... I still really hate taking off from a stop on a hill. Any big tricks to that? It doesn't feel like it's good for the car"

Just don't panic. Really, the gear itself could hold the car from rolling downhill once it catches - that is, if you were to let the clutch out very slowly and after the couple of feet you roll before it stops rolling. Not the proper way to do it; just to show that the panic causes people to overreact on hills and give it way to much gas even before the clutch is able to capture even a bit of that. Just go about it as though you weren't on a hill. Don't let the bit of roll freak you out.

If you're worried about bumping into somebody behind you, most law would recognize that the car behind you should account for car rolls on hills and give you pardon from any damages, given that you don't roll 10 feet or so. Best look it up, though.

 

I think I may have been driving it wrong... I generally would drive, clutch+completely off gas, shift, let out clutch, and then accelerate ..... now I'm thinking maybe I'm supposed to match the speed and be giving it gas as I let the clutch out?

Anyway either way I never make the car lug or grind or make any big noises or anything, I'm not a moron, so I should be fine- yeah?

 

Using the engine, to slow the car down (engine braking) is not good for the engine. A fan asked a race car driver once, if it was a good thing to use engine braking in everyday driving. His reply was "engines are not designed for engine braking". "We do it all the time, during a race, because we want to save the brakes". "Our engines only have to last 500 miles (or however long the race is), so we are more worried about not overheating the brakes, than putting a little more stress on the engine over the 500 miles". Now, if you are going down a steep incline, and using the brakes alone, to keep the car's speed down would cause the brakes to overheat, sure use the engine to help slow the car's speed. But that should be the only time you would need to use engine braking in your street legal car.

 

Hell Everyone was telling me engine braking was fine and I had been doing quite a bit of it for awhile, there THEN I realized it might be making my axles go out faster, and I don't do it anymore..... Sigh. Are you sure it's bad for it? I never let it rev above 4500 or so when I did do it ..

 

I'm not 100% positive on this, but from what I understand, engine braking puts opposite forces on the engine. In other words, the pressure is on the underside of the piston, and pistons are designed to have pressure on the top side. Downshifting too far, like 2nd gear at 70mph, could also over-rev the engine, possibly causing other engine damage. Since these cars have a rev limiter, it's the only way to over-rev them. I don't think you can over-rev an automatic.

 

I've driven by engine braking for yrs on cars & M/C's.
No evidence of any problem.


But like one of the earlier posts, I tend to keep Accord rpm's below 3500 in normal use.

 

The problem with some drivers is they get used to engine braking all the time, and soon don't even use the brakes at all, unless they are coming to a complete stop. If the car is jerking, or decelerating hard when you let the clutch out, you have to know that's not good for any of the driveline components (engine, transmission, axles, etc.). I will do some light engine braking, like letting the clutch out, just as I start into the corner, but not 1/4 mile before I get there.

 

Does is cost more or less if I stay in a higher gear and accelerate?
Like say I have to slow down to 30 due to being in kansas, and I stay in fifth, and then accelerate back up to 80 gradually (with the pedal maybe 1/4 the way down in the sweet spot where you get a little acceleration)

 

Slowing in my 5spd, if I'm below 40-45 mph I'm in 4th gear, even on level road (Kansas).
Engine seems to work best if rpm is >2000.
But - to each, his own...

 

Going from 30mph to 80mph in 5th gear would take quite a while. Regardless, 30mph is pretty low for 5th gear. 40mph accelerating up to like 60mph gradually, sounds like around the limit for me, without downshifting. Everyone drives differently, so that's just my opinion.