Manual shifting with Automatics

Ive never tried this before and was just curious about it. Ive heard its better to shift the gears manually when racing with an automatic. I was just wondering, do you just start in 1st and then go and when your ready to shift take your foot off the gas and shift it up to 2nd then step on the gas again? I know with some gears you cant shift without having your foot on the break pedal so I was just wondering if you just shift it while driving and if it will damage your transmition at all. I got great feedback about break standing and dont think ill be trying that at all but from what it sounds like you can just shift manually while driving and it wont damage anything. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, thanks!:flash: :licker: :flash:

if you've got your foot down, it's going to shift at the most optimal point.

shifting manually works, but it's easier, and quicker, to let the trans do the shifting...

depends on the car... your car, the cav, i'd say let it shift on it's own...

Really? Ive heard when racing you want to be able to control the RPM's more. I heard the auto-tranny usually shifts too soon or something. Ahh, well what do I know! :D If anyone has any experience doing this though post some more info if you can, thanks. :)

do 1->2->D

most cars shift early if they're auto even if its floored

Oh, also my friend just told me that if your manually shifting with an automatic, to start in 2nd and then shift to drive because 1st gear does nothing for automatics. I have no idea if this is true or not, it doesnt really sound right but maybe it is, I have no idea, any help would be appreciated, heh. :p

Shifting your auto trans. like that also leads to a shortened life span of the trans.

if you shift it, you're holding to an rpm you think is necessary...

there are different shift maps for how hard you're driving your car.

if you've got it floored, it will take the "hardest" shift map, which has optimized shift points.

you also need to take into account how long it takes for the trans to actually shift once you've shifted the shifter... if you're going to be shifting it, you need to shift "early" like if you know it takes 1/2 sec. to shift, and you want it to shift at 6500rpm or something, YOU need to shift early so the car shifts at the right spot...

Ah, yep, I knew that you were controlling it if you did it this way and that it takes time to shift, but that guy just said it can hurt your transmission so that it doesnt last as long? Is this true? I dont want to do anything that will hurt my car, in the end ill probably just be using drive all the time, this way just sounded fun and I thought I might try it out if it was safe heh. Oh welll... btw, everyone who replied, you guys are amazing, these replies are like chat room speed, heh, thanks so much. :D :D :D

it's not going to destroy the motor, just like me having a few powershifts in my car isn't going to destroy the motor/trans...

it'll do a little damage, not a lot, and definitely not noticable.

What kind of car do you have?

read and see...
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t101166.html

Wow, sweet, sounds like a really nice prelude. Do you have any pics?

i will in a week or so...

going on a cannonball, so i'll have mad pics from there... i'll try to get a few with my digi tonight for everyone...

Ah, sweet. Oh by the way, you always talk about shifting at like 6500... my auto usually shifts at like 3500 I think... Isnt that... really early? Or is that normal?

but see thats when your not driving hard. Go out to a SAFE spot and floor your car and then watch were it sifts

Ya im still trying to find a spot where I can do this thats my problem :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Theres gotta be a freeway somewhere near you. Find a nice straight onramp and pucnh it at a time where traffic is minimal(ie. late at night on a weekday). Still be careful though.

Ill have to try it at a stoplight when some 80 year old guy in an old lincoln town car rolls up. I think we've all done this before. You look over.. he nods.. or checks his hearing aid, either way.. you know its on. Then he feels the wraith of my stock Cavalier.. :smoka: :smoka: :smoka:

O ya dosnt get any more hardcore than that:D

I smell... fear of the Cavalier :p :p :p

ya that or your clutch is burning;)

Bahh! :bandit:

Originally posted by z33_Tec
Ill have to try it at a stoplight when some 80 year old guy in an old lincoln town car rolls up. I think we've all done this before. You look over.. he nods.. or checks his hearing aid, either way.. you know its on. Then he feels the wraith of my stock Cavalier.. :smoka: :smoka: :smoka:
hahaha... some 80 yr old guy in a suit accelerated really hard from the light in his town car... i didn't know he wanted to race! lol

from now on it's ON no matter who it is...


Originally posted by z33_Tec
Ah, sweet. Oh by the way, you always talk about shifting at like 6500... my auto usually shifts at like 3500 I think... Isnt that... really early? Or is that normal?
yea ahhh 3500 is really early, mine shifts at like 5980. but it depends on your tach... what's your redline? it should be right below that.

btw, i never tried shifting from 1>2>D or 2>D, that just sounds really dangerous for the tranny. just D works fine for me.... just make sure you press the accelerator down all the way and hard.

Ahh, ya, see what I mean. Those old guys... you look over and you think they just have tremors or something but their really just opening up their nitrous valves.

Oh by the way, heres just a random question, how hard would it be to beat a stock 96 mustang. They only have 150 hp but their torque is killer. Short of borrowing the 80 year old guy's lincoln town car, would there be any way for a 2000 Cavalier to compete with that kind of torque? Just asking because thats what my friend has and we sort of raced one time at a stoplight but after I burned past him off the line he flew by after he hit like third and I lost all my torque. I have an auto and he has a manual so.. ehhh, im just havin fun you know.

