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How Stressful Is "Power Shifting"?

R

rexxdoggy

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
3,239
Location
Crestview, Florida
NOT POWERSHIFTING

This sequence:

Driving the car full throttle, putting the clutch in and taking foot off the gas, quick shift and back on the gas at full throttle and off the clutch.
 
to clear up for other readers, since i got confused, he means driving the car hard full throttle to about redline, putting the clutch in and taking foot off the gas, quick shift and back on the gas and off the clutch.
 
With that stock diff, I guarantee you it will blow by doing this. Even more so with the 3L.
Learning the balance between smooth and quick is what you really want to focus on.

To answer your question...a good skilled driver could shift fast with these cars and still be easy on the trans. Or you could shift it hard and fast and bang the gears and blow the diff.
 
FauxhawkFox said:
With that stock diff, I guarantee you it will blow by doing this. Even more so with the 3L.
Learning the balance between smooth and quick is what you really want to focus on.

To answer your question...a good skilled driver could shift fast with these cars and still be easy on the trans. Or you could shift it hard and fast and bang the gears and blow the diff.
Click to expand...

Okay. That answers the question that I was basically asking. Thanks!
 
any time im running through the gears, im doing what your explaining. however there are still parts in the transmission that can break by being shifted too hard.

first off, the diff of course. i was a little more "smooth" about how i went through the gears when i had a stock diff and a stage3 clutch.

now, i have a LSD, and i still have the clutchnet red disc.

i slam the clutch hard anything after first gear. now, shifting is a different story. i manage to keep myself from getting over excited and hammering on the shifter. this only breaks shift cable ends, shift tower bolts, and can lead to killing the shift forks over time.

like our buddy markey-mark said, "slow is smooth, smooth is fast!"
 
Just make sure you are going in a straight line when your flooring it and not cornering, it's when your cornering and beating on it when you really start to damage the diff. Also make sure not to use more than a few oz of pressure to shift, your shift forks are made of brass so keep that in mind.
 
Before trying to shift as fast as possible, check a few things first. One is how old your gearbox is. This is relative because as it gets older your syncros and cones will start to wear out. Those two things alone will slow down shift time. The more stress you put on these parts, the faster they will wear out. Don't try to rush the synchronization process. Instead, try to make the amount of time it takes to synchronize less/faster. Start off with fresh fluid. Next, make sure you do the rev hang fix. The faster your engine drops in rpm's, the less work your syncros will have to do. Lastly, make sure your not on the throttle when you begin to step on the clutch. Being out of sequence here is more common than I realized amongst drivers. You must allow the engine to decelerate on an upshift! There isn't really any shift time to be gained by pulling on the shifter really hard. Just ask anyone who has driven/raced my car.
 
Uh, nay, nay, nay.............true powershifting involves not letting off the gas at all. If you are good and synchros/cones good it WILL shift. Breaking the power link to wheels by stabbing in the clutch still allows the gears to equal speed enough to engage. You'd just best be coordinated enough to move the shifter at same time you hit the clutch. I've done it many times on both motorcycles and cars. No respectable drag racer lets off the throttle when shifting. The fastest time will be on a shift where rpm between drops the least, on a true powershift rpm will flare UP instead of down. Now that I've said that, it WILL BE MUCH HARDER on your trans but that's what racing does. If you don't want to break it don't hotdog it.
 
Goumba said:
Before trying to shift as fast as possible, check a few things first. One is how old your gearbox is. This is relative because as it gets older your syncros and cones will start to wear out. Those two things alone will slow down shift time. The more stress you put on these parts, the faster they will wear out. Don't try to rush the synchronization process. Instead, try to make the amount of time it takes to synchronize less/faster. Start off with fresh fluid. Next, make sure you do the rev hang fix. The faster your engine drops in rpm's, the less work your syncros will have to do. Lastly, make sure your not on the throttle when you begin to step on the clutch. Being out of sequence here is more common than I realized amongst drivers. You must allow the engine to decelerate on an upshift! There isn't really any shift time to be gained by pulling on the shifter really hard. Just ask anyone who has driven/raced my car.
Click to expand...

this.

like i said, "slow is smooth, smooth is fast"

you don't have to "hammer" on the shifter like your "fast and furious" or something. it just ruins stuff. plus when you try to force anything, is when you typically miss gears and thats just plain bad for everything. i find that when going through the gears hard, i end up muscling the steering wheel when it starts torque steering, and i do all my "hammering" on the throttle! after all, that's the part that will make you go faster, not breaking your shifter off! :D
 
It's like what i teach all my students...never tighten your fist as hard as you can...it makes your movement slower. So keep the tension off your hand when your racing...you will shift faster...and be less likely to miss a gear. :cool:
 
amc49 said:
Uh, nay, nay, nay.............true powershifting involves not letting off the gas at all. If you are good and synchros/cones good it WILL shift. Breaking the power link to wheels by stabbing in the clutch still allows the gears to equal speed enough to engage. You'd just best be coordinated enough to move the shifter at same time you hit the clutch. I've done it many times on both motorcycles and cars. No respectable drag racer lets off the throttle when shifting. The fastest time will be on a shift where rpm between drops the least, on a true powershift rpm will flare UP instead of down. Now that I've said that, it WILL BE MUCH HARDER on your trans but that's what racing does. If you don't want to break it don't hotdog it.
Click to expand...


I completely agree with you! What are these people saying slower is better? I guess if your going to get groceries? When I am racing the only thing I do is push the clutch in and slam it into the next gear as fast as I possibly can! Of course that is how I destroyed my differential, but these cars are not made for racing, your gonna break it if your hard on it, learn that. Thats why you either 1: buy a car made for abuse, or 2: build a car made for abuse. Thats why I have a daily driver that I dont abuse or race people in.
 
black cat said:
I completely agree with you! What are these people saying slower is better? I guess if your going to get groceries? When I am racing the only thing I do is push the clutch in and slam it into the next gear as fast as I possibly can! Of course that is how I destroyed my differential, but these cars are not made for racing, your gonna break it if your hard on it, learn that. Thats why you either 1: buy a car made for abuse, or 2: build a car made for abuse. Thats why I have a daily driver that I dont abuse or race people in.
Click to expand...

A little slower might mean you shift better and smoother....that you won't miss the shift.
 
How true, some people not as coordinated as others, no slam intended. We are all different, and that is a good thing............

If you knew how many 4 speed transmissions I have rowed through (and broken)........we used to keep Borg Warner going in Super T-10 parts. Still, there's nothing sweeter than the sound of an engine flaring to 8000 rpm on a 7500 rpm shift. There were people faster than I that could make a manual trans shift so fast it sounded like an automatic.
 
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