careful with that powershifting...I burned my 2nd gear synchronizer a bit(was OK first 10-15 times, then 3 of 5 next shift was like the lever hit a wall, wouldnt go in till rpm dropped. I changed to royal purple and it 'helped', but the tranny is still hurt...suggest going to better oil before beating on it too much- that stuff really works...before changing oil, couldnt reliably get 2nd over 4k, no problem at 5k now, and the thing about 'falls' into third(even with the rubbery stock shifter)...I never was much of a mechanic in a can believer, but with a hurt tranny, figured why not- third immedediately was improved 100% and second got better within a couple days driving...rarely hangs up at all now- but I know its still not what it should be. If I ever get another one, I'll change to royal purple as soon as its broke in a bit, and before getting to abusive with it- its good stuff in my book.


btw, although getting rubber in second and barking third is pretty fun, it didnt work out for me-shifting at 6k I was running 14.0 somethings @101, but shifting at 4700~5k ran 13.78 @103...my car is still 100% stock, so 'your results may vary', but thats my 2 cents

 

My car consistantly does 12.8@106 launching at 5000-5500 and powershifting a 5800. Car always shifts great! I'm going to race at a 1/8 mile track this weekend and I'll try re-setting my shift light to 6100 and see if it makes any difference.

 

Not yet. I waited til I got my n2o kit and now I have it but I need a few more items I need before I start spraying.

 

Great info! How long have you had experience powershifting? And when you burned that second gear (sorry to hear about it) did you miss the gear a couple times, or any thing else that could have been human error or was it just mechanical failure?
Nice times for stock! I did a best of 14.3 stock, but I had little experience with a manual and shift points, but I am getting better. Second is easy to catch, but I only grabed 3rd once, but I did get sideways on dry road that time.

 

First car with a stick, had a couple manual trucks, but just trucks The mustang just begs to be flogged a bit at the track. the first couple times, it simply did not go into gear until I let off the gas and it dropped to under 4k- but I think the damage was already done at that point, and twice after ground the hell out of it(too quick at letting the cluch out even though shifter was 'stuck').

another comment- getting pumped up at the dragstrip(new to me- what a blast) and adrenaline/whatever, not only was I shifting with it to the floor, but I noticed I was pulling the lever in second all the way till I shifted into third, and was pushing on it thru the lights...I gotta guess that maybe shoving the shifter forks against the gears(I understand the stock shifter dont have stops on it) that may be as much or more of a damaging thing to do as shifing at redline with the gas pedal mashed too the floor...is it just me or has anyone else noticed that at the strip its hard to floor it without stomping like youre trying to shove it thru the floor...I know its just a friggin analog sensor on the pedal, pushin harder aint gonna do a bit of good, but hard not too- for me the need to pull like hell on the shifter occurs too...one of the aftermarket shifters with stop bolts for me would be wise, or at least a short throw conversion to take away a little of the 'leverage' you get with the stock throw shifter, and limit how much force you can put on the internal forks/linkage...

after messing it up, for several weeks, it would just refuse to go into second at times(even at idle RPM) and felt 'notchy'. The royal purple got rid of the notchy feeling right away, and within a week of driving the hanging up in second pretty much went away(wether it was the oil, or just damaged parts lapping back in cant say for sure, but for sure- third gear was night and day different immediately, so gotta say it was the oil)

have fun- BTW, newtakeoff.com has zero mile stock trannys for 799...I'm looking at getting one, a few more quarts of royal purple, and a shifter for mine

 

Wow. That does suck. But it sounds like it was human error that caused the trans to fail (it could happen to any of us), so far it seems the trans will do the deed as long as I don't grind, miss or force anything.
The first thing is to get comfortable at the track. My first run I always feel gitty, but after that I settle in some. It looks like I will be going to the track Fri. the 25th (HRP), if I feel good enough I might give powershifting a shot, if not then I will save it for another day and practice more. Thanks for your help!

 

How's the practicing coming Dean? Been doing the same thing lately, some days good, some not so good. I don't have alot of open road around here to really open it up so it's been more of a semi-power shift. I can rarely get her about 4k rpms before another light, or car ends up in front of me...

 

Well Al, I finally grew a set!! Yesterday, I took 1st up to 5000, I was not at WOT but fairly close. Punched the clutch in, nailed 2nd, pop it and the tires let out a mean SCREECH (full fuel tank too)! No chirp here! Even with the tire wanting to break loose and go into an all out spin there was a noticeable increase in the way the power band hits compaired to just regular shifting really fast. The way 2nd came in felt like I was launching in first!! I'm hooked! I just have to be careful and not do this all the time. Maybe this week before I go to the track I might do 1 or 2 WOT 1-2 run. I don't think I will do a 2-3 powershift, 3rd is the one I miss usually at the track, so I think the added stress will cause me to miss it even more so I don't want to risk it untill I have atleast torque limiters. I hope you get some open road Al, learning to do this is like buying a new mod to me!
The way I am working on this is with my everyday driving I always leave my foot on the gas, no to the floor, but when I reach the point I want to shift, say at 2500 rpm's, I leave the gas in the position it is (usually about 1/4 throttle) push the clutch, shift, and release the clutch. My shifts have cleaned up too compaired to heel to toe (if that is the right term), and there seems to be no added stress on the trans at that rpm range.

 

That's outstanding! Sounds like I was going about it the right way, just need to continue practicing... There is an area down by me called the Pinelands, supposed to be the area that the old mobsters "dropped off" their extra baggage from atlantc city. lol. If they haven't found Jimmy Hoffa yet I bet they don't frequent the roads very much.

 

Sounds sweet!
I changed my oil yesterday, so just have to clean the filter and rotate the tires (rears are getting less and less tread, if you know what I mean.) Then if this Tropical storm in the gulf doesn't foul my plans for Fri. it is off to the track. The bummer is I haven't gotten enough free road lately to give the powershifting another strong go.

 

And just to benefit those that dont know...someone that can powershift, can easily peel 2 to 3 10ths off their 1/4 mile ET over someone that doesn't.

My '83 is a handful with the 5-speed at the track, and I love every minute of it! Launching at 5500 on spray, and powershifting second is one of the true joys in life.

 

2-3 10th's, nice. Is that just doing the 1-2 shift or 1-2-3? I also hope my street tires will hold so I may benifit from a powershift. If they break loose, good chance they will, then my times will suffer. I just hope the track is preped well. I also will get my tires rotated, the rears are almost down to the tread bars, but the fronts are almost new (about 7000 miles) so the added tread might help on the rear.

 

I got back from the track. And I would like to thank all you that helped coach me on this. I got a perfect 1-2 powershift, with mad wheel spin, and got sideways bad enough that I had to let off. Then the track started to cool (sun down). Ran again with a sweet 1-2 powershift, tires walked a little to the right but I stayed in it and pulled a 13.4@106. Hot lapped it, launched, another great 1-2 powershift, some wheel spin but not as bad, then decided to go for my dreaded 2-3 shift, I was feeling good so I went for it......Perfect 2-3 powershift! But only grabbed another 13.4@106! All my runs I have to baby it out of the hole, I think a moped would take me in the 60ft, lol. And I got wheel spin, not chirp, on all 1-2 and most 2-3 shifts. So for me to get in the 12's on my setup now would mean DR or slicks. All I can do is keep tryin.

 

Forgot to add, my 60ft times for those 13.4 runs and my best 13.3 is a 2.1+. Gotta have traction.