Just wondering.

Who has one, who likes them? Where do you mount them? I was thinking of getting one (the Harlen (sp?) one) and mounting in on my A-Pillar guage pod with velcro or something so I could take it off when I'm not at the track.

Anyone have pics installed?

PS - Automagic owners need not respond.

 

Russ uses one.

 

Not mounted yet....hehe. Dave B has one...

 

Are we doing the balme game? Sprintmax has one

 

i have one from autometer and i have it where the cigar lighter is hehe.... i have one for sell from topspeed is anyone is interested..it's almost brand new been on my car for a week

 

pics?

 

the problem I see with shift lights is that you don't want to shift at the same RPM in every gear

 

Well, I'd rather watch the road/track than the tach.

 

you want pics of the one i am selling or the one in my car?

 

either would be great

 

Phil uses one...Phil96Se

 

Could you wire more than one at different RPMS? Different colors light up for shifting in different gears... it might get a bit too festive though.

 

those things are pretty kool......too bad i have an automagic =(

 

i've heard of people with autos put them in, i really see no point in that unless you manuel shift your car

if you are going to mount it dont use velcro, they are pretty big and heavy and the last thing you want to do is launch hard and that thing fly off and clock you in the head...you wont look very cool

 

http://harlan.sketchy.net/store/store.html

1" X 3", not that big...I can't imagine that this one would fly off.

 

I use the autometer...I should have gotten the harlen, cuz it's a lot smaller. I mounted it above the gauge cluster to the left...I got pix but I need to take em off my digicam first. I like the idea of mounting it in my cig lighter since I don't use it...I'll have to check that out. It might be at a bad angle though?

 

I'm thinking of getting something like this >>



NRD-M9004 2-1/16 in. diameter, red LED readout, peak RPM recall, digital tachometer ... $59.95 at summit racing

 

hmm... or maybe even this >>



NRD-M9222 Universal, 3 3/8 in. diameter, 0-300 mph, red LED readout, odometer, trip odometer, digital, memory speedomete... $119.95

Universal, 3 3/8 in. diameter, 0-300 mph, red LED readout, odometer, trip odometer, digital, memory speedometer

This performance speedometer reads from 0-300 mph in 1 mph increments and features 0-60 time display, high speed memory, odometer, trip odometer, and an analog style LED scale that builds in 5 mph increments. Plus, it records quarter mile elapsed times and has a self calibration feature that allows you to recalibrate the speedometer for rear-end gear changes or different size tires.

 

Why, that means you just have to watch that instead of your regular tach. With a light you watch the road and you can't miss it when it flashes...you see it and shift.

 

if I have that in a gauge pod then I don't need to look down, and it allows me to select exacly what RPM I want to shift at for each gear and its more accurate than the factory tach and it looks cool. I would install a switch for all the gauges in my pod to turn them off for regular street driving so they are not annoying at night.

 

I ordered the same light and it shipped on the 14th. The best thing about a shift light is you pay attention to the task at hand and can see it go off in peripheral vision. The Harlan one is completely dynamic (soft code versus a pill) so you can set it anywhere in 100 increments.

For the one that digitally shows the RPM, not going to be as easy to use unless it blinks or something at a given RPM no matter where the location. Human factors engineering class. Trust me. Based on our tests, a Analog (sweep) tach, or a light gave better response time than reading a digital number. And this was a test that did not require attention elsewhere. They had to just push a button when a certain RPM was met. THe digital was 3 out of 3 (last) while the light was 2 out of 3 (second) and the sweep was first.

 

those of us who are the fastest know that you can't pick one RPM for every gear and shift at it... you shift differently for each gear if you want the fastest times. with a shift light I still need to look down like I do now.

 

You missed my point. My use is not for optimizing every shift. I am not drag racing the car. Its to make sure that I don't blip the rev lim in a "contest". The difference of 100 or 200 RPM in my particular situation is not a worry to me. I am more interested in protecting my car than squeezing the last bit o' juice outta the car. I mean its a road race, what am I going to win other than braggin rights?

For your situation you need a large tach mounted very close to field of vision to achieve what you want, optimally.

