Can a hard shift activate Stability control?

88gt88

Member
Jun 4, 2007
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2012 mustang gt. I was doing a high rpm shift from 3rd into fourth practically at redline, banged into gear real hard, and almost got thrown into the windshield while the car went side to side like it just shut down and hit the brakes. I immedately hit the clutch and brakes and was cruising at 60mph like nothing ever happend. I thought I put it in second and locked up the wheels but the rpms never reved up and im not new at shifting. Can the tc/stability control be that abrupt?
 
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No, it would not be that abrupt and you would know you were spinning/sliding by the time it activated. Sounds more like you hit the rev limiter just before shifting.....it partially shuts down the engine and can feel pretty rough.
 
Sounds like you found second gear. The symptoms you describe result from that. I haven't had a violent reaction like that from hitting the rev limiter nor engaging traction control.

I've been driving for a while, myself...but that doesn't change the fact that I have performed the shift that gives you an instant close-up of the windshield while the back end dances all over the road. ;)

Shift happens.:burnout:
 
Hitting the rev limiter at WOT is at lot more abrupt then you would think but not as bad as you described. What you described is exactly what happens when you miss 4th and shift into 2nd instead , as Jkidd said above. Even professional drivers miss a shift from time to time. It happens to the best of us.
 
Ok a couple questions then, If I did put it into osecond gear and over rev I was told I would get an overrev code, is this true. Also how come the rpms never came up I remember shifting and I dropped the clutch felt like I was sliding and pushed it back in. If the back wheels lock up does that prevent an over rev or do the rpms automatically go up. I did a gear calculator with the Mt 82 ratios and the motor would have been at 9500-10000 rpms if this actually happened which is why I am trying to find and explanation. I practiced banging 4 th gear driving around town and could not accidently get it into second unless I forced it. That's why I'm skeptical of what actually happened.
 
Yeah, when I first got mine, Man... The gates are so close! I missed 4th.. back to 2nd and I almost went through the windshield. Honestly, it was so abrupt, I didnt know what happened till I already had the clutch in. Luckily thats my default go-to whenever something goes wrong - Clutch in.
 
Ok a couple questions then, If I did put it into osecond gear and over rev I was told I would get an overrev code, is this true. Also how come the rpms never came up I remember shifting and I dropped the clutch felt like I was sliding and pushed it back in. If the back wheels lock up does that prevent an over rev or do the rpms automatically go up. I did a gear calculator with the Mt 82 ratios and the motor would have been at 9500-10000 rpms if this actually happened which is why I am trying to find and explanation. I practiced banging 4 th gear driving around town and could not accidently get it into second unless I forced it. That's why I'm skeptical of what actually happened.
Well I did something like what your talking about , I powershifted 3-4 (did not go to second) but I saw a blip of something red and yellow out of the corner of my eye from the dash guages. I shifted at like 5500 and it might have flared to 6. The car was fine, I did however let off the gas thinking I screwed the pooch in my new toy.
I had traction control on at the time and have not ever seen what the red could have been?
 
I went out and tried to see if I could do it again and I have not had it happen again. The hardest thing for me is keeping on it till 7000 rpm, I keep shifting early at 6500 rpm. I could very well have gone into second. Does the base model cluster light up red too or only the my color gauges. I have the base model and I definately didnt see anything red. I didnt notice any trac control lights either. I definately remember the car swaying back and forth like I was skidding. The sound of the motor did not change. Would the wheels skidding prevent anver rev if this did happen. Also I wonder what the TIVCT does at the rev limit? Does it retard timing enough to prevent valves hitting pistons?
 
You know it's funny sometimes that we think we have to rev to redline to get the max performance out of our engine. If you ever get your car on a dyno and look at the printout you will see that your torque is dropping after about 5000 rpm and your max horsepower often drops 500 - 1000 rpm before redline. Shifting slightly early can put you back into the sweet spot of torque and HP. Now if you have a power adder it can be a different story depending on tuning.
 
Been there done that. Was pulling out of a parking lot into the road and floored it and shifted to second. Felt like the car wanted to go but the brakes were on at the same time. Now I've made it a habit to turn off the stability control until I get a tuner to shut it off permanently.
 
Been there done that. Was pulling out of a parking lot into the road and floored it and shifted to second. Felt like the car wanted to go but the brakes were on at the same time. Now I've made it a habit to turn off the stability control until I get a tuner to shut it off permanently.

I agree I will have to go back out on another fact finding mission and try it both ways w/ trac control off and on and see the results. It is hard finding an area to run it all the way to 4th.....though