Have you ever been racing and tried to hit the 2-3 only to get caught up on the gate? How about trying to nail a quick 3-4 only to get kicked out of the gear? Is that short shifter notchy as all hell and seems hard to go into 3rd? Want to hit your shifts hard, fast, smoothly, ever time, and treat your tranny better? Listen up. It's largely in the way you hold the shift lever. Holding the shifter incorrectly forces your leverage to go against the shift gates of the tranny. You end up missing gears, grinding gears, and wreaking havoc on your syncros because you're making them work hard. Most guys hold the shifter with a pistol grip for every gear. This isn't effective and causes problems if you try to shift fast.

Many that have ridden with me swear I'm powershifting. I'm not. I'm just shifting the right way which allows me to hit the gear fast. Listen up.

The 1 to 2 shift:
This one is easy. Hold the shifter like a pistol (aka pistol grip). Pull back into 2nd. Nuf said. If your short shifter is a bit notchy going into 2nd at part throttle, blip the throttle a bit more than usual. This will spin up the syncros a bit and make for better engagement.

The 2 to 3 shift:
Listen up. Take your hand, palm open, fingers pointed straight. Put your palm behind the shifter with your four fingers pointed to the passenger side. Now wrap your fingers around the shifter. Your fingers should be on the right side of the shifter with you thumb resting just on top of the shifter. Yes, this hand postion feels funny at first, but it works. Now, push DIRECTLY up from 2nd. Wow!! It slide right into 3rd gear. Now go WOT and do it. Wow!! It's so easy and smooth!!

The 3 to 4 shift:
Take your hand, palm open, fingers pointed straight. Now invert you palm so that your thumb is pointed down. Now wrap your fingers around the front of the shifter with your thumb resting near the base of the shifter. Yep, this one feels weird too. Now, pull DIRECTLY back. Wow! It literally falls into gear...at all rpms!!

The 4 to 5 shift:
You're on your own. Why you'd even be going 125mph and trying to speed shift is beyond me. Save it for the track, junior.


I hope this helps. Try it out and report back.



Dave

 

coo.thanks

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I used your technique for the 2-3 shift and the 3-4 shift. Only difference is that I don't wrap my hand against the shifter, I just push with my palm. I will try the wrapping of the hand tomorrow.

I also use these techniques when I shift normally when I'm cruising.

Do you have any tips on handling the clutch and also on downshifting to accelerate?? I can't seem to get into 3rd from 4th very easily.


Also, does anyone find it a pain to drive slowly (like in parking lots) with a 5-spd?? You continusly have to modulate the clutch.

Thanks a lot Dave!! You kick ***! Could the mods make this a sticky please??

 

nah, got me one of them kind where you just mash the gas pedal and (kinda) go

 

You don't need to wrap your fingers around the shifter for the 2-3. I don't. I just said this because many people think they've got more control holding onto something rather than just pushing it.

On the 4 to 3 shift:
Push in the clutch, push the lever up with the same style as the 2-3 shift, rev up, let out the clutch. The goal to to match the rpms to gear ratio. Too little or too much rpm and you'll get a jerk. On the highway and performing the 4-3 shift, I mash the gas as I'm quickly pushing in the clutch, shifting, and disengaging the clutch. It looks like one motion. It's scary how smooth and fast the transition is. It's automatic like. It takes practice, but you'll get there.

I've been shifting like this your over a year with no missed shifts on the track or street. I learned this technique from the 6 speed guys over at LS1.com. I believe they learned it from the BMW guys.


Dave

 

sweet.....just what I needed Thanks a lot Dave

 

Maybe you should post some pics of your hand positions...



just a thought.

Peace

 

now the real skill is to be able to mactch the revs perfectly goin up so u don't need to use the clutch...thats how guys with the C5 get killer 0-60 time...it is tougher in the max though.... the neons i drive from work all so it no problem...both up and downshifting..i sometimes drive500 miles in them an only use the clutch at stoplights....practice on a car u don't own till u get though.....

 

Does this make sense to anybody? Maybe I'm just not getting it....

translate? anybody?

Peace

 

hahahahs sounds like u shifting jackie chan style form thunderbolt.. i rarely hold the shifter in the pistol position... i usually float the palm on the top center of the shifter. i also angle my shift **** so the part that sticks out most is pointing at 10-11 o'clock to me it's a more comfy grip with a stock shift ****..

 

do you even look at the tach when you rev match downshift & redline upshift?

 

Cant wait to get my tranny replaced so I can practice!!!!!

 

Going 70mph, going from 4 to 3, and doing a quick downshift, I never look at the tach. By the time I release the clutch, the rpms are at 5000 (engaged) and the car takes off. I've never bumped the limiter. I'm also running a shift light, so yes, I rarely look at the tach.

Dave

 

Whats a cl-clucth? Oh that E-brake pedal that doesnt work?

 

Get an automagic,like me, and you will shift like a pro all the time

 

I use pretty much the same technique and it works well.

As for downshifting, I never look at the tach. I've got it pretty much down to a science. The key is that my blip of the throttle equals about 500-700 rpms which is also about the rpm difference between gears. When I downshift two gears, I actually blip twice. Works like a charm.

So, my downshift is sorta like clutch, blip,downshift and nail the gas. When done quickly, it feels like one step.

Now, I just need to get pedals to heel, toe for turns/braking plus downshifting. For now, I basically make do by braking, going off brake while doing quick downshift and then getting back on brake if necessary. Would be much better if I could do both.

