WhiteRabbit

I was chatting about shortshifters the other day, and heard a very interesting theory.

noone has denied that they do nothing for your 1/4 mile, and can even hurt, yet for autoX, it was an interesting concept....

This concept was actually that a cut shifter (doesnt the revo sit lower?) and any short shifter that sits lower to the center console will hurt your autoX times, becasue you have a longer reation time from moving your and from the steering wheel to teh shifter (makes sense)

So, the real advantage would be to have a LONGER stick, something that sits as close as possible to the wheel to minimize THAT distance, since you can shift pretty quick no matter what, but moving yoru hand TO the shifter is now the bottleneck....

So the shortshifter that can decrease autocross times was the kind with the linkages, so that the shifter still sits closer to your hand than my cut shifter, (or the revo SS was it?) yet still decreases shift throw.

of course i told him that I dont autoX, and we agreed about the quarter, but if anyone here is thinking about autocross and wants to cut their shifter.... (or put in the revo?)

I was fascinated, thought id share this new iformation i recieved with you guys......

FamilyMan

You know, a very large portion of my time AutoXing, my right hand is on the shifter. What does that mean?

WhiteRabbit

usually me too, on the road, intuitively. but when im going nuts on a mountain road, i usually have both my hands on teh wheel. I assumed it would be the same on an autocross course.

dunno tho. cant really support this father than i have, I dont autoX, tho I would love to try my hand at it, spend some time taking driving lessons at it. reading just doesnt compare with real experience [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

anyways, that was the theor, but you know my argument was always that SS was for feel.

we'll see how it pans out in the end tho, the topic is far from over between me and the other guy.

Intruder

I race with both hands on the wheel, and yes it is very true, thats why the civic si's shifter is on the dash. Also why rally car sequentials are mounted on or near the steering wheel. Problem with longer shifter is longer throw, so the dc sports is good cause it shortens the shift distance and keeps the shaft length the same. Then again most the autox courses only have a few shiftpoints in them, usually just stay in second most the time. Peace

LikeWEEEEEEEEEE

only in parkinglots maybe? i surely dont think youd do that flying blindly through mudpits etc.

FamilyMan

What? What do mudpits have to do with autocrossing. I assumed we were all refering to Solo II. There's usually no mudpits involved there. As Intruder mentioned, most time is spent in 2nd gear. What the heck are you talking about WEEEEE?



oops that one was blury.

BigHippo22

iTrader: (1)

I have the revo ss and those kumo bushings. I like the way it feels, but i don't really know whether or not it makes me faster...I definately don't notice being any slower. I really don't think it could make much of difference moving you hand two extra inches, honestly watch how it takes to move your hand 2 inches....it's not really enough time to debate over IMHO

Mbow

Oh man, here we go again! I haven't decided if I am going to participate yet.

Either way, you're talking about fractions of a second.

I don't autox either. I wish I had the time and resources to do something like that. Anyhow, from what I have read about it, most courses can be run in 2nd gear. I don't know how stiff the competition is at these meets, but it would have to be pretty darn stiff to be worrying about a few tenths to a half second.

nookiemonster

you know what I noticed? weee never knows what he's talking about. all I see him do is flame other people...[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/IMG]

SatinSilver2k1

iTrader: (1)

i agree...interesting theory...look at where the shifter is in the WRC cars...it's right by the steering wheel...granted they only have to push up or down to shift the gears but they have minimized the distance of hand travel...

Jon

I chirped twice last night going into 3rd gear when we were doing qualifying rounds for the sport compact car competition at the drag strip. Doesn't that mean overall my E.T. is about a tenth faster?? can somebody explain? i'm trying to explain what i mean but dammit i can't figure it out into a coherent argument

WhiteRabbit

kinda off topic, but chirping yoru tires actually hurts yoru performance.

your engine needs to get power to the wheels, and the wheels to the ground.

chirping helps you go faster just like locking your wheels helps you stop. less friction, so less power transmittance.

to maximize your speed, no matter what kind of driving you are doing, you need to drive smoothly. smooth driving will keep the most even balence of force on all of your tires, essential for quick cornering and faster acceleration.

this is actually very well discussed by mbow and myself and some others in an old shortshifter topic. also, I dont know if any cornering theory has ever been discussed here, but thats also a good read it does absolutely relate to how you can improve your quarter mile.

I suggest searching out that shortshifter thread, and also for autocross, or autoX, to see if there are any older threads that discuss some tips and tricks that good autoXers use.

FamilyMan

What was your ET last night?

Speedracer32

iTrader: (5)

i have a Pro 1 short shifter and i notice a difference when racing
i drove someone else car and missed a gear from releasing the clutch to fast cause of the longer throw
i think it was a good invest and people don't know i have it...half the time I forget i have it cause i can't see it