 

you are exactly correct

 

Well, I kinda disagree. As we've all argued about before, in my 97 max I found that I get the best times holding each gear to the red line. Dunno why, but I do. Remember that whole thread with you, Sprite, Dave B and myself?

Either way, the only gear I would really want to leave earlier is 3rd...and the RPM's are climbing slower at that point, so if I set the light correctly (say 6200 rpms) I would get out earlier.

 

would u mind share that info of when you shift? thanks!

 

I've got the Harlan light and I love it. It's glued to a little metal stand I fabricated and then mounted on the dash just behind the small triangular vent to the left of the gauge pod. It looks factory.

As observed by my shiftlight, the indicated rpms are off by 0-300rpms depending on gear. 1st is wildly off by 300rpms, 2nd by ~200rpms, 3rd ~100rpms, 4th is 0rpms. I think the reason the tach is off is because the tach wire can't keep up with the tranny output in the deeper gears.

You can make a shiftlight work with a car that needs to be shifted at various rpms. I've got my light setup to go off at 6000rpms. My shiftpoints are this:

1-2 6500
2-3 6200
3-4 6000

These were determined by gear ratio, axle ratio, and dyno numbers (ie the real way you determine the correct shiftpoints). Since 1st gear winds out so fast that by the time you notice the light go off, you're already within a few hundred rpms of redline. By the time you grab the 1-2 you're very close to redline. On the 2-3, the light goes off at 6000 and by the time you grab the shift, you should be very close to 6200rpms. For the 3-4 shift, the tach is now truely 1:1 with the motor and your aren't accelerating nearly as hard so you can really concentrate on the light and hit very close to 6100-6000 rpms on the 3-4.

Get the Harlan. It's worth the money. BTW, put it somewhere you can see it. Don't mount it in the lighter or something. It's very bright, but on the sunny day at the track, you need that thing shining in your eye.


Dave

 

sprintmax does not have a shift light

 

I am going to get the harlan shift light soon, I agree with Dave B, in 1st gear by the time you react you are almost at redline, and as you move to the higher gears you shift closer to the actual setpoint. If you are trying to shave every .001 of a second off your quarter mile then maybe a light like theblue is looking at may suit your purposes, but I want it mostly so I don't bump the rev limiter during spirited driving.

I was thinking of trying the hidden vent install that is shown on the Harlan web site. Will this work on a Maxima? Will you still be able to see it during the day? My second choice would be on the outside of the gauge pod, just to the right of the tac. In this location it would point directly at my eyes without any sort of bracket.

Dave B, do you have any pics of your install? How hard was it to make this bracket? If it really looks factory then I will definatly be interested in trying it.

 

I was always a strong believer that taking it to the redline in each gear (even though you are no longer at peak HP) put you higher in the power band when you entered the next gear. The problem is that when I ran my 14.2 and 14.3s I was shifting earlier into both 3rd and 4th gear. I don't know why it worked, but it did.

 

The reason the car is quicker by lowering the shift points is because of the available wheel torque at certain rpms. The goal is to land each shift at approximately 4200-4400rpms. If you hold on to the gear too long (ie wind it out to redline), you end up shortening your powerband. The powerband on the 4th gen VQ is from 4200-5800rpms. There is absolutely no power to be found after 6000rpms. Power drops off like an anvil at 6200rpms. If you were to shift EVERY gear at 6500rpms, you are simply cutting yourself short. You want to ride the powerband as long as possible. If you shift at 6500rpms on the 2-3, then you've technically cut out 300rpms of you're useable powerband. This is where it gets complicated. First gear is a exception simply because it winds out so fast and it geared very deep so the extra torque multiplication makes up for the lack of power after 6000rpms. 1-2 and 2-3 shifts are extended past peak power because this is the only way you'll land at the beginning of the powerband (4200-4400rpm). In the VQs case, winding out longer past peak power in certain gears in an effort to land the next shift at the beginning of the powerband is more benefical than shifting earlier.


