markc24

Ok, here is the deal, and I know what responses I will get on some, but Im looking to get a specific answer. I have had my car about two weeks, I was driving on the interstate about a week and a half ago in sixth gear, Im not sure of the exact speed. If I had to guess it was probably between 60 and 70, I was only in sixth due to gas prices and just cruising home from work, I was probably at 3,000 or 3,5000 rpms in sixth. Well, this car in front of me was riding his brakes...I finally got pissed and tried to drop it into fourth to pass him and I hit 2nd gear instead, just for a split second, as soon as I realized I pushed the clutch back in. Now here is the thing..I did not look at the tach when this happened I just reacted, and I dont know exactly how fast I was going. But, would you still hear the rev limiter kick in(even though its not going to be helpful since its over revving) would you still hear it bounce off the limiter? Because Im honestly thinking I didnt rev it very high, I heard no rev limiter at all. Im trying to just determine how far up the rpms went. Again, I was just cruising when I went to downshift, I was not downshifting already in acceleration to race anyone so Im thinking I didnt get that high at all, and I KNOW I didnt here the rev limiter, just a little jerk and the winding of the rpms starting to climb. By the way, this is an 01 model. Any feedback would be great, and I have already read about the shifting techniques and how your supposed to shift, and also about getting the retainers and such checked. Im just trying to determine whether I have an issue on my hands, or Im just being paranoid, thanks guys!

markc24

oh p.s. it drives fine as of now

thetz99

Read up on mechanical overrevs...the fuel cutoff doesn't save you. If you were going over 60 then you overrev'd 2nd gear.

It's not a bad idea to take a look at your retainers whenever you do one, you are due a valve adjustment anyway since you are my01. So look at it as peace of mind, informational, and performance oriented time on your S.

Just because everything seems normal afterwards doesn't mean you won't drop a valve in the near future. There are plenty of pics by billman of what the top of a cracked retainer looks like.

VTECorona

The rev limiter only reacts if you are accelerating. In your situation you would experience a mechanical over-rev which is when your transmission spins your motor. The rev-limiter does nothing in this situation so if your trans brings your motor up too high in rpms then you will probably kill your motor. I've done this once, similar to your situation, in my GS-R and I caught it at about 9,200 (8000 red-line) and I had no ill effects so you may have gotten lucky.

I would suggest not down-shifting until you are very comfortable with the car. Even then I would try not to do it too often because missing gears like your situation can happen without realizing.

I would definitely have someone take a look at your head to check it out.

Good luck

markc24

Yeah, I know that a rev limiter will not save mechanical over rev, my question is will you HEAR the rev limiter kicking when you mechanically over rev? I heard no rev limiter which makes me think that I didnt rev it to red line before I pushed the clutch in. I am going to have the dealership take a look when they do a valve adjustment but its my daily driver 45 miles a day and I cant get it by there for another two weeks...

VTECorona

I don't think so because the rev-limiter probably works on both the throttle and rpm and not by the speed of the crank alone.

markc24

thanks guys for the input, I do know that a rev limiter is no good, I just know from experience that you can HEAR when you hit a rev limiter. when I missed the gear and put it in 2nd, I heard no limiter which is making me think I caught it in time. IT drives fine, Im just wanting reassurance I guess that its ok to drive until I can get it in there in two weeks. I dont want to go taking apart the engine myself on this car, even if it is just the valve cover, I have bad luck working on things myself,lol.

markc24

so corona, you think there would be no sound of it hitting the limiter?

thetz99

Your reaction time isn't that fast my friend. At the point you realized you were in the wrong gear, the engine was already there. Again, if you guesstimate you were 60-70, you overreved.

markc24

well, Im assuming I over reved. I did notice as soon as I let the clutch out, but if I WAS for say at 60mph that would be right around redline and I wouldnt have over reved. BUT if I did, would I not hear the rev limiter bouncing even though I KNOW it wouldnt be helping?