For those of you who have cars with A4s, how do you shift at the dragstrip? Do you manually shift or do you let the computer shift for you? Also, what would be a good shift point? I'm asking this because the last time I was at the strip, my best E.T. was 13.70 @ 101. I did that manually shifting. I'm thinking a could run 2-3 tenths faster if I shifted just a little sooner. I was shifting at 5200-5300, but the computer still took the motor to 5700, where the motor started to die a little. Is there a way to program a certain shift point with a handheld? I know that an ideal shift point is at max hp. IIRC, the max hp on the LS1s is at 5200. Can anyone shed some light on this subject for me/give me some advice on shifting my car at the dragstrip? Thanks in advance.........

 

Let the computer shift.

The car makes peak power at around 5800 rpm.

Mike

 

I agree with Kraest, let the car shift for you, if you want to shift get yourself a 6 speed

 

CMIIW, but isn't it not that good to shift an auto manually?

 

When you downshift I don't really think it makes a difference because what people fail to realise is when you pull the shifter from O/D into D, you're not shifting the car... ..you're telling the computer to lock out 4th gear... then the COMPUTER shifts the car... so I'm certain the computer will treat it like a standard downshift...

When you upshift it doesn't make a difference because the computer is still going to take it to the highest possible RPM before shifting because basically when you upshift from say 1st into 2nd... having the shifter in 1st is telling the computer to lock out 2nd gear... if you havn't reached the minimum RPMS before shifting by the time you put the shifter in 2nd gear, thus unlocking 2nd gear... it still won't shift because you havn't reached the minimum RPMS to shift... Upshifting is only good if you want to shift at a HIGHER RPM, not a lower...

 

You don't want to downshift an auto manually because you'll smoke the clutches. Upshifting isn't a big deal, but is pointless on these cars.

 

I've been racing my A4 for 7 years and I always just put it in drive and let the computer do the shifting.

If you want to play with shift points then a handheld will do what you want.