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New Gearbox Shifts In Zero Milliseconds!

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Old 03-23-2004, 03:32 PM
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Originally posted by Red89GTA
Personally I always put the shifter in neutral, parking brake on and take my feet off the pedals.
You put the parking brake on at every stoplight?! Got cable stretch? I certainly do the neutral thing (rather than sit with my foot on the clutch), but I use the vehicle brakes to hold the car. Interesting; I've never seen anyone do that before. *shrug*
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Old 03-23-2004, 07:09 PM
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Neutral's in the middle of the gate, same as usual.

While you pass through neutral with the stick, the time you take to move the stick has no bearing on shift speed (ie ratio switch) which is always Zero time because it's the moment the next gear overrides the current one. If you move the stick into neutral and press the clutch, the mechanisms sit obediently between the cogs.

Sad but true, getting a nice neutral was a bit of a flag day at the workshop. It's the little things that take the time but they are real satisfying when they come good!

Quick comment re: price. This is what a ZeroShift box gives you:

- add up the shift time on every gear change 0-150. Now deduct from your best time. 3 seconds?
- add up the shift time on every gear change in a lap. Now deduct from your lap time. 3 seconds or more?
- FlatLiner controls gearbox output torque - that's traction control on gearshifts
- FlatLiner means you can change gear mid-corner without upsetting the car (more lap time advantage...)
- SMOOTH shifts, nicer to drive
- Improvement to mpg (as if you care...)

So how much does it cost to get all that any other way? And you get all the above JUST by changing the transmission! Your driveline joints last longer and so on and so on. Beyond the 'drag race benefit', there's a lot more to ZeroShift than meets the eye. We've set out to make the world's fastest - and best - transmissions. You won't be disappointed! Hell, brand new Z06 crate motors don't fit everyone's credit card either!

Where this is all headed (after the performance junkies have had their (our!! ) fun), is driving the auto industry in the right direction. Right now, if you look at a 1.6 manual car but want a self-shifter with the same performance, you might look at a 1.8 or 2.0 auto. Auto car is heavier, more expensive, worse gas mileage/emissions etc etc. Fast forward a few years and you could consider the 1.4 ZeroShift. Faster than both the others, lighter than both the others, better gas mileage, lower emissions... The ZeroShift gearbox, by then, may cost a little more than the 'old-fashioned' manual but the engine's cheaper.
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Old 03-23-2004, 08:45 PM
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Originally posted by ZeroShift
Neutral's in the middle of the gate, same as usual.



So how much does it cost to get all that any other way? And you get all the above JUST by changing the transmission! Your driveline joints last longer and so on and so on. Beyond the 'drag race benefit', there's a lot more to ZeroShift than meets the eye. We've set out to make the world's fastest - and best - transmissions. You won't be disappointed! Hell, brand new Z06 crate motors don't fit everyone's credit card either!

So do you have an Australian distributor?
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Old 03-24-2004, 12:45 AM
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Originally posted by ZeroShift
Quick comment re: price...
I realize that, but I think your transmission, while very impressive, costs about the same as I paid for my car.
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Old 03-24-2004, 04:15 AM
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The ZeroShift 'simplicity' issue was I suppose open to a 'therefore means cheap' interpretation. In time, in mass production, cost engineered etc etc, the simplicity WILL deliver up economies.

Right now though a ZeroShift gearbox outperforms every other gearbox on the planet and we've figured a way to make it available to enthusiasts (albeit a relatively small %) at the same time as we're working on race car programmes and plotting entry into next generation blue-chip supercars (and other vehicles...). The people who love cars most can, if they want/can afford, get ZeroShift gearbox before too long.

Fast forward a few months and imagine ripping up the road in a sorted Camaro packing ZeroShift in the knowledge you've got the same blue-chip gearbox type as "XYZ". Secrecy clauses in agreements and ongoing discussions mean I can't reveal the XYZ's at the moment. This is pretty normal in the auto industry.

