Powershiftin the Stang

[CRoberts91]

I've got a question for all of you hardcore gearbangers. I recently got some good quality time in with my gear head uncle. He was talkin to me about powershifting and told me that thats how he took out so many people on the strip. I've been able to powershift through all the gears when I'm runnin low RPMs, but when I get em high can only powershift out of a gear. And I do that by slightly lettin off the pedal. I think I'm doin somethin wrong, I need your help. Thanks in advance for your input. Any advice is greatly welcomed.

 

[MikeysOTP]

It isn't you, it's the shifter. If you search the forums you will find a much more detailed answer but here are the basics. The stock shifter is mounted to the body of the car which is not a good thing. When the rpms are up, the tranny flexes to the side from all of the torque which causes a misalignment from the shifter to the tranny.

The way to fix this is to buy a new shifter. From what I have seen the MGW is the best way to go but also very expensive which is why I haven't gotten one yet, it is next on my list though. I am pretty sure the other aftermarket shifters are made to address this problem as well, it just seems to me that the MGW is the best of the bunch if you are willing to pay 3 and change for a shifter.

 

[anticubicle]

The MGW's aren't 300. They're comprable to the Steeda Tri-Ax in price.

But about the shifting. If you're careful, and can "feel" the gears well enough you'll be able to powershift through your gears. It is true about the stock shifter being pretty tricky to powershift but with experience you'll get it down. I kid you not when I say this man, I missed 3rd when powershifting at least 5 times before I got it down pat. I would take the car out for a spin every night down a straight road @ like 2AM and just practice shifting. Sure enough, I'm comfortable with the shifter now that I've don't miss that 3rd gear anymore.

So my only advice to you (other than get a new shifter like I'll be doing once my tax refund finally arrives) is to practice, practice, practice.

 

[CRoberts91]

thanks guys. i can get it through the gears just not at high rpms.

 

[anthony05gt]

The more power you are laying to the wheels the more the problem persists. I've got over a million miles standard shift experience and have had a lot of fun over the years until this car.

The MGW shifter will cure your problem especially at higher hp levels. It cured the problem for me. My son's 05 is basicly stock other than the tune. I could shift his car at high R's with the stock shifter , but it was a chore. We put an MGW on his too and now the 19 year old kid never misses a gear either. We both had Steeda Triax shifters on our '05 cars. They had to go...didn't cut it. Mine is able to be shifted at 6500rpms with the gas pedal to the floor @ almost 500rwhp. That's a fact. I had to granny shift like a SOB with the triax. That's also a fact. Urethane motor mounts are also a great addition when you have higher hp too. The triax still sucked even with the motor mounts though.

 

[CRoberts91]

Thanks I'll definitely consider the MGW.

 

[anticubicle]

thanks guys. i can get it through the gears just not at high rpms.

What are you shifting at btw?

One tip I picked up from a friend is to put your seat up close so that you knee is almost vertical to the clutch. This way, when you pick your foot up off of the clutch you're able to hit it down and make sure that clutch is floored. I found once I got a better feel for the shifter + a solid footing on my clutch that it made it easier to powershift.

I hope that made sense...

Just keep practicing, I can't stress that enough.

(Now i need to take my own advice for launching my car!)

 

[CRoberts91]

Wait, I thought you didnt need the clutch for powershifting. Maybe I misunderstood my uncle and/or you. I'm coming out of the gears at around 2300 and going into them at about 1400.

 

[PoopDawg]

Umm... I powershift the hell out of my car.... Stock shifter and all. It's pretty easy once you get use to it... Here's a vid of me in my old Black GT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfDvXmIG3BI

 

[anticubicle]

Wait, I thought you didnt need the clutch for powershifting. Maybe I misunderstood my uncle and/or you. I'm coming out of the gears at around 2300 and going into them at about 1400.

Errrr....I'd definitely use the clutch man.

 

[PoopDawg]

Not using a clutch is called "pro shifting", and you must have a transmission with no syncros and face plated, meaning it just goes into gear without the need of a clutch. It's a race only transmission.

 

[anthony05gt]

Umm... I powershift the hell out of my car.... Stock shifter and all. It's pretty easy once you get use to it... Here's a vid of me in my old Black GT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfDvXmIG3BI

Slap a blower on that car and you'll sing a different tune. All that torque will bind the shifter up like mad.

 

[CRoberts91]

Ok, so what the crap have I been doing? I can make it through all the gears without touching the clutch, but only at low RPMs. Sooooo, what is "Powershifting", and is this the quickest way to move through gears?

 

[PoopDawg]

Slap a blower on that car and you'll sing a different tune. All that torque will bind the shifter up like mad.

I had and have driven many cars with a lot of power: Nitrous, Turbo, Supercharged... All of them I could powershift easily with or without the stock shifter. It's the driver, not the the equiptment, sorry bro.

 

[281Ponies]

Power Shifting... Speed Shifting

Launch the car and keep your foot in the gas. At maximum RPM just blip the clutch (Stab It) enough to SLAM the shifter into 2nd gear. Pressure on the shifter handle into second before you blip the clutch... pressure on the shifter handle before you blip the clutch into 3rd... you get the idea.
It is the quickest way through the gears... when it comes to racing.

What you describe is what I have always called granny shifting.

 

[MikeysOTP]

I had and have driven many cars with a lot of power: Nitrous, Turbo, Supercharged... All of them I could powershift easily with or without the stock shifter. It's the driver, not the the equiptment, sorry bro.

I disagree, I could powershift my last three stangs all day long without missing a gear, not so in this one. If I am below 52-5300 rpm then not a problem, beyond that I have a much lower success rate. Not just missed shifts either, it is like I am completely locked out until the rpms drop back down. If course some people are going to more proficient at powershifting than others but the stock shifter is not going to produce the same results as aftermarket shifters in this case. I never replaced the shifter in any of my Fox bodies and never had any reason to.

 

[PoopDawg]

I've never had a problem and I'm stickin' to it. Not saying an aftermarket shifter wouldn't HELP or make it EASIER... But it's all skill.

 

[CRoberts91]

Ok, well this is what I'm doing now. I'm shifting into neutral without the clutch, and as I'm going into neutral I stab the clutch, which allows for a very fast and smooth shift(by smooth I mean no nose dive at really high RPMs and the body doesn't act squirelly. I think this is what I'm supposed to be doing, because I've never gone through a gear this fast before and its so smooth too. Thanks for all your input.

 

[anthony05gt]

I had and have driven many cars with a lot of power: Nitrous, Turbo, Supercharged... All of them I could powershift easily with or without the stock shifter. It's the driver, not the the equiptment, sorry bro.

Yeah, yeah I hear you. I've driven a lot of cars with big, fat power too, but this model has that remote mounted shifter which is WAY different. In fact, it's the only car I know of that has a shifter mounted to the body in addition to the tranny. You have no serious power with your car. I can speed shift my son's almost stock '05 just fine so don't be so proud of yourself. Justin Burcham couldn't even speed shift my car when he drove it. He's got the world record 3-valve stick shift time which is faster than any 3-valve automatic time to date. Don't tell me it's the driver when it comes to Burcham cause it ain't. I don't want to get in a pissing match with you, but I work on these cars all the time and have installed several MGW shifters on blown '05-up stangs only to cure people's shifting woes. Until you squeeze another 200-300 hp out of your stang you should realize the facts.

By the way, I watched your video of your old (new) black gt. That's some slow ass shifting especially the 2-3 shift. You let off the gas....that's not speed shifting.

 

[SlideWRX]

My understanding is that powershifting generally has two components: little or no clutch actuation, and little or no throttle lift. Since normal shifting has full clutch actuation & full throttle lift, the in-between where either the clutch or the throttle are hardly changed are also often called powershifting.

For example, when my friends AMC Eagle blew it's clutch up, the clutch was still engaged & wouldn't dis-engage. So they bump-started it, and his dad powershifted it the whole way home; he lifted throttle, but the clutch never dis-engaged.

I haven't tried on my Mustang, but on my WRX I could shift without the clutch without much effort. haven't tried keeping my foot on the gas.