problems powershifting!.......me or the car?

[GREYFOX4INCH]

FIRST!: i have always been superb at shifting fast/smooth durring a full throttle exccell, without letting off the gas or very minimaly.

im having a problem in this new 88gt i bought. now, im not one to powershift the crap out of my car all day long every day, but on the occasion that i do,
when trying to slam it into 2nd from 1st most of the time it does not go in and i end up with a grind/missed shift. the car has very low miles and is not abused
its giving me the impression that my hand is getting slightly ahead of my foot, but have never had this problem with shifting fast(usally spot on). it seems like even now when i take it easier and let off the gas quickly to make the shift i am still encountering problems now and again. the clutch has a hard feel to it, and grabs very close to the floor.

maybe i am still used to my 87 notch (grabs alot higher with soft pedal)
and the misscalculation is in the pedal grabbing hieght?

also, if i nail it in 1st gear, and the tires are baking there is no way this car is going into 2nd gear without letting off heavily for the RPM's to drop.

do the sycros not let the tranny in gear when the rpm's are tacking out and there is no resistance on the tranny?

so could it be the clutch/cable/shifter/or anything else about the car that is setup incorrectly causing these misses? its uncommon for me and even when i focus hard on not missing it grinds...
maybe it is me still used to my old clutch feel but ive had this car a year so wtf?

thanks






p.s.) I believe I have reciepts (from the prev owner) for an adjustable clutch quad & firewall adjuster. I never actually looked on the car though.

 

[rigamaroles]

Is there a difference in shifter between your 87 and your gt? Might be time to pickup an aftermarket shifter.

 

[TomCat]

Check to make sure it's the the adjusters, and if so... adjust it a little higher Maybe the cable is stretching too, that can cause shifting issues. When I did my quadrant, cable and FWA it felt like a brand new car.

 

[GREYFOX4INCH]

Is there a difference in shifter between your 87 and your gt? Might be time to pickup an aftermarket shifter.

ACTUALLY now that you mention it. the GT has a triaxe with a mgw handle and the 87 had the mgw handle on the stock shifter..
maybe having the true short throw shifter rather then just the handle is getting my hand into gear faster then i think its going to? and the clutch petal is not to the floor completely when the shifter is reaching its destination. i mean thats how it feels but i dont think i am missjudging the shifts. who gets worse at shifting? i should be getting better.
maybe i have to learn to compansate for the shorter throw.

i will also check the clutch adjustments too.

 

[EMW150]

Are you shifting at the same rpms as the '87? The higher the rpms, the harder it is to powershift a syncho'd transmission. Get a firewall adjuster and get it releasing high. A low engaging clutch is a pain to try to powershift.

 

[blackened88lx]

Get a firewall adjuster and get it releasing high. A low engaging clutch is a pain to try to powershift.

I agree. I think the problem is in the clutch adjustment. When the clutch is adjusted high, and you mash the clutch pedal, the clutch is disengaged right away, and not engaged till your foot is almost off the pedal. When it's adjusted low, even though you're pushing in the clutch the same amount, and for the same amount of time, it might only be disengaged when the clutch is almost to the floor, and engaged as soon as it comes off the floor, leaving you much less time to make the shift. I hope that made sense. So even though your foot isn't off the clutch pedal yet, you might have the clutch let out before the tranny is in 2nd gear.
I think the biggest problem with stock shifters is the rubber mounted stock handle. Seeing how yours has a handle on it, you should be fine. My stock shifter felt great with an aftermarket handle on it, but I was scared to shift hard without shift stops and I had trouble getting to 3rd, so I bought an MGW shifter.

 

[88-GT]

The other possibility is that the adjuster is out far enought that the clutch isnt disengaging even when on the floor. Before I got a FWA I had this problem, although mine would even lock my out of reverse etc. I would believe this is your problem.

Adjust the pedal up so it picks up higher, you should have about 1-1.5 inches of fairly slack 'dead pedal' in the clutch, but you also don't want a bunch of slack. But try it out, Im sure it'll be alrite.

