Show off your shift light install!

I saw this pretty trick shift light setup from Autometer and was trying to think where you could install it WITHOUT ANY PERMANENT modifications to the interior components. The front half can be swiveled around to point towards the driver even if mounted in a less than ideal place. So where to mount one of these?

 

A-piller? That's where I see most of them

 

I went and sat in the car and this seemed like the only spot to mount using existing holes. It would be above your right leg and you'd "view" it from below the right steering wheel spoke and the wheel itself. Seems less than ideal.

 

If you have an interest in gauges, do an SOS pod with a Raptor shift light.




As far as the stand-alone Autometer unit, since you don't want to permanently modify any interior component, you could try velcro or two-sided tape.

 

Here's where I installed my Raptor.....

Mike

 

yeah i say double side tape it onto the dash above the speedometer, that way it is in your veiw and you can see the RPM

 

Coming soon!

 

Here's mine.

 

I don't understand shift lights when you have a computer to prevent over-rev-ing and ears to hear the engine.
Not to mention a big tach.

 

Yeap....this is mine too

 

Here's mine...front and center [between the two main gauges]

I forgot to say: Raptor performance shift light. Black case with blue LEDs = BRIGHT !!!

 

My answers to these questions, with regard to...

A computer on board---it's still better to shift beforehand than relying on the rev limiter. Also, bouncing it off the limiter does slow you down (IF you are racing...)

Ears to hear the engine---Honestly, to me the car doesn't seem to get any louder at higher rpm than mid-range (~4K). The car seems to just have a nice constant sound. That, combined with the quick revving nature of the car, make it hard to tell that it's time to shift

The big tach---When driving one handed, it's hard to see the tach. So, combined with the reason as above (ears), by the time I look at the tach, I go "oh crap, I need to shift NOW".

So, I have the light set at 5K (redline being 6K). That way, I know that I'm getting close. I use it more as a warning light than a shift-now light. But that's because I don't race my car, but rather have accidentally gotten close to redline when trying to merge onto highways, etc. So, it's just my safety.

...plus, it looks cool IMO.

 

I concur.....

 

Ears...
My old ears must be used to gauging revs.
Tach... I have no trouble seeing it I just don't look at it any more than a glance (like a light).
So...
I have a tune with a 6500rpm cutoff so I won't hurt anything and I shift way before that for maximum acceleration.
Stock cuts out at 6250, so you are all set if you don't race. You don't have to worry about momentary loss of power (just shift!!!).
(PS... 5K? With an overhead cam set-up that's pretty conservative.)

 

I'm used to gauging revs too (I've had quite a few cars with stick shifts), but for some reason the S197's just rev REAL quick and without a lot of the "stop straining me and shift please" noise that some other cars make

5K is very conservative, but like I said I use it more as a safety light. But, 5K also seems to be the sweet spot when looking at dyno graphs, so it works out well in that respect too.

 

3M makes a double-sided tape that's great for mounting stuff. It's called Heavy Duty, and it has a red backing. Wal-Mart has it. I've used it to mount a lot of stuff over the years, including fog lights, and it works great. Plus, you can get it off when the time comes.

 

Autometer makes the DPSS as a gage also but I have no idea what I'd put in the second pod on the SOS 2-pod setup running a N/A car with the IUP cluster. An A/F ratio gage would be interesting but probably not worth the return on investment.

 

Here's picture of my DPSS shift light, in pilor pod, later on I'll be putting my gages in a SOS tri pod.

 

Exactly! The shift light is to remind you to shift at peak power/torque, not to prevent you from over reving the engine (that's the rev limiter's job). These motors run fine high in the RPM range up tp redline but peak power comes in between 4600 and 5000 and then starts falling off. The idea is to shift at/near peak HP (maybe a little higher) and you should be right about where you need to be for near peak TQ in the rpm range upon completion of your up-shift if you rev-match.

 

I don't want to highjack the thread, but quickly...
My car maintains peak HP from 5K to over 6K.
If I shift @6K my next gear ends up @4K+ and my peak torque is between 4K and 5K (my sweet spot to grab the next gear).