Dave

 

Some of you guys mentioned that you don't want to shift at the same RPM every shift - there are Tachs with shiftlights that have multiple shift points (www.summitracing.com). They are quite expensive but give you that option. I ordered a Harlan shiftlight and from what I've read it looks like I'll have to wait a while to get it. Damn!!! I didn't want the big bulky 5" tach w/ shiftlight but, it would be nicer to get a true measure of my rpm as compared to the stock tach which is usually off +/- 300 rpm. Just my .02

 

I'd like to install my Harlan but not exactly sure on where to hook up the Harlan.

I've seen it said that there is a tach screw behind the guages, or the ECU line 1.

Which is better/easier? If going to the ECU, what color wire is this?

 

check out pics of blue shiftlight install into defrost vent.
--connected to gauges (white with green strip).
--100rpm interval adjustment
--20 min install, 2 hour pod design.
--bracket included if you want to dash mount it.
--bright as s*** day and night

pics... http://members.cardomain.com/aedriven

 

i really like my autometer shift light..
i got the simple one. no tach. just the light.
and i got the LED conversion for it. so 4 lights blink instead of one.

MSD has a nice one out too with 12 leds.

 

How hard do you think it is to install that Harlan shift light in the pillar, just like they have it in the pic on there webpage?

 

That install is really sweet. How hard was it to make? You think you can make one that will fit for a 4th gen?

 

Andi, the boy genius who used to be on here, calculated the optimum shift points for his '97 SE. Those are still up at http://www.boostaholic.com/maxima/dyno/shiftpoints.html For his first chart he wrote "I have calculated torque immediately after the transimssion gears before & after each 6100RPM shift. My dyno chart only has data upto 6100RPM; as you can see, 6100RPM for the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts is too low since torque still drops off. (6100RPM seems pretty close for the 2-3 shift so 6300RPM [64mph] would be my guess as the optimal 2-3 shift point). However, for the 3-4 and 4-5 shifts, 6100RPM is not too low. For the 1-2 shift, I'd guess the 6550RPM redline or pretty close.."

For the last 2 shifts he came up with this:
3rd tq 3rd rpm mph 4th rpm 4th tq
178.562 5800 86.42 4300 158.27
171.958 5900 87.91 4400 160.93
164.973 6000 89.4 4500 160.93
156.972 6100 90.89 4600 161.5
optimal 3-4 shift point = 6100RPM = 91MPH

4th tq 4th rpm mph 5th rpm 5th tq
142.025 5500 109.45 4600 136
138.985 5600 111.44 4700 136
136.325 5700 113.43 4800 135.2
133.57 5800 115.42 4900 135.76
128.53 5900 117.41 5000 134.16
123.405 6000 119.4 5100 131.68
117.42 6100 121.39 5100 131.68
optimal 4-5 shift point = 5800RPM = 115MPH

 

It was tricky to get the light to fit in the dash and aim at your eyes but i wanted that location no matter what. it's built on the OEM vent piece. I'd be willing to make one for you. email me so we can figure out details.

drivengames@hotmail.com

Supa lao, I thought the same thing, i don't know what year you have but on my 5th gen, the A pillar was too skinny and has a tweeter in that exact location like on the website. good luck.

 

I've since realized that the calculation done above is the EXACT same thing as just "always be in the gear with the highest horsepower." Why? Gearing only changes the distribution of rotational speed and torque going to your wheels, and their product, horsepower, goes through the drivetrain unchanged. It is horsepower that determines acceleration at any given speed, so simply put, look at your hosepower curve and your shift points and shift where your horsepower in the previous gear and the next gear intersect.

Like so:
http://www.boostaholic.com/supra/shiftpoints.html

For an explanation of why this is the case... think of it this way.. acceleration is always directly proportional to TORQUE_AT_THE_WHEELS. Well, since hp=torque*rpm/5252, we know that hp is a product of torque*rpm. This means that torque = hp / rpm. At any given speed, the wheels have a certain RPM, so TORQUE_AT_THE_WHEELS is directly proportional to hp.

If you have one of those cool dyno's like Chebosto's where the hp keeps increasing to redline, you know you just want to shift as high as possible w/o banging the rev limiter. If your HP drops off, do the analysis like I did on my Supra that I linked above, back when I still had stock turbos....

Regards,
Andi