Anyone else find 3rd gear redundant?

[fasterthanu]

I used 3rd gear hard on freeway on ramps. It was definitely my favorite.You have the "meat" of the powerband when merging with traffic 2nd Is too short and 4th is just too tall. That is without a doubt the worst street beating I could give it on a daily basis.

[illest86]

I can't remember what 3rd feels like... it's been away since November. Sense my bitterness?

[calmtigers]

I shift at 3K rpm for my daily driving/work, but generally only get to second gear because of traffic..

I also skip gears but generally from 4th-> 6th

[Tromatic]

Originally Posted by Mister

Thank you for reminding me why I have a personal policy to avoid buying used import sports cars.

+ Jaun to that. I find that first is all I need, though. 5500 RPM all the time everywhere I go.

[BlueDubbinTDI]

In Automatic mode I wish 4th wasn't there sometimes and in Manual mode I usually forget about 6th. Woe is me for driving an auto

[6speed_Sam]

Somebody said skipping gears can cause more wear and tear?...I've never heard of such bs. Gm's vettes/camaros/ta's with the T-56 trans have had a skip-shift feature for years for economy reasons.

[schmearcampain]

Originally Posted by TM

I always downshift to 3rd when taking turns.

3rd? why not 2nd? or how fast are you taking your turns? I'm at 15 mph or so.

[chadwick86]

As someone who drives a 5-speed manual as a DD.. When I get in the FRS and have 6 gears, it's extremely refreshing.

There are often times when I feel like 2nd-3rd in the 5 speed has to be stretched more than I would like, or I find myself downshifting at weird times every once in awhile (in moderate traffic).

The 6 speed is great, and 3rd is like the perfect cruise gear at slow speeds.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by 6speed_Sam

Somebody said skipping gears can cause more wear and tear?...I've never heard of such bs.

Honda has publicly instructed owners to not skip gears, many believe this is due to the S2000 on which some owners had problems with the synchros wearing quickly (I believe there was even a note in the owners manual at some point, but I can't back that up). The idea is that you're asking the synchro to do more work instead of matching the revolution difference between say 2-3 you're asking it to go 2-4, more wear and tear on the part.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/yegnjd...nuary+2006.pdf

Funny enough this forum post from 3 years ago brings up all the points discussed so far and has a copy pasted text from the bulletin I linked if you don't trust it:
http://www.standardshift.com/forum/v...hp?f=6&t=13489

Bottom line is that it's up to you how to drive your car, some people will take the time to row the gears, others won't. Sure transmissions designed to skip gears (especially autos where the feature is built-in) won't have a problem, but apparently some trannies do have problems.

[6speed_Sam]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Honda has publicly instructed owners to not skip gears, many believe this is due to the S2000 on which some owners had problems with the synchros wearing quickly The idea is that you're asking the synchro to do more work instead of matching the revolution difference between say 2-3 you're asking it to go 2-4, more wear and tear on the part.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/yegnjd...nuary+2006.pdf

Bottom line is that it's up to you how to drive your car, some people will take the time to row the gears, others won't. Sure transmissions designed to skip gears (especially autos where the feature is built-in) won't have a problem, but apparently some trannies do have problems.

It makes sense.. Not sure I'll go by what the article says, but I'll definitely have that on my mind every time I skip a gear.. lol

I don't skip gears often.

[jonboy99]

Originally Posted by NOHOME

First car with a 6 speed box, and after a year and a half I have to say that the idea is kinda silly.

Are you sure this isn't your first car with a manual box?

Originally Posted by schmearcampain

3rd? why not 2nd? or how fast are you taking your turns? I'm at 15 mph or so.

I take all my turns at 80mph so third is perfect.

[TM]

Originally Posted by schmearcampain

3rd? why not 2nd? or how fast are you taking your turns? I'm at 15 mph or so.

Around 18mph is the lowest I would shift into 3rd. I take my turns around 18-22mph. Up to around 26mph if the roads are completely dry.

You're in LA, though. The roads here are a lot wider here with less traffic. Whenever I 'm back in NYC, I take my turns in 1st or 2nd gear.

[Hanni_0176]

Hey OP, this might help...

[Vincenttam]

I think second gear is pretty useless. Not completely useless but i usually find myself going from 1 to 3 almost instantly. 3 can take on 2 almost as well. fist gear to 3.5 rpm than straight to 3 lol. Plus third gear is so easy to get into, why take it away?? haha