I'm a Little Disappointed...

[Dan@showstopper]

Originally Posted by mhood

Do you power shift? Have any suggestions for ways to improve my car's shifting performance or is it all operator error? As I said, I was racing my 1969 Plymouth Road Runner at Whitehouse in Tyler back in the early '70s and never had any problem at all power shifting and/or simply shifting quickly and I don't recall ever missing a gear...especially 2nd.

I've power shifted it to a 12.6 in the quarter with just an intake. I've been to the track 3 times and power shifted each time. The first time was with the stock shifter when I ran a 12.7 and didn't have an issue. You just need to yank the stick with authority.

[lakersftbl69]

My camaro was the first car I owned manual I thought it was pretty easy

[BTex68]

When I first got it I would shift like a 16 yr old drivers ed student. Friends would laugh and call me a newb even tho I've owned many manuals. I let them drive it and the same thing happens to them. Always good for a laugh!

for me it works smoothest when I'm getting on it. Giving it enough gas when shifting has made the big difference. I've never missed gears. The 1-4 thing, when it automatically skips gear, is a pain in the ass a bit. (but it saves gas and is good for the country. LOL!!!) Just gotta shift when the RPMs are above about 2k and that doesn't happen. It only happens when I'm taking off super slow. When you're moving slow it's a bit clunky.
I've been able to "get used to it" so my passengers aren't spilling their drinks. And it feels like it's partly a break in time issue. Getting better. Im still under 7k from last April.
Summary: Works best if you drive it like you stole it. (which can be bad in many cases - 2 tickets and 2 warnings since april :( poor me )

[mhood]

Originally Posted by Dan@showstopper

You just need to yank the stick with authority.

Oh, I yank the stick with authority for sure...makes the fail when it doesn't get into 2nd or when it doesn't find 3rd really epic. As some have suggested, maybe it's individual cars that have problems. Maybe you got a good "copy" (to coin a photographer's term) and I didn't.

[wylde1]

+1 on the barton short throw. I got the pistol grip version and it's badass. I've never shifted anything faster

[Rogey89]

Originally Posted by SlingShot

May sound silly , but I've found it best to treat it like a woman ... Don't try and force it, go easy and it slips right in.

[Steve Dallas]

I've had no real problems with the manual transmission. I've had a few missed shifts when I was bracket racing from 2nd to 3rd, but that was my technique, not the hardware. One thing I have had problems with is the 4th to 5th shift under heavy acceleration, but I think I'm mis-shifting there too and getting too close to the reverse gate.

[c-dub]

If you're driving it cold and trying to slam gears right away it's gonna grind a little because it's too cold. I agree with an earlier post: just treat the thing like a woman, don't slam her around until she's good and warmed up :P