Does anyone else find it hard to shift into 3rd real fast?

damacman · May 18, 2004

Guys, re-read my original post on page 1. Powershifting is an art ! It is critical to do the following things simultaneously :

1. Shift as quickly as you can from one gear to the next -- this means you have to pull / push the shifter as hard and as fast as you can. This is why aftermarket shifters have adjustable stops!
2. Depress the clutch fully as you begin upshifting and release the clutch fully as you seat the shifter in the next gear. This is exactly what I described on the first page by "striking" the clutch and not riding it.
3. Do all of this within the RPM window that the synchronizers allow the smoothest transition at WOT -- for me, it's between 5500 and 6000.

btw . . . if you wanna' be classified as good, this entire process should take little more than a few tenths of a second. Any slower, and you'll continually have problems.

As for the Tri-Ax and other spring-loaded shifters (Pro 5.0), the EASIEST way to hit third is to unwrapp your fingers from the shifter (after your second gear pull) and push the handle DIRECTLY forward with your palm. It will go RIGHT in THIRD and not grind or protest one bit.

btw. . . unless you're the late Steve Collison, powershifting in flip flops is certainly not recommended . . . !

Turbo92PGT · May 18, 2004

I was practicing some launching and shifting today down in some industrial areas. 1st to second is silky smooth and no problem. Third just doesn't feel right to me. Alot of you guys are using the tremec, and I realize its a different tranny than mine and probably has different characteristics than mine, but the fact remains, third sucks =/

COramprat · May 18, 2004

damacman said:
As for the Tri-Ax and other spring-loaded shifters (Pro 5.0), the EASIEST way to hit third is to unwrapp your fingers from the shifter (after your second gear pull) and push the handle DIRECTLY forward with your palm. It will go RIGHT in THIRD and not grind or protest one bit.

Exactly...as I stated in post 15...try it.

damacman · May 18, 2004

coramprat -- nice avatar btw . . . how much for your women?

SonicBlue2v03GT · May 19, 2004

This is good stuff fellow stangers

Im happy with the Tri-Ax, first to second isnt bad for me at all, but that 2nd to 3rd shift seems to take too much time, but after reading some of these posts, i think im gonna pratice banging through the gears harder. I remember reading a post a while back and they said to drive like your mad at your car. I guess pretty much just be very aggressive with it. Tomorrow ill try that open fingers and use my palm and slam that bad johnson str8 up into 3rd.

turbokid · May 19, 2004

i quite dont understand how to pwershift..... but i still can shift pretty quickly without grinding.. i got a hurst short shifter for free. It certaily feels better den stock but i wonder how the 5.0 and the tri x feels.... 1-2 is very easy for me and i can geta nice chirp in. however my arms too short to shift quickly into 3rd gear and often miss it.... is it just me or is the mustang shifters a bit far from the driver.....

JonJon · May 19, 2004

turbokid said:
i quite dont understand how to pwershift..... but i still can shift pretty quickly without grinding.. i got a hurst short shifter for free. It certaily feels better den stock but i wonder how the 5.0 and the tri x feels.... 1-2 is very easy for me and i can geta nice chirp in. however my arms too short to shift quickly into 3rd gear and often miss it.... is it just me or is the mustang shifters a bit far from the driver.....

I lean a little forward when racing to get a nice 2-3 shift.

02_2VStang · May 19, 2004

Monkie said:
Another thing that is weird is with the stock shifter I could slam the hell out of 3rd but with a short throw shifter it is a bitch!

yep i have the same problem

COramprat · May 19, 2004

JonJon said:
I lean a little forward when racing to get a nice 2-3 shift.

I'm only 6 feet tall but I have to move the seat all the way back to be comfortable. Now when the appropriate time comes, I'll move the seat about an inch or 2 forward to get at 3rd without having to reach for the hood. Belive it or not, I didn't do that the other day and strained the hell out of my back slamming 3rd. It still hurts.

damacman said:
coramprat -- nice avatar btw . . . how much for your women?

One of the all-time great movies.

281Ponies · May 19, 2004

I’ve shifted into 5th from 2nd more times than I care to mention after first installing the Tri-Ax. Tried several different methods to prevent this, like not gripping the shifter and just using the palm or heel of my hand but still I’d either hit the gate and miss 3rd or it would go right into 5th. I’ve driven standard shift cars for many years and these mustang transmissions can rattle your nerves when it comes to the 2nd - 3rd shift... for me anyway.
What I found that worked is gripping the shifter on the 1st - 2nd shift, shifter ball between the index and middle fingers and right after stabbing 2nd roll my forearm and palm upward. Then basically just jam the heel of my hand and wrist toward the dash. Since making this small adjustment I’ve yet to miss 3rd or shift into 5th. It really comes down to finding a method that works for you, this just happens to work for me.

-Cale

damacman · May 19, 2004

Good stuff Cale. SonicBlue2v03GT, I think one of the following would apply here:

A. Drive it like you stole it.
B. Drive it like it was a rental.
C. Either A or B
D. Both A & B

COramprat · May 20, 2004

damacman said:
Good stuff Cale.

Right...when you grip the shifter you tend to 1)pull it to the left and hit in between the gates for 1st and 3rd or push it too fat to the right and find fifth. Let the shifter do what it is designed to do and find 3rd for you. Just use the palm to push it forward. I haven't had a problem finding 3rd since I started doing this.

SonicBlue2v03GT · May 20, 2004

damacman said:
Good stuff Cale. SonicBlue2v03GT, I think one of the following would apply here:

A. Drive it like you stole it.
B. Drive it like it was a rental.
C. Either A or B
D. Both A & B

Thats funny man. Yeah the thing is like i am a pretty aggressive driver but then when shifting my baby....yeah I have not powershifted yet, but its getting tempting...That is good info you posted about the "striking" of the clutch. the way you desribe sounds just as I imagine it should be

Also reading that about the positive stops, its like stop babying it so much (saying to myself) and go have some fun...just thinking about it

Ohh yeah for the record..im 31 years old and this is my 3rd Mustang. So your not giving advice to some 16 year old who's gonna go out and F up his car and come on here going

And you/I dont want me driving like its a rental... I have some stories

fr96ss · May 20, 2004

Change the shifter stock shifter is junk

damacman · May 20, 2004

SonicBlue2v03GT said:
Thats funny man. Yeah the thing is like i am a pretty aggressive driver but then when shifting my baby....yeah I have not powershifted yet, but its getting tempting...That is good info you posted about the "striking" of the clutch. the way you desribe sounds just as I imagine it should be

Also reading that about the positive stops, its like stop babying it so much (saying to myself) and go have some fun...just thinking about it

Ohh yeah for the record..im 31 years old and this is my 3rd Mustang. So your not giving advice to some 16 year old who's gonna go out and F up his car and come on here going

And you/I dont want me driving like its a rental... I have some stories

No problem. I've powershifted every Mustang I've ever owned -- from the Borg Warner T-5 to the Tremec, they're all fairly easy as long as you use the procedures I described.

So, stop babying your 'Stang and go beat it up a little! It'll love ya' for it! Yeah, you're gonna' miss a few gears -- it's all part of the process. BUT, that's what you've got a rev limiter for. Before too long, you'll be able to back off the throttle if you miss before it hits the rev limiter.

SonicBlue2v03GT · May 21, 2004

damacman said:
No problem. I've powershifted every Mustang I've ever owned -- from the Borg Warner T-5 to the Tremec, they're all fairly easy as long as you use the procedures I described.

So, stop babying your 'Stang and go beat it up a little! It'll love ya' for it! Yeah, you're gonna' miss a few gears -- it's all part of the process. BUT, that's what you've got a rev limiter for. Before too long, you'll be able to back off the throttle if you miss before it hits the rev limiter.

Thanks again for the advice. There is this one part on the way home from work that is a good spot to go through the gears up to 4th. Last night that second to third shift happened real quick Gotta ease my way into powershifting though.

Does anyone else find it hard to shift into 3rd real fast?

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