Extreme Driving

When you change up a gear before it is needed, it can be termed as a Short Shift. In other words,  before using up the previous gear, you change up to a higher gear.

Why and when do you want to do this? This question is really valid because short shift almost always mean to say that you will be loosing some power and torque instantly due to being in a higher gear than it is absolutely necessary.

Tere are two main reasons for a short shift

1. The first reason is to purposefully take away torque from the wheels. Suppose it is a bump/slippery curve and it seems to be unable to utilize the full torque of the gear you would normally be in, so it might be a safer bet to be in a higher gear to reduce the likelihood of  a sudden wheel-spin, etc.
2. The second (and more common reason) is to save the time taken to change gear. May be you have a tight 2nd gear left-hand bend, followed by a long straight. You are at about 2/3 revs as you approach the apex. You can either stay in the second gear and use the extra torque to accelerate as quickly as possible or you can shift up to the 3rd gear before you need to start accelerating and sacrifice the extra acceleration for the time saving in not having to change gear.

An assessment has to be made as to analyze which would be quicker. In racing this is already tried and tested for a formula on the track you are racing on so that it can often be predecided. In rallying this is less clear, and mostly of slightly less importance.

In rallying, the main reason you would use short-shifting would be for balance rather than outright time and speed. If there is a twisty turn ahead for the next 50 yards and that you will need 1 up change in the middle of it, you can decide to get the change done before the complex twist to avoid upsetting the car mid-way through it.

A Visual Aid For Shifting Right!

Hand position while shifting

While shifting from the top of the box to the bottom, form an open cup with your palm, and place over the shift knob with the inside of your fingers and the palm of your hand making contact. Guide the lever quickly with your fingers, but don’t strong arm it. Gently push it, but don’t slam. The movement is primarily with the wrist. If you lock your wrist around the shifter like a fighter plane control stick, you will actually slow down your shift.

Many may be thinking shifting is a no-brainer function, but in a race/sport where the difference of winning a position is may be 1/100th of a second, every detail counts. This discussion is to point out how to use the gear shifter, and here we are assuming the use of a typical H-box shifter gear box in a streetcar.

Most people fall into two bad habits when shifting. First, “Hollywood” has taught everyone the myth that it always look great to leave your right hand on the gear shift knob. Never ! Its better you may as well tie your hand behind your back than leave it on the gear shift knob. Your hand should always be on the steering wheel. Take your hands off the steering wheel when you need to shift. Shift the gear and get your hand back on the wheel. Better don’t even rest it on the shift knob for a few seconds ahead of time to “get ready.” Every time you leave your hand off the steering wheel you’ve given up 50% of the tactile feedback you have from your hands, and 50% of your capability to control the car. While racing with other cars, you never know when you may get tapped. Even when you are racing alone, mechanical failure may cause handling problems. You might need both hands on the wheel when such a thing happens.

The second bad habit some people has is to shift gear with excessive force. Tighter grip and slamming from one gear to another will actually slow down your shifting and can cause excessive mechanical wear. For proper shift, use an open palm grip on the top of the gear knob, and a gentle but fast guide from one gear to another. Repeat again till all the shift is properly done with the hand open and cupped over the top of the knob, but not wrapped around the shift knob like a fighter plane control stick.

While shifting from the top of the H to the bottom, start by forming a cup with your palm and fingers. Place the palm of your hand over the top of the gear knob. With the underside of your fingers and your palm against the knob, use a smooth straight-line motion so as to guide the lever to the next gear. Assuming that the travel of the shift lever is fairly short, the action involves your wrist for the majority of the movement. Do not try to slam it or force it faster than it wants to move. Locking your wrist and moving your whole arm at the shoulder implies that you are using too much force.

In order to shift from the bottom of the H to the top, first start by forming a cup with your palm and fingers again. Now when you place the hand over the gear knob, the contact on the heel of the palm is given emphasis. Your wrist will be slightly bent up at the start. Push the gear knob with your palm heel in a straight line using your wrist so that position of the palm heel is extended while following through with a gentle push of the arm. This method of shift has more arm motion than the wrist.

While shifting across the H such as between 2nd and 3rd gears, better don’t try to make a conscious jog with your hand movements. The linkage needs a very gentle input to make the diagonal path across neutral. The shift should almost look like a straight diagonal line. Making a distinctive zigzag through neutral is strong arming the shifter and will slow down the shift.

Use of smooth, soft control of the lever does not imply to do it slowly. A gentle force on the gear knob will be allowing the shift linkage in moving freely through its natural motions. A strong arm motion will end up forcing the linkage through lines that have more resistance. This will also slow down the shifting. Use the wrist movement as much as possible instead of moving the whole arm.
Some folks may be tempted to learn the techniques of “speed shifting”. Speed shifting is shifting without using the clutch, might be in the interest of saving time. Many schools and professional racers have shown it over and over that there is no speed or lap time advantage in this, and that the only gain is a much higher risk of gearbox damage.