# What causes the lag

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-the-lag/52267>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Tags:** accord, honda\
**Created:** [July 22, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-the-lag/52267 "2010-07-22T05:37:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![paperclip-9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@paperclip-9](https://community.cartalk.com/u/paperclip-9)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-the-lag/52267/1 "2010-07-22T05:37:40Z")

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Suppose I am cruising along the highway at 50mph. Then when passing someone, I step on the accelerator all the way to the maximum. When I do this, I notice there is somewhat of a lag. When I step on the gas, there is no effect immediately, then in about a second. The engine suddenly revs up and I can feel the acceleration. What causes this momentary lag and what is going on with the engine and the transmission when I step hard on the accelerator while I am cruising at say 50mph.

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**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GreasyJack)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-the-lag/52267/2 "2010-07-22T08:02:15Z")

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The transmission is shifting to a lower gear. The engine doesn’t have enough torque to accelerate when it’s at low RPM’s in overdrive, so the transmission has to downshift before the car can speed up.

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**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-the-lag/52267/3 "2010-07-22T22:49:43Z")

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Ditto to what Greasyjack said.

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**Author:** ![dagosa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/dagosa/32/9837_2.png) [@dagosa](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dagosa)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-the-lag/52267/4 "2010-07-22T23:22:40Z")

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"What causes the lag "  
Keeping a straight left or bowed wrist at impact helps.