Having driven both 1.4 manual and 1.4 i-Shifts Civics I can tell you that the i-Shift changes way quicker than the manual and accelerates faster than you would think.

Manual changes with the paddles on my i-Shift are instant, its great fun!

 

Scary figures though

Nice to hear first hand experience, I suppose the figures have put me off.

However, it's not the time of the change that I'm thinking of - it's the acceleration on the road. I don't want to lose performance for overtakes etc.

 

0 - 62 for the manual was 8.9 seconds whist i-shift it was 10.4. That's 1.5 seconds slower - what a shocker.

The i-Shift changes much slower than you can in a manual. It also has a habit of not changing when you want it to, and vice versa. But with a gear engaged, the acceleration should be the same.

How much better the new one will be is anyone's guess, but by the very nature of its design it will never be as good as a DSG box.

I'd wait and test drive later in the year.

 

The i-Shift changes much slower than you can in a manual. It also has a habit of not changing when you want it to, and vice versa. But with a gear engaged, the acceleration should be the same.

How much better the new one will be is anyone's guess, but by the very nature of its design it will never be as good as a DSG box.

I'd wait and test drive later in the year.

Correct - the actual gearchange is quick, it's the lag between the 'system' cutting the power, changing the gear, then returning power back to the throttle. I can certainly change gear and return power quicker than the i-shift can.

 

Take a test drive in one, you will be suprised as its nothing like as slow to accelerate as the brochure suggests.

 

My i-Shift is new and its changes are much quicker than others on the forum, no delay or hesitation, just very very fast changes.

I think you must be referring to older i-Shifts Pottsy, either that or the 1.4 engine is better suited to the gearbox.

 

Try before you buy

Looks like I need a test drive.

 

That's the best way. I actually didn't like it the first time I tried it, but loved it the second time.

You just can't beat the feeling when you twitch your finger on the paddle and it changes instantly, its a great way to drive.

 

I drive a Type S GT and it's great but I sometimes get a bit frustrated about having to "stir the box" to make spirited progress. So I was thinking of changing to a Type S GT with i-shift until I saw the acceleration figures on the Honda website. 0 - 62 for the manual was 8.9 seconds whist i-shift it was 10.4. That's 1.5 seconds slower - what a shocker.

So do you think that the new and improved 2009 i-shift will be quicker? I don't want to buy a slug. Or does it not make much difference in reality?
Guess I'm confused.

Autos (usually) are slower quoted 0-60, becuse unless they have a launch mode programmed in, they can bog down when you start because you can't ride the clutch the same way.
In real life with most drivers, they are often faster because anyone can match the manufacturers 0-60 times because the car does the changes.

 

Hi.

From my days of driving auto's and Rovers with Borg-Warner boxes, I understood it that autos/tip tronics/i-shifts or whatever you want to call them these days all are slower than a manual due to the amount of power that the likes of the torque convertor takes from the engine? hence why auto's are quoted slower than their manual counterparts with the same engines? I'm sure someone who is more tech in the gearbox world will be along to explain further rhough!

 

Actually it's the other way around now, the DSG on the new Golf GTI makes it faster accelerating than the manual version, check out youtube for a video (although in Japanese, the pictures do the talking).

Tom

 

i-Shift boxes do not have a torque convertor!

 

lol.... sorry WC! I'm showing my age then and my ignorance of I-Shift! I did have a look at some articles and it seemed to come down to driving style with the auto type boxes coming out on top against a novice manual driver...

 

I think Honda is right, it's about 1.5s slower than manual shifting.
You loose about 0,5s in the start and 1.0s for every gear change under full power, that's about 2.5s but if you do it by yourself you can change a gear in less than 0,5s therefore the difference will be about 1.5s

It is that much slower, but in the end how often do you need that.
For me i-shift have more important bad behaviour so test for a long trip both highway and in the city BEFORE you buy.

 

The latest boxes are faster though, mine is as smooth and fast as a normal auto in any mode.

 

A normal auto is also about 1.5s slower than a manual so there you're right.

 

Thanks

Thanks for all the info and feedback. I'll book a test drive and see what happens.

Just had a thought though. If the i-shift is an electronic actuated manual box, how come the VW DSG in the VW GTi, also a manual box worked by servos computer etc, is quicker than the manual? Maybe I'll have to test drive the VW too!?

Having said all of that I doubt I'd notice a great change in performance not the way I drive on the roads that I have to.

 

Thanks for all the info and feedback. I'll book a test drive and see what happens.

Just had a thought though. If the i-shift is an electronic actuated manual box, how come the VW DSG in the VW GTi, also a manual box worked by servos computer etc, is quicker than the manual? Maybe I'll have to test drive the VW too!?

Having said all of that I doubt I'd notice a great change in performance not the way I drive on the roads that I have to.

The VW 2.0 Turbo unit has a lot more torque so is not affected by the bogging down as much as the VTEC Civics are and it also has twin clutches so it preselects the next gear. This speeds the gear changes up significantly.
BTW, I think you pay about twice as much extra for a DSG compared to the extra for an i-shift.

 

Yes, i-Shift's single clutch system can never compete with the twin clutch DSG. (Or Powershift for that matter, another twin clutch system.)

DSG patents are held by Porsche.

 

Even Huyndai and Kia have a new twin-clutch that they have developed "in-house".
Out on the market in next couple of months.

A twin-clutch systems is very very good, not as smooth as a conventional automatic but the difference is tiny, and they are lightning fast and economical, gear change under 0.1s!

 

Stop.....

.........telling me how good the VW DSG is or I might have to buy one

 

.........telling me how good the VW DSG is or I might have to buy one

Don't you dare! Get the i-Shift!!

 

VW cars are so boring.
But they have good DSG:s

 

I am going to have to test drive a VW DSG box and see how it compares. TBH, I cannot see how it can be better than my i-Shift, which as far as I can tell is perfect. I would be more than willing to critisize it if it was as bad as for example, the suspension.

Maybe mine is the only decent one Honda have made, who knows?

 

WC,

The DSG is absolutely fantastic - it makes the i-Shift feel really slow and clonky in comparison. The DSG is an automated pre-selector gearbox (which have been around for ages) and can change gear in about 8 ms. A conventional SMT like the i-Shift takes about 200 to 400 ms.

I really can't stand autos, but if I had to have one it would be a DSG. Try it!

 

I'm with Pottsy on this one ...

WC,

The DSG is absolutely fantastic - it makes the i-Shift feel really slow and clonky in comparison. The DSG is an automated pre-selector gearbox (which have been around for ages) and can change gear in about 8 ms. A conventional SMT like the i-Shift takes about 200 to 400 ms.

I really can't stand autos, but if I had to have one it would be a DSG. Try it!

Automatic gearbox - NO thanks - I like (need !!!) to be able to determine the gear that I next want to use (like - 6th. to 3rd. - or 3rd. to 6th.) ...

Having said that, I did have the temporary use of a VW Golf with a 'DSG' box last year and it was the best auto that I have driven ...

 

I will try one sometime soon, but I love my little spaceship too much to change it!

 

You really should try DSG to open up your eyes a bit

 

Dsg ftw

 

Is that so much slower?1,5 or 2seconds,tell yourself,one,two,and there you are with your i-shift.Ok,if you do a race.
If it was 5 seconds then there is a probleem.But is not the speed,but the easy,i hate foot work!

 

I got rid ogf my civic partly due to the awful i-shift, even a normal Auto is way way better and a twin-clutch is absolutely fantastic!

Honda is nowadays years behind in automatic transmissions and even motor technology, almost every european brand now have a small overcharged engine that is mauch more powerful and also use a lot less fuel!

 

was the same in the 3.2 TT

not a lot in it, but the DSG version was about 0.1s faster 0-60

Possibly helped by twin clutches and point didly squat per gear change.
And the Launch Control system too :evilgrin: