What is speed shifting?

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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On sticks that is. Supposedly shifting gears while keeping the rpms up? How much faster is acceleration and how dangerous to your gearbox?
 

Sacotool

Platinum Member
Feb 26, 2000
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It's when you shift without taking your foot off the gas. Very bad for your drive-train:)
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
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But oh-so much fun! I don't leave the gas floored, but I don't let it up all the way either.

Viper GTS
 

IBhacknU

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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there's a 'sweet' spot on some manual trans cars where you can shift without the clutch
 

bcterps

Platinum Member
Aug 31, 2000
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I believe speed shifting is basically shifting without touching your clutch. It allows you to shift faster but I doubt its good for your transmission.

--Ben
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,514
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Speed shifting is shifting while omitting the clutch. Basically you ram the stick into the next gear without pressing the clutch pedal. Very hard on a gearbox, esp one not designed for it. CART indy cars only use the clutch for 1st gear and downshifts, going up they just ram it into gear. Of couse thouse cars are designed with that in mind, and they use a sequential "motorcycle style" shift pattern.

Zenmervolt

EDIT: Dang it, everyone and his brother beat me to posting. :)
 

yakko

Lifer
Apr 18, 2000
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Speed shifting is not shifting without the clutch. It is shifting without lifting off of the gas like Viper GTS said.
 

nickdakick

Platinum Member
Jun 27, 2000
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<< there's a 'sweet' spot on some manual trans cars where you can shift without the clutch >>


Actually there's a sweet spot in every gear(@ a certain RPM, depends on the engine, all gear-wheels are spinning @ same RPM) where you can shift without the clutch, difficult to hit though. Takes a lot of experience with your car but it works.
 

Zipperhead

Golden Member
Jan 30, 2000
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i had an '89 lx 5.0 which i bought brand new when i was 18.i went through
11 yes 11 tranny's and 3 rear ends.its a good thing the ford dealer i got it from was my next door neighbor.never i say never let off the gas when you shift........just don't miss a gear!

 

perry

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2000
4,018
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Power shifting is not lifting your foot off the gas. Never heard the term speed shifting used before..

Most good truck drivers can change gears w/o the clutch..
 

IBhacknU

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,855
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<< Takes a lot of experience with your car but it works >>

That's what I thought. Used to know the exact MPH in my Civic to get from 1st to 4th w/o using the clutch.
 

Windogg

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
10,241
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Power and speed shifting can be really fun expecially when it's not your car. I was with my brother at the dealer when his car was coming out of service. We were ready to get in when we heard a skid. Seems some idiot employee decided to drive like jerk around the lot when he plows broadside into my brother's car. The impact set off the one of the side airbags and the door we a total loss. At first the moron pretended he had &quot;lost control&quot; and the episode was not his fault. Boy was my brother pissed. Some stupid salesman also tried to talk down the damage and say it was &quot;nothing to get angry about&quot;. The salesmanager stepped in and gave a suitable replacement vehicle.

For the next week we had a vehicle to &quot;experiment&quot; on. We brushed up on heal &amp; toe, did starts from red lights with the engine just below redline, handbrake turns, you name it. Power shifting and speed shifting were part of the usual regimen. We drove with the traction control off the entire time and left a good amount of rubber around town. There were times where we could barely breathe because the clutch smelled so bad.

Do we feel bad? Hell no.

Windogg
 

IBhacknU

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,855
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speaking of pintos, I remember my friend racing down the street (30ish) and throwing his moms Pinto into reverse (and hitting the gas). MOST HORRIBLE SOUND I'VE EVER HEARD. Screeching tires plus a very unhappy trans.

It got old after 3 or 4 times :)
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,514
34
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I always thought speed shifting and power shifting were the same, and that letting the engine rev between gears was sidestepping the clutch. My Ohio &quot;different term for everything&quot; thing is coming into play again. I think the exact semantics depend on exactly where you are in the country and what terms your particular group of friends uses.

Zenmervolt
 

Bojo

Senior member
Jun 17, 2000
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All I can say is, changing gears without using the clutch is THE stupidest thing ever. I did it a few times in my car and it just aint worth it. I can guarantee that I could change gears just as quickly using the clutch as someone &quot;speed shifting&quot; or whatever. What a load of TOSS!

 

Soybomb

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2000
9,506
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If you ever loose a clutch and need to get home it doesn't hurt to know how to shift without using the clutch. If the clutch dies in my jeep I can start from stops with the starter and then upshift pretty easily, downshiting is a bit harder :)

Speed shifting is shifting without letting off the gas.
 

fallenoncrack

Banned
Dec 19, 2000
1,747
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never mind speed shifting, what you need to do is a NEUTRAL DROP in an automatic vehicle. lmao... GM had a commercial with this guy in a car, foot hard down on the gas and he kept shifting from Drive - Reverse every 3 seconds, the car was taking a pounding but the point was that the GM cars are SOLID.

I use to drive the LIVING heck out of the rental cars I got. Damn it was fun, I had full insurance on the cars and just bag drove the crap outta them.

hehe do not do this with your own vehicle!