therealmagyver

I'd shift that way regardless of what the answer is at the track. A few runs at the track can't do much I would assume. If the answer is that the syncros are getting more stress or work put to them, then I would say don't shift that way for normal driving and just save it for the track.

Loudmouth LS1

Aight, I guess I have to learn my engage/disengage point then. What the best way to find that out?

afterimage ss

best way to find that out is to practice. when you're driving around for now on, instead of shifting w/ your foot all the way down on the clutch, just do it half way... when you start learning to do that w/o grinding, then i'd suggest you find a empty road, stop... take off, and when you go to shift into 2nd gear, do what you were practicing w/ you were on the road... it takes a little time to get it. and yeah, you're gonna grind the gears a few times trying to figure it out. dont worry... it's all good

once you get how to shift when you're racing your car, you can shift NORMALLY when you're on the road, cuz you could ***c something up... also, make sure you put the gear in all the way man(you can do that by using some strength to put the gear in when you KNOW the clutch is so that you dont grind)cuz you might think it's in but it might just be out and you'll see your tach go all the way up cuz you're slamming the gass in neutral, lol. that, or your shifter will pop out of the gear your in because you dont have it in all the way. you'll get the hang of it... took me about 4 months to figure it out how to shift PERFECTLY. no more grinding... never ever ever

it takes time to learn how to shift like a pro... you dont just pick it up in a week - trust me. you gotta get used to your car, and get used to yourself. im out

the worst sound in the world is that of a grinding gear... i feel it in my stomach when i hear someone grind, lol

therealmagyver

I think you'd have to just be on level ground, give it some good gas and slowly lift to see when the car starts moving.....the slightest movement. Then I would assume it's about an inch below that point for disengage. I'm now expert, but the logic seems to be right. I'm pretty sure someone will give you the real deal if I am wrong.

Capn Pete

How you shift totally depends on where and how you're driving. If you're wanting to know how to shift "faster" just for normal street driving, or you're being criticized for pushing the clutch all the way to the floor, too bad, cause that's what's best for the transmission in the long run. There's really no point in "speed shifting" all the time on the streets.

However, if you're wanting to step up the pace of your driving, or for at the track especially, there's no other way to shift but "speed or power shifting" (which is basically keeping the gas pedal on the floor, and just tapping the clutch enough to disengage and throw the shifter into the next gear really quickly). It's when you shift like this that you hear the tires "chirp" into the next gear...........that's always a sound of accomplishment IMO!

If you're trying to shift quickly by fully pressing the clutch to the floor and letting off the gas all very deliberately, then you're definitely doing things too slow. But again, IMO I wouldn't worry about shifting quicker for normal cruising............if you fully clutch the car every time you shift while on the streets, the sychros in your tranny will last a lot longer .................or just have your friends pay to have them replaced if they want you to speed shift every time!

BTW, afterimage ss: if your car is grinding going into every gear, it sounds like your synchros are shot. The '96 Sunfire I used to have became hard to get into 3rd gear eventually, yet when I first got it, I never had a problem.........it just gradually got worse. I don't think that Sunfires were built for the same abuse as Camaros though ..............yet I abused that car WAY more than it deserved, and aside from the 3rd gear synchro beginning to fail, it took the abuse well!!!

therealmagyver

Well as far as the syncros I just got the info from a dude that has his own shop and been working on GM cars for a little over 30 years tell me it's ok to not fully disengage the clutch after the car is moving. No extra work being put on the synchros at all. He said putting it to the floor or not...the syncros are being used regardless. Not more Not Less either way you do it. He said the only people that don't use synchos in the tranny are full race applications. There are not sychros to begin with. When they shift it's nothing smooth about it...you have to pop the shift into gear. This dude has been around and a lot of guys come by his shop just to get input and feedback. He has dudes who've been racing at strips for years...like 20plus years work on their cars. I've seen old timers in there a lot and they have serious horses in there cars. A lot of cars in his shop with roll cages etc. What I'm basically saying is this guy is trusted by a lot of race fanatics. The shop 2 doors over bring their cars over to him when they can't figure out something or get something done. They do it cuz he has experience in the field...and plenty of it. My twin who's been toying with cars for about 13years said the same thing. No extra stress on the synchros in the tranny. Other dudes in the shop were saying that's how they shift during daily driving...but at the track some of them shift without even pressing the clutch and my twin did it a lot in his Supra at the track. He has an lt1 now, but only been to the track once and it's been a 2 year gap since he's been before so he hasn't done it yet in his z28, but he will and he occasionally does it in his Tahoe. Remember the sychros are being used regardless...if they weren't there then the shifting would be harder..cuz you would have to pop the shift into gear. The only person I would listen to over this dude is an actual engineer of transmissions. SO YOU GUYS ARE SAFE WITH NOT DISENGAGING THE CLUTCH AFTER 1ST GEAR!!! I am happy about that cuz that makes daily driving that much smoother. My twin and this guy are opening a new shop in a better location so I can put up the number for you guys to call who are local, but for now if yall want to speak to my twin email him at maxg@bellsouth.net if you like. Like I said my twin totally agrees and has been to mechanic school for a while and started doing mechanic work on all his cars since 1990. His first big job was changing an automatic to a stick shift on a cressida. I think that was a waste of time, but it's something he wanted to do and that's how it started for him. Me personally I don't like that type of work.....I work on PCs!!! Cuz I hate the heat in garages!!!

