TR6

H/T with single clutch. Double clutching may extend the lifespan of the synchros, but at this stage in the game, since I never learned to double clutch, I figure I'd have a greater chance of screwing it up and breaking something if I tried to do it. However, I do incorporate a very brief pause in neutral while shifting that seems to make my tranny happier...

kurt M

H&T single clutch on a 901 box.

I would like to add a question if I may. Do you row down through the gears or simply slow down via braking and then slect the desired gear by down shifting right when needed?
A 5 to 3 shift would be 5-3 not 5-4-3. I go directly to the desired gear but wait untill the car is just about done slowing and in need of power. My thinking is that the gear box is also slowing to the lower gear's speed thus slowing the internals of the gearbox as well.

As with all things machanical much depends on the system...

Larry Herman

Sometimes I miss my 901 box. That 1-2 shift was exciting.

Bryan Watts

I row through for a number of reasons:

1) Some race cars I've driven don't run really well when they are hot and the RPM's drop really low...i.e. if you are shifting from 5th to 2nd, by the time you slow down enough, you are essentially below idle speed in 5th gear. There's nothing more unsettling in the middle of a major braking zone than the car turning off and then turning back on when you "jump it" by releasing the clutch in 2nd gear.

2) I like to ALWAYS have torque on hand...if I need to go to throttle for ANY reason, even in a braking zone, I want to know that I've got some torque ready to go. This tends to be more important on the street when you check your rear view mirror and realize the dude behind you isn't stopping, but you never know what sort of strange situation you may find yourself in on the race track.

3) It's just a better rhythm for me and makes me less likely to select the wrong gear.

4) 3 cool sounding perfectly rev matched downshifts is far more impressive to the ladies than one.

5) When IRL/CART sorts out and someone offers Ghettoracer and myself a full ride and a $500K salary, I'll be forced to go through each gear in the sequential transmission, so I might as well be in that rhythm.

Veloce Raptor

Fukken A, you are right on all 5 points. And chix DO dig it.

Larry Herman

I only have so many shifts left in me, and I'm not going to waste them with superfluous downshifts. When you're old, you go right for what you want.

Bryan Watts

Paul Newman still rows through the gears. He's says you're a wuss.

MTosi

Bingo

Some cars do have such good brakes you realy do need to skip gears, if you watch the old F1 in car from like the early 80's on until sequentials they would simply do one big long blip and skip a bunch of gears.

and Mike good to hear another auto technica motor is still going, those 2.4s motors on mfi are sweeeeeeeeeeeet, they make about the same hp as a 2.7rs and they sound great when they come on that cam

Veloce Raptor

Well, he IS younger than Larry.

JCP911S

I typically do not row.

If you are going down more than 1 gear, it is generally a pretty heavy braking zone. I prefer to use my limited brain capacity concentrating on threshold braking rather than shifting.

That said, you need to be doubly certain that you end up in the right gear... skip shifts are a great way to get confused and end up in the wrong gear... also, you need to be careful not to complete the shift until the car is at the correct speed, but generally, if you consistently do it exactly the same way every lap, you can work that all out and you won't make a mistake.

Larry Herman

HA! Let me drive Paul Newman's cars and I'll row through the gears too.

Veloce Raptor

Ah, the old Roe vs. Wade debate starts anew...

wanna911

I just have a problem commiting to more than one downshift and blip for fear of putting the car in the wrong gear. Like putting it in second instead of 4th. I've never had to use sixth gear, but even if I go from 5th down to 2nd gear I only blip once at the end and go into second.

Has anyone ever put it into the wrong gear while rowing down through the gears? How common is it? I'm just erring on the side of caution hear as all it takes is one good over rev to pop a motor.

I could use some advice in this area. I've also seen some VERY fast guys who use this technique as well, but I want to learn how to do it properly if it's needed.

So my second question is what are the benefits of clutching all gears as opposed to one if I can do it and the car transition smoothly albeit with a slightly bigger blip?

MUSSBERGER

I'm with Ed.

wanna911 thats called the money shift and the top end of my track car was rebuilt because of one right before I bought It.

hammerwerfer

That looks an awful lot like Manfred's old car.

Does Paul still wear his trademark white shirt? I don't think I ever saw him without it.