do you speed shift when racing?

[s.norman]

i never did speed shift when racing my 98' and 2000 z28's..is it advantagous to speed shift during a race?

[SScattergunSS]

Originally Posted by s.norman

i never did speed shift when racing my 98' and 2000 z28's..is it advantagous to speed shift during a race?

Only if you're experienced at it.

[GTAHVIT]

Speed shifting...

Speed shifting can be a big help but you should practice it a bit. The reason it helps is it keeps the RPMs High and, the obvious, it takes less time. But you have to have everything right, Vehicle speed, rpm and a quick clutch and equally quick hand. Because you are doing everything so fast if one of these is out of sync, you can bog the engine (higher gears) or if you give it too much throttle you can loose traction (lower gears). About the worst that can happen is if you miss 4th and hit 2nd or miss 3rd and hit 1st. Then you can do some damage to the tranny and engine. But if you are quick you can slam the clutch down to prevent the damage. The only other problem is shifting before the clutch is in or after the clutch is out. My advice for this is to avoid jerking the shifter as hard as you can until you are pretty good at it. That way you'll feel the gears and be able to let go of the shifter before any damage is done. Once you learn how to do it, Oh man is it fun.

This whole speed shifting thing is exactly why people argue over what is faster in a drag race. Autos or manuals. If geared properly with the right stall converter an Auto is very tough to beat because it takes human error out of it. But a good Speed shifter can make it up in seat of the pants feel for what the car is doing on the track. FWIW

[zebra]

i've only raced once, and never really owned anything with enough power to brag about, so how do you speed shift?

[GTAHVIT]

It's really not that complicated. You are just doing everything as fast as you can. The part that messes with most people is learning where the clutch engage/disengage point is on the pedal.

After launch the gas is floored. So, when shifting from 1st to second you don't let off the gas as much as you normally do, maybe half way. Which can lead to over reving the engine if you aren't quick. Then you, as quicly as possible, tap the clutch pedal just far enough to disengage the clutch, not all the way to the floor. At the precise moment when the clutch is disengaged you jerk the shifter (sort of) into 2nd and get off the clutch as fast as you can and floor the gas again.

You can see why precision and practice are a good thing. You are at or near redline, with traction and under a full load on the drive train... you don't want to mess up.

[zebra]

thanks makes me wanna try it now. in a safe environment, of course!

[Camaro_Corvette]

Thanks for the tips Gtahvit. Not gonna try this for a long time, but good tips.

[Rodrunner]

Ok, so this Flat(flatout) Shifting, as I call it, topic brings up a good question. I've missed many gears in the past, but always had hydraulic lifters, so if the engine momentarily went beyond redline the lifters would float and RPMs quit climbing. With the LS3 having roller lifters, will RPMs continue to climb until breakage if I don't get off the gas quickly enough, similar to solid lifters?

P.S. - It's not racing if you don't speed shift!

[10redrocket]

Most likely that the Rev Limiter would prevent damage.

[MerF]

I exclusively speed-shifted in my Hondas, but who cares if you blow up a Honda? My V8's have always been automatics. My Supra I couldn't speedshift because the previous owner had altered the redline and I was too scared to over-rev.

But I am a sexy shifter, if I do say so myself.

[Rodrunner]

Originally Posted by 10redrocket

Most likely that the Rev Limiter would prevent damage.

I guess I'm somewhat behind the times. I've never owned a car with a rev limiter, that I knew about, so the Camaro will have one? That would solve the problem...cool....thanks!

[Gary B]

The lifters are hydraulic roller lifters. Rev limiters will save from damage, but you still don't want to slam the limiter the way you would if you missed 3rd and went to 1st!!

[radz28]

When I did it the first time, and when I'd practice, I'd shift at a low RPM in case I missed the shift or something went wrong. Once, I wasn't practicing, and the shifter went from second back to first, instead of third. Boy - that engine and tranny made some strange music that time, LOL! For me, there's nothing better than a powershift on redline and getting the 2-3 perfect. I can't say that it's any faster than my fastest lift-shift, but it's sure a whole lot more fun. On the obvious downside, shifter forks, syncros', and the threat of floating valve (among many other things) are things that you're risking - do it wrong, and you just could've spent a whole lotta' $$$... I'd practice on a beater first

[zebra]

^^ yeah. in my truck, if you don't hit 3rd just right, it sticks in middle & stays in neutral. i've hit the wrong gear on a downshift a few times, but that's just bad speed judgment (2nd instead of 3rd usually), but thankfully it's just been in normal driving.