 

I learned this a while back to prevent me from shifting my 6spd ls1 into the wrong gear. I got lazy and stopped doing it, and it costed me a few push rods on that car. I ever since haven't done it, and now that you reminded me how, I think I will try it again on this car. I seem to grind 2nd alot from 1st...other gears I am okay.

 

I could have sworn I've seen a Site with pics and all on how to shift..

 

Does maximadriver.com have them? I know they have a HOW TO RACE under the how2 section. Not sure about pictures though.

SuDZ

 

thanks dave. i seem to have acquired most of those skills already seeing as i drive fast and learn fast. along with the fact that the 6-spd is notchy and if you don't shift it just right it feels bad so i learned just so it would be easier to shift. only thing i do different is on the 4-3 i grab the shift between my index and middle finger underhanded and sort of sidearm flick it into gear. it's fsat and works great for me

 

No no, thats not it. It was a japanese Driving technics site, it had how to do it the best way.

 

Isn't this common sense? ever since the moment i learned to drive stick i've always shifted this way.

you know what someone once said, 'common sense isn't'

 

Well Dave I tried your downshifting techniques and it worked! I still need practice with rev matching, but I did get a few smooth downshifts from 5th to 4th on the highway.

Oh man I'm loving 5-spd, can't drive an auto..its to painfull to go back!

 

i was taught to drive this way when i was 16 by my great aunt .

however for the one-two shift i like to use my index and middle finger like a "praying mantis" and pull back. i find the shifting action smoother with my max. on other cars pistol grip is fine. but on my max its not as smooth as the "praying mantis grip".

 

the smoothest way i've found to shift(racing, going fast, speed shifting, whatever you'd like to call it) is like so:

1-2: floor in first to redline, push the clutch, when the revs drops and foot hits the floor grab the **** between middle and ring fingers and palm (hard to explain), pull into second, pop into second (no need to match because revs have fallen to where 2nd picks up)

2-3: push clutch, hand-palm up, more or less pulling up on shifter with middle/index on one side and ring/pinky on the other, lift and the shifter glides into second (i guess my tranny is worn enough so i have a tough time putting it into first at anything faster than 15mph).

3-4: refer to 1-2

anyway, this may not be the right way, but i've tried everything i can think of to shift smoothly and quickley at the same time, and this is what i came up with.

 

"the neons i drive from work all do it no problem"

 

Dave, I think it was you who taught me the thumb pointing down technique. Since then, i've been looking for the perfect shift ****. I've kinda settled on the Momo Tall Anatomical...but it's kinda expensive. Anyways....
Yes, i've been holding the shifter as you describe since you taught me 9 months ago and haven't had a problem. Just ask Sherief who says "damn, u shift fast".
I have no problems rev-matching the Altima just cuz I'm so used to it now. I've even tried downshifting to take corners, but that's not going all that well.
the worse shift for me is 5-3, like when I'm cruising and then see a car I wanna race. Any tips for that?
I would take pics, but my digicam is the 2nd digicam Kodak ever released...resolution is horible. If somebody really really wants me to do it, send me email.
Jay

 

ya the 5-3 istough., i wold just hit 4th real fast and then go to 3rd.

 

in my car (and my previous cars) 5-3 was relatively simple..
clutch in, put shifter in neutral, then push straight up since the tranny wont allow 1st gear without some trouble (especially around 50-60-70) and 5th takes a little lateral effort, it glides into 3rd.
remember to rev match

 

I'm still really new to stick, but I found out that I shift better when I hold the shifter kind of like a joystick. I used to hold it from the top, like it had a ball on top. But now I hold it like a joystick, and it's smoother going into gears. Don't know, hopefully experience will come.

 

wow this thread has been dead for like a year lol. anyway I tried using some of these techniques but couldnt really get into the habit of always doing them, I think I drive stick fine anyway

 

same here

although at times i shift different ways myself, depends on how i'm driving at the moment, if i'm tired or not.. etc..

usually,

1st to 2nd: kind of what dave described although i don't wrap my thumb around the shifter that much, i can just hold it slightly with my hand at a 3/4 angle to the stick and push it to 2nd.. pops in easy.

for
2nd to 3rd:
i can just push it with the bottom of my hand, again, not fully wrapping my hand around the shifter, just pushing it up... but, when i still had the stock shiftknob, i had a weird way of shifting, i don't know if anyone else uses this... but it worked great for me. Fast and very precise. I had my fingers pointing DOWN, palm open, and the top of the shifter touching where my fingers start.. i even gripped the narrow end of the shift **** in between my fingers.. then pushing it from 2nd to 3rd can get extremely easy and precise. i just bang it straight into 3rd in a fraction of a second with 1 swift motion.. the back of my hand makes a 90 degree angle with my forearm and i just push my arm straight towards the dash and kind of upwards at the same time... kind of weird but if i need to shift fast, this is the way i do it and it works best for me

3rd to 4th..

again,
just push it down, fingers pointing down, palm slightly angled so the front of the **** is touching my palm.. then just move my arm back and angle my wrist more.. shifter has nowhere else to go but STRAIGHT down..


4th-5th
i am the suck

 

Cool, sounds a lot like the techniques listed on a racing site i visited.

 

i'm not synchonized enough yet to do the rev match downshifting. It's like my brain can't compute all motions. I almost died when I tried to double clutch cause I think I had a cramp in my brain when I tried.

 

Here is a video I think it's a good shift technique (for drag racing ) and similar to what Dave B is talking about (I think).

http://www.exvitermini.com/movies/japstdg1.mpg