Hey guys,

Is there any way to disable the 1st gear lockout without tearing open the tranny?

89 GTU.

 

i was not aware that there was a 1st gear lockout, both of my 2nd gens you could downshift into 1st at any speed, maybe the trannys were just old and worn but i havent heard of a lockout

 

never heard of it - I can slip my tranny into 1st above 5mph with matched revs very smoothly.

 

i can get into first above 5mph, sometimes its harder than others depending on how fast im going, but i can still do it... i did notice it became easier when i put in redline mt90 synthetic tranny fluid though

 

autocrossing at low speeds is a pain when you want to downshift from 2nd to 1st in tight corners. Is that what you're referring to?

I'd imagine a lightweight flywheel that spins down quicker would help as well.

 

1) The better you match engine speed to gear speed, the better it will downshift.
2) The better shape your synchronizers are in, the better it will downshift.
3) Synthetic gear lube helps.

 

Learn how to rev match.


-Ted

 

werd

 

yeah, but you can't rev match on a cone course when hard braking from 70 - 8 MPH & downshifting to first. I can feel poor_red_neck's pain.

 

you can if you practice

 

hell half the time just a big healthy throttle blip will do it enough.

 

It's called "heel-and-toe", and it's an advanced braking technique.
I don't expect everyone to understand or be able to do this.


-Ted

 

Werd... But once you understand how to do it, you'll always blip...downshift...blip...downshift, brake/blip...downshift...

BAMMM easy.

-Markus

 

In 10 years all cars will have "auto-stick" trannys with a little up/down selector lever.
Then all this will be moot..

 

Ted beat me to it (again). You need to learn how to heel-toe. This basically involves using the ball of your foot to push on the brake pedal and swinging your heel out to blip the throttle as you downchange. It is a difficult technique to master and takes lots of practice, but it makes a huge difference to the speed and smoothness of downchanging if you get it right.

And there's no 1st gear lock-out of any kind.

 

you can practive pretty easily even on the street, just keep it very slow and get used to the motion. try it in autocross and use that as your practice arena for quick movements.

 

Porsche and VW had some "auto stick" transmissins a long time ago. They aren't very common anymore though.

 

they're not? i guess you're referring to somthing other than titronics and other manumatic systems...

 

Sounds kinky...


-Ted

 

My dad was telling me how he used to have one. He says that is just like a manual except you dont have a clutch. Sounds interesting, but he said he hated it.

 

the vw had one I know of that had a pressure switch on the stick so that when you put your hand on it it would be like pressing on the clutch pedal.


So yes, he is refering to something different The ones he means are fully manual transmissions, the ones you're reffering to are not, they are computer manual on an auto tranny.

 

There are also computer autos on manual tranny, where it's a normal gearbox inside but a computer rev matches and moves the gears.

I also find it very hard to practice heel-toe braking on the street, because my brake pedal is too high off the floor unless I'm giving it a good hard mash. While this is fine on a racetrack, I don't like to do it on the street.

 

What does it matter what the revs are at when the clutch is in


I'm not even talking about racing... haha...

I just noticed it today... Was coasting to a stop light. Went straight from third to 1st (well tried) Clutch was in, and I was going maybe 25. I knew I was going to a stop then immediately go... so I just put it in 1st.