 

[ninety15.0]

Im confused here...your saying that you have a harder time powershifting the Tri-ax than you are powershifting the stocker? I would definately check the clutch position and FWA. Are all the gears equally as hard to powershift? If they are i would def suspect the clutch adj. ....if not i would suspect the shifter.

 

[GREYFOX4INCH]

Im confused here...your saying that you have a harder time powershifting the Tri-ax than you are powershifting the stocker? I would definately check the clutch position and FWA. Are all the gears equally as hard to powershift? If they are i would def suspect the clutch adj. ....if not i would suspect the shifter.

Yep thats what im saying. but like i said before the clutch on this car grabs very close to the floor(i was always told this was better).

i think blackened88lx is right on the money with this. sounds like a perfect explaination to what is happening.
like i said this car may have a FWA (need to look) But if i have to order one i will try to get around to posting the solution.

i was still wondering about shifting while burning-out in 1st gear though.
with no resistance(traction). it does not like to shift at all when spinning the tires. this is only when punching it at low RPM's in 1st. the tires break loose, and it goes straight to redline almost instantly
even when my clutch foot is to the floor. if it grinds while trying to shift into 2nd (while tires are spinning) i can let off the gas completely,keep the clutch pushed to the floor, and it still wont go in gear untill i release the pedal and depress it again.only THEN will it let me shift, im guessing with a t-5 this is just the nature of the beast.. ? {i need drag radials for the street }

the t-5 is the reason i am conserned about these missed/grinds.
a few more of these and ill need a tko.

 

[mob]

How do you have a tri ax with an mgw handle? Just wondering, mgw handle isnt universal. Anyways, My car can roast 1st gear and ill shift into second and itll keep roasting them so its not normal for the t5. Id try to figure out if its youre tranny or clutch thats making the problem. Try a new firewall adjuster, quadrant, and non adjustable oem cable, and maybe a new clutch. My clutch hooks really high up, probably about 85% off the pedal, and Ive never had a problem powershifting till latley, ive been having alot of trouble getting the car into 4th gear when driving it rough, and 2nd gear also gives me grinding problems, but still goes in.

If its a stock shifter Id also get an aftermarket one, or look at a new handle for the stock one, thats what I have, though I am looing at buying an mgw soon to help out with my powershifting.

EDIT: like 25th said below me, now that i remember my brothers tranny in his 97 cobra did the same thing. If you hit it, you have to wait for the rpms to wait a second or wait till the rpms go down to get it into 2nd gear, his syncro was bad too.

 

[25thmustang]

Similar thing happened to me one day at the track. Car wouldnt go into second unless I let off and granny shifted as the RPMs came down. Turned out to be the synchros in second were going. Got it fixed and hasent been an issue since. Start off narrowing it down with the easy stuff, then work your way to the more advanced!

 

[GREYFOX4INCH]

How do you have a tri ax with an mgw handle? Just wondering, mgw handle isnt universal.

Its not the one that comes on the MGW shifter..
this is the handle they sell that is compatible with stock and all the aftermarket shifters(i think). it is not quite as short as a pro5.0 handle but the tri-ax handle is so tall,this handle is real nice. i had it on my old car with the stock shifter but i swapped this onto my new one with the tri-ax shifter. now the other car has the tri-ax handle on the stock shifter haha nice

http://www.mgwltd.com/mustang_shift_handle.shtml

Anyways, My car can roast 1st gear and ill shift into second and itll keep roasting them so its not normal for the t5.

well, i mean i can do that as well, hell i can granny shift into 2nd and keep em going.
BURNING OUT:
lets say you just dumped the clutch from a stop in 1st. the rpms sky rocket in a split second, so you "powershift" into 2nd.
(i.e. nail the clutch very fast at the exact same moment you are throwing into gear without letting off the gas. {some people cant/dont drive this way})
Will your car go into gear?

usally, the moment i dump the clutch in 1st I go right for 2nd, otherwise your just bouncing of redline in 1st gear. I just want it in 1st for a split second, so when i go to "powershift" the RPM's are already waay up there.
and it will just go forever in 2nd gear after that.
this is what im having trouble doing. but i think the cause of this and the first question i asked about power shifting are one in the same