Manually shifting your automatic tranny wont hurt much in the long run.

Doing it constantly yes will shorten the life of it. but every so often its good to beat the shit out of your car....

shows it whos boss.

Dont worry about it... trust me you'll probably sell the car long before the troubles evverr surface. After that its not your problem. :)

Seriously though.. unless you're doing it constantly it wont affect it.

Originally posted by RedNeck383
Seriously though.. unless you're doing it constantly it wont affect it.
i dunno if i should start man... i'll get addicted quick
=)

Originally posted by fatninja19
Shifting your auto trans. like that also leads to a shortened life span of the trans.

no it wont.. the auto is going to shift whether you are moving the shifter or whether the computer shifts it when its in drive, unless you are waiting until the redline to shift compared to whereever the automatic shifts on its own then you wont hurt anything

Originally posted by z33_Tec
Oh by the way, heres just a random question, how hard would it be to beat a stock 96 mustang. They only have 150 hp but their torque is killer.

Ok, first off, if you are talking about a V6, it has about 165-170hp, and its torque is minimal, around 190-200. If you are talking about a GT, it has around 215hp, and 225lbft of torque. If it's a 5spd, it will probably beat your auto cavvy, but if it's an auto, it might be an alright race.

As far as shifting your automatic, you can do it, as long as you know how long it takes for your auto to actually do the gear change, when you move the shifter. My capri has a shift kit in it, so when I select the next gear it does it pretty quickly. When I leave it in D, even if my foot is on the floor, it shifts into 3rd before I hit the 60ft mark. Thats why I manually shift it.

I shift a mostly stock 5.0L with a 3spd auto and shift kit, at about 5500rpm. It pulled a 14.41 @ 94 on street tires, right after driving it 45 miles to the track, and before the tune-up. Letting the tranny shift itself, it ran a 14.89, after sitting for about an hour to cool off.

Rob

Originally posted by mynismo

yea ahhh 3500 is really early, mine shifts at like 5980. but it depends on your tach... what's your redline? it should be right below that.


:hehehe: o/t, but even 5980 sounds REALLY low...but...im jus a honda guy who needs to rev til 100000000000 rpm to hit my power range so...:D

ok...im done here.

Originally posted by KrNxRaCer00


:hehehe: o/t, but even 5980 sounds REALLY low...but...im jus a honda guy who needs to rev til 100000000000 rpm to hit my power range so...:D

ok...im done here.

shifting at 5980 at normal driving is hellof high... if he was racing then it would be low, but hes talking about normal driving

Ahh, ya, mine shifts like 3500-4000 on normal, 35-45 mph normal driving. I was wondering, when im going about 45 mph and then floor it the RPM's jump up real high like the car just shifts back down into second. Is it doing this because im driving it harder and it will then shift back into 3rd at a higher RPM? Ive never had the chance to just floor it off the line and climb gears because I usually run into obstacles(not literally RUN INTO them, but something makes me have to stop) and im still looking for a good place to check that out.

Originally posted by 90gs


shifting at 5980 at normal driving is hellof high... if he was racing then it would be low, but hes talking about normal driving
nope im not i thought you guys were talking about racing.. i prolly shift near 3500-400 normal driving. i just tested out my car and racing it shifts at 6100. keep in mind i redline at 6 and my tach only goes up to 8. if i take it much more past 6 (hard to do cause i have an auto...) it will prolly start killing my engine.

Originally posted by mynismo

nope im not i thought you guys were talking about racing.. i prolly shift near 3500-400 normal driving. i just tested out my car and racing it shifts at 6100. keep in mind i redline at 6 and my tach only goes up to 8. if i take it much more past 6 (hard to do cause i have an auto...) it will prolly start killing my engine.

exactly. i shift at 28-3000 rpm when im jus cruising around, but when i run, i shift at 8200. i got wut u were sayin mynismo :D

Originally posted by KrNxRaCer00


exactly. i shift at 28-3000 rpm when im jus cruising around, but when i run, i shift at 8200. i got wut u were sayin mynismo :D
8200 thats purty high... what does your tach go up to? 10? lucky...
:eshooter:

nah, it only goes up to 9500, with a redline of 8k. the type r an the si's both show up to 10k tho.

i dunno bout "lucky" tho...sorta sucks havin to rev ur car forever to have any REAL useable power...but i do love the sound of it when it's peaking. :D

I was wondering, when im going about 45 mph and then floor it the RPM's jump up real high like the car just shifts back down into second. Is it doing this because im driving it harder and it will then shift back into 3rd at a higher RPM? Ive never had the chance to just floor it off the line and climb gears because I usually run into obstacles(not literally RUN INTO them, but something makes me have to stop) and im still looking for a good place to check that out.

Anyone know if im right on this? :apoke: