest way to go quickly from 6th to 4th is to briefly relax the shifter after disengaging 6th (because the natural hands-free point of the shifter rests at the 3-4 shift point), then just notch the shifter down into 4th.