XKnightRider

The only real time I press my clutch all the way in is to start the car, and sometimes taking off in 1st. After that it's pushing just enough to disengage and get to the next gear.

Now if I'm racing I'm power shifting, but I disagree with keeping it totally floored as you'll be banging the rev limiter. So I keep it nearly floored as I rip gear to gear. Doing this I get 3rd gear chirps.

Actually since I installed headers I start buring the tires at 4500RPM and burn into 2nd then chirp 3rd.

Practice, practice....you'll get the hang of it!

sweetassz

You need to account for driver error. If you were able to perfectly press down your clutch pedal just enough to disengage your clutch and you could execute this perfectly on every shift then I would say your friend is right in saying there is no extra wear on synchros/gears. But the reality is by not disengaging your clutch fully you increase your chances of missing a gear or forcing it into the next gear (like in power shifting)which in turn can cause you to grind a gear or even over rev your motor. Also, the faster your car is, the tougher it is to execute a perfect shift every time. Bottom line, use your discretion, if you don't mind blowing your tranny then beat the living day lights out of it, but if you count on your ride to get you around everyday then you may want to be a little more foregiving on your shifts.

therealmagyver

I hear you on the missed shifts. I don't miss shifts during daily driving. As far as missing shifts period if you mean not getting the shift into gear before releasing the clutch then it wouldn't matter if you pressed to the floor or not. As far as throwing the shift into a dead spot while pressing the clutch then that's something I've never had a problem with. Oh well to each his own. Don't wanna beat this like a dead horse, so yall know what the deal is from an positive advocate and the devils advocate.

I was doing it all morning today....flying into shifts. Loving it!! Big time! How much faster I am will be determined at the track, but it sure feels faster and from the average human eye it would look faster too. Next wednesday I see how good I am.

rncotton

OK, I'm confused.

I have always been told (by several people) that "Powershifting" is keeping the gas on the floor as you stab the clutch and rip into the next gear.

"Speed Shifting" is shifting without using the clutch, but rather by matching engine and tranny speeds.

therealmagyver

I think you are right in what you thought. I was thinking the same thing and several of my friends say the same thing.

gearslammer

power shifting= no clutch
speed shifting= mash gas, tap clutch

Loudmouth LS1

Well, shifting the way I usually do (clutch all the way to the floor and letting off the gas), I burn 2nd and chirp 3rd So I guess I don't shift as slow as I think, plus i'm assuming I have less power than you, cause i'm still on stock manifolds for a few more weeks!

therealmagyver

You are super slow believe it or not. The reason you burning 2nd is your engine speed wasn't matching the trans close enough. Think about it....automatics with stall converters you can't beat shifting them and they don't chirp, but get good numbers at the track consistently. Minimize the burn and you will get better times on the quarter mile.

Here is how I can best explain it, so try to visualize it. You drop the clutch to the floor and release gas...rpms fall a little and speed does too...you then have it in 2nd with wide open throttle and the tires spin. Now imagine less drop of rpms and less decrease in speed(momentum of car)...its going to be harder to spin since engine speed are matching closer to the tranny and the momentum was interupted with less time. Just in case I may have lost you on that so here is goes much simpler.

Floor your car in 1st and then when you shift to 2nd hold the clutch down for a full 2 or even 3 seconds then shift! You going to burn like crazy, but does that mean you shift quicker...nope.

Now do the same thing, but don't hold the clutch down....drop it as fast as you can....are you going to spin as much nope.

I used to get pissed when I'd shift from 1st to 2nd and have wheel spin. My friend got in my car and shifted so fast right before the rev limiter and I had no spin!!! Now that's the way to get good times at the track.

Loudmouth LS1

It could also be that i'm on street tires that they're spinning I don't hold down the clutch, it's just I hit it fast enough I guess that it's already to the floor as i'm bangin into the next gear and need to let up, and then I do!! I was with some other friends last night that told me I shift really good and the way i'm shifting will save my trans and clutch and they started doing it that way cause they were goin through tranny's and these are some hardcore racers!!!