Compare a ZeroShift gearbox price with a 6- or 7-speed Mercedes/BMW auto ... or a sequential race gearbox ... ZeroShift is not the most expensive gearbox by a long shot and it offers more than any other. Some of the new computer-controlled autos cost as much as the engines to which they're mated.

The ZeroShift gearbox is 'more bang per buck' but the number of bucks might be too high for some. I accept that the price limits our volumes but I think it would have been a missed opportunity to have thought: "Damn, can't do it for a couple of grand so we won't bother."

No Australian distributor yet - info and credentials invited on our web site under 'Distribution'. An Australian distributor would do well - HSVs (and cooking Holdens) can have ZeroShift.
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Old 03-24-2004, 11:31 AM
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Originally posted by 96_Camaro_B4C
You put the parking brake on at every stoplight?! Got cable stretch? I certainly do the neutral thing (rather than sit with my foot on the clutch), but I use the vehicle brakes to hold the car. Interesting; I've never seen anyone do that before. *shrug*
Well, I don't put it on for EVERY stop, obviously if the intersection is flat enough, I won't. Sometimes I use the brake pedal if I know I won't be sitting for long, but if I do and the car won't sit still I'll pull the P-brake. I guess I'm lazy
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Old 03-24-2004, 12:20 PM
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It says in the UK Highway Code that you should get cable stretch every time you stop.

Anyway - flying to Philadelphia tomorrow and will have a Camaro Vert for the weekend.
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Old 03-24-2004, 06:48 PM
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Originally posted by ZeroShift
Anyway - flying to Philadelphia tomorrow and will have a Camaro Vert for the weekend.
you better hope they have nice weather over there...
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Old 05-18-2004, 10:16 PM
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So whats goin on with this? Any really good/worth mentioning updates?

I noticed on the site that the US wont see them until after a year of the UK having them...
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Old 09-28-2005, 04:41 PM
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Re: New Gearbox Shifts In Zero Milliseconds!

Originally Posted by Eric Bryant
Sounds suspeciously like the "semi-automatic" dog-style gearboxes that have been used in drag motorcycles for a long time. They involve selecting two forward ratios at the same time, with the lower ratio actually propelling the vehicle and the higher ratio just freewheeling, due to an angular cut on the dogs. Shifting to the next higher gear involves simply deselecting the lower ratio.

Get rid of the synchros in favor of dogs, and there's a lot of different things that can be done to minimize shift time, and none of which are really all that useful for a daily driver.

My other thought would be that they ditched the usual primary-/counter-shaft arrangement for a Lenco-type planetary geartrain, which is also a really damn fast way to shift gears.

Its kinda like a line lock but with 2 forward gears insted of 1st and reverse.
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Old 09-28-2005, 06:36 PM
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Re: New Gearbox Shifts In Zero Milliseconds!

Holy ancient post resurrection, Batman!

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Old 09-28-2005, 07:23 PM
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Re: New Gearbox Shifts In Zero Milliseconds!

Originally Posted by 96_Camaro_B4C
Holy ancient post resurrection, Batman!

although....now i wonder whats going on with this thing????
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Old 09-28-2005, 11:10 PM
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Re: New Gearbox Shifts In Zero Milliseconds!

Originally Posted by turbo96z28
although....now i wonder whats going on with this thing????
Same here. It seemed like a really good technology.
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Old 09-29-2005, 01:40 AM
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Re: New Gearbox Shifts In Zero Milliseconds!

http://www.zeroshift.com/index.htm

I too am curious about this, I'm gonna Pm this guy and hope he fills us in on how things are going
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Old 09-29-2005, 05:08 PM
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Re: New Gearbox Shifts In Zero Milliseconds!

Originally Posted by Evil Turbo SS
Its kinda like a line lock but with 2 forward gears insted of 1st and reverse.

Line locks are solenoid operated valves on brake lines that keep the brakes applied. i.e. it 'locks' the brake 'line'

You meant to say transbrake, i'm sure it was just an oversight on your part since anyone who knows how a t-brake works would know the difference between it and a line-lock. Just wanted to make sure noone read this and got confused.
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