How do you shift?
 

some times I'm pretty sure I shift perfectly and this is the max get out of my FD, but I though its not a bad idea to see how everybody else shifts on their best run!
Please be specific about what rmp you launch on and so on thru all gears.
I'm pretty sure I can learn more.
I drive a 94 FD, PFC, radiator, 12psi, downpipe, catback, front mount inter cooler, 265/40/18 on the back. I should run some where around 320RWHP.

NORMAL
gas... clutch... shift... let off clutch... gas

if you wanna go REALLY FAST
gas... shift... gas... shift... gas... traps

if you do the 2nd of the two... you will eventually have to replace something.
you will probably be better off asking someone at your local track.

will

they say the best way to shift is power shifting= never let off the gas.

i shift mad quick,yo.

I release the throttle, push in the clutch, select the appropriate gear, release cutch, apply pressure to throttle.

I shifted from 2nd to 5th the other night while playing with a 360 Modena. That sucked.

By far, the best way to shift is power shifting. It's pretty scary the first few times you do it but you eventually get used to it.

It goes like this...throttle all the way to the floor, shift really fast (8,000 rpms for me) and simultaneusly stab the clutch (really fast) without letting up on the throttle then kaboooom!, you don't lose any power what-so-ever.

I've been doing this at the drag strip and on the street for quite a long time with no ill effects.

There will be ill effects....EVENTUALLY.
If done only every one in a while though it can make it later than sooner but still, with this method you will be saying goodbye to your clutch sooner. Without the clutch goodbye to your synchros.

^ I do the same, but only when racing which is rare...

Well...you are right, sort of, but with the right clutch and reinforcements it shouldn't be too big of a problem if done right. My fifth gear synchro has been broke for around 3 years and yet to break another but I could be lucky. I still think that with the right reinforcements and clutch you should be fine for the occasional power shifting. For me it is more than occansional, but I do have a daily driver just in case. I definetly wouldn't recomend doing it with the stock clutch or nothing to stabilize your differential.

what is the best and safest RPM to shift at?? I raced a few of my friends on the highway on sunday night and I shifted at around 7600 RPM.. I've heard some people shift at 8200?

I would say shift just before the buzz goes off. This will drop you right back into the height of the powerband in the next gear.

the best time to shift is when you feel your car not making as much power. basically, if you look at a power curve from a dyno... you will see it drop off at a specific RPM (different for every car). could be 7500, could be 8500... it just depends.

when the 2nd turbo kicks in you should feel it. as the RPMs keep building, you will eventually be able to feel less acceleration. when you feel that... THAT is when you should shift.

WHY... because even though you are still accelerating, you would be accelerating MORE at a lower RPM in a different GEAR.

this can be wrong sometimes

there is cases in certain cars that if you shift as soon as the power starts to fall that you revs will fall to far down (out of the powerzone) and you will wasting time getting your car back into the power zone

^ Exactly what I do, and the car has no "waiting period", just push your head back feel.

ALI

I believe revmatching is the fastest method of shifting.

Its just very tricky to do.

Hmmm I wonder since my 2nd turbo doesn't kick in, if I shifted at 5K RPM's throughout all my gears so I would have boost I would get a faster 1/4 time...hmmmm

Download the CarTest program and look at a "Drive Power in Gear" graph (or perhaps search for one on the web). The graph shows the torque available at the wheels (y-axis) at various vehicle speeds (x-axis) in each gear (there is a separate line for each gear). If your car is geared such that the lines cross, shift where they cross. If the lines don't cross, shift at redline. The idea is to maximize the torque available at the wheels at all times.

I attached a thumbnail of such a graph from the cartestsoftware.com web site.

Note: Using this method to choose shift points requires an accurate dyno graph and a bunch of other variables. No one has perfect data for all of these things, so you shouldn't expect perfect results. As an example. the power curve that CarTest has for the RX-7 is pretty good but not perfect. So it's reccomendations are going to be pretty good, but not perfect.

-Max

wow, so many ideas. After reading this I actually tried power shifting on civic DX (105 lbs of torque), poor car was going surprisingly fast. I may try this on my FD to see how it feels. 2 things bother me with power shifting: 1) Clutch damage 2) possibility of going way over the red line.
Can someone explain what revmatching is?
-ray