3 - 2 shift at 100+ MPH??????

[MES]

Just got back from Moroso and had the unfortunate experience of a 3rd to 2nd gear shift at 100+ MPH when I wanted to go to 4th. Car is fine but I have a question. Is there any built in safety mechanism in the drive train to prevent damage? I thought I read here before that the clutch was made to slip under such high loads to prevent blowing the motor. When it happened I seen the tach go to about 7,000 RPM and the trany made kind of a strange noise kind of like a spring being wound up. I was not under throttle at the time had my foot completely off the accelerator. The reason I think there is one because the car did not decelerate hard it was just kind of coasting. I have seen others do this stunt and come out fine as well.

BTW 2nd time to the track my times were not that good but getting a little better 12.7's 2.06 60' There was another 97 GTS there I don't know if he is on this board but he was getting 119-120 MPH trap speeds to my 113

with the same mods. I'm granny shifting and spinning off the line both of which I'm trying to work on

 

[TOOOFST]

I might just get a dyno test to satisfy.Most people are happy with their cars seeing 425+ with those mods, and whatever on the 1/4 mile.MPH at the track does show HP,as long as your driving the car.Get that drag race video to lower times.Its your MPH that needs some serious attention.Even if you smoke em off the line you should be at 118-120MPH,foot to floor ,shifting 5500+-.See ya up there

 

[FikseGTS]

MES, was it crowded tonight? I had planned on going tonight, but ended up going last night when some of us rented the track.... which lane were you running in? the right always seems stickier for me...

im sure your car is fine.... do you live in west palm beach? 2.06 isn't that bad of a launch..... im sure if you working on the shifting you'll be hitting low 12's at 118+...

you should be making more power than me.... it sounds like your VEC1 might not be dialed in correctly.... take it out and run it at the track on friday, see what happens...

or you can bring the car by my place and we can run it with the GTEC....


Brooks

 

[MES]

Yea I think I need to get it dynoed to see if the car is low on power or if the driver needs some improvement (95% sure its the driver)

Don't think its the car unless it has some internal problems, has new plugs, wires, seems to run fine.

I'm going to disconnect the VEC1 and run again on Saturday it's going to be a Hot Rod Saturday should be some nice cars out. Remind me NOT to go back on a Wednesday. Was very crowded. The only reason why I went on Wednesday was because I wanted to get a lot of runs in but only got 4 (thought there would not be many people) tried both lanes seemed about the same to me.

I think its my shifting - lift completely off gas, disengage clutch, shift, re-engage clutch, nail it. I think each shift takes me at least 1/2 sec to complete. But so many others seem to get 118-120 trap speeds I'm stuck at 113 don't know why?

I'm out west in Royal Palm Beach (actually the Acreage) about 15 miles south of Moroso.

But I still want to know if there any built in safety mechanism in the drive train to prevent damage? Anyone?

Here are two runs one from last week and one from tonight. The 1/8 mile MPH is 3 1/2 MPH different but the 1/4 is the same. Looks to me like poor/inconsistant shifting?

60' 2.19 2.06
1/8 8.42 8.37
MPH 90.51 87.02
1/4 12.75 12.74
MPH 112.42 112.79

 

[TOOOFST]

Are you going to disconnect the VEC1 wiring,or just set air/fuel dials to 0/0 settings(should be stock setting).I just installed unit and plan on dyno test myself?Here's a shift tech tip,It takes the force,you gotta believe.When full throttle is engaged,pull very,very ******* the shifter toward next gear,so when you touch that clutch (bang)she's in gear faster than you can back off the clutch.I pull nearly as hard as I can (you'll never pull out of gear).This is used for all gears,as soon as 2nd is engaged,immediatly shift elbow down and tight to your side and start pushing hard,you'll lower odds of missing that tough 3rd gear and be there .10's faster.Now you can focus on swiftly release/engage of gas/clutch.If your totally paronoid,try this on any ****** with a stick ,works just the same.

 

[MES]

I disconnected (unplugged wires) the VEC1 today and reset the computer. Scheduled a dyno for tomorrow to see how it does. I'll post the result here.

Thanks TOOOFST for the shifting tip I will try it. Right now when I shift I have my hand resting on the shifter, push the clutch all the way to the floor then move shifter, release clutch completely then hit the gas. I've been trying the heal to toe shifting (I think that's what its called) just takes some practice I guess.

BTW this is the first stick shift (manual) car I have ever owned or driven, what a way to learn hehe

 

[Bob Woodhouse]

Many years now of hearing about missed 3-4 upshifts, finding 2nd instead. Not pretty when the clutch gets fully released. No, the car has no free-wheeling capability. To address this we have taken the original shift mechanism and modified it to increase the shift gate pre-load. The result is no more 3 to 2 shifts when your intent is 3 to 4. There are no down sides to doing this. The neutral position in the gate is the same, however the spring load to the left is greater keeping the 3-4 shift on it's original intended path. The price for one of these is less than $100.00 exchange. E mail Nancy Shanno at [email protected] for exact pricing, details and photos.

 

[RED 97 GTS]

I TOOK MY 97 VIPER BACK TO THE TRACK LAST NITE AND AND MY BEST WAS A 12.01 AT 122 MPH 60 FT WAS 1.95. MY CAR HAS SVP HEADERS,K&N FILTERS,SMOOTH TUBES,3:55 GEAR,1.7 ROLLER ROCKERS, MOPAR COMPUTER,BORLA EXH.AND NO CATS. I DID ALL THIS WORK AND MY CAR BONE STOCK EXCEPT FOR SMOOTH TUBES AND FILTERS RAN 11.92 BEST AND 12.2 WORST AND I RAN 1.8S 60 FOOT TIMES. NOW IT JUST WONT HOOK UP FOR THE FIRST TWO GEARS. I THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING A VEC1 COMPUTER WOULD THIS BE BETTER. I HAVE A MOPAR COMPUTER FOR SALE IF ANYONE INTERESTED IT ONLY HAS AROUND 800 MILES ON IT. I THOUGHT MY CAR SHOULD RAN AROUND A MID 11 SEC. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK.

 

[JonB]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MES:
...had the unfortunate experience of a 3rd to 2nd gear shift at 100+ MPH when I wanted to go to 4th. Car is fine but..... Is there any built in safety mechanism in the drive train to prevent damage? ......When it happened I seen the tach go to about 7,000 RPM and the trany made kind of a strange noise kind of like a spring being wound up. I was not under throttle at the time had my foot completely off the accelerator. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Its not whwre your throttle was so much, as what you did with the clutch. Did you fully release the pedal? I hope you have not bent any valves..........the overrev to 7000+ can certainly float/hammer the valves. There is no 'safety mechanism'

Did you drag race successfully afterwards?

BobW's shift-gate mod keeps HIM from blowing shifts, so it should help anybody! HeeHee !

 

[Tenney]

Another thing to consider trying is a palm-away position for 3-4 change. This places your right thumb in the down position and can help insure a more positive shift.