i have a 1990 camaro rs and i have been racing some people and some freinds but i have an automatic. shifting with an automatic (going from 1st, to 2nd and drive) while racing is that a bad thing, and what are the risk of doing so

 

Its an Automatic, drive it as so. You want a manual, swap in a manual trans.

 

okay that dosent really answer my question tho. what im asking is will shifting gears with an auto damage my car in any way

 

I would like to know this aswell. I start off the line in 2nd for the better clutch engagement? I dont know the terms but I can feel the tranny lock up tighter. So I start in 2nd then in the higher rpms I move up to D.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...automatic.html



check this out

 

so when u start off in 2nd, do u get more power rather than 1st to 2nd...and the reason why i am asking if shifting with an auto can mess up my engine in any way is because yesterday i noticed some anti-freeze leaking from my intake manifold. would that have anything to do with shifting with an auto???

 

With a 700-R4 there is actually more holding power on the clutch packs going through the gears (1->2->D) than when just leaving the shifter in OD. As far as the coolant leaking, no. There is a good chance your intake has never been off the engine in 20 years. All seals fail eventually.

 

i do not think holding gears longer would have made you spring a leak....but if you are holding gears longer that means your driving it hard. which means any weak spots are gonna fail. if it were me i would be cautious.....a valley gasket can be as bad as a blown head gasket.

 

There are a lot a guys here that are running a B&M Mega shifters on there automatics. (A ratchet style, slap shifter . Or something to that effect ).Some are also running a Hurst Gate Shifter. (I am not one of them so the info. I am providing has been accumulated through this site.) Those in themselves have a gang load of threads devoted to them, so I have done a search to get a better understanding of their purpose. Some are also running shift kits to accommodate those shifters and last but not least is the higher stall torque converter to tie it all together. Do these guys shift a automatic manually ? You bet. Most have the option of ether or . They can choose to allow the transmission do the work by leaving the shifter “D” and gust driving around like its a normal trans. Or they can choose to shift through the gears . A stock shifter can also be used to shift through the gears but dose not have the safety feature that the other two shifters have. With the B&M Mega shifter you must use the "T" lever mechanizem that is installed in front of the handle to get it to go into Reverse . That keeps you from accidentally shifting into Reverse. Lets say your at the track and B&M shifter is in 1st. With the brake on and the engine ready to launch. The light turns green and you mash the gas while letting off the brake. At the appropriate RPM you must bump/slap/push the handle to 2nd were it will stop until you bump/slap/push it into third. The shifter will not push into reverse unless you want it to with the help of the "T" handle.. The shifter will only move one gear at at time. Its used specifically for this purpose. As far as it hurting the transmission I would have to say as the previous reply mentioned. It probably will find any week spots. My transmission has a few miles and even though I can drive pretty aggressively with a shift kit and Corvette servo. I let the trans. do the shifting. As far as OD is concerned I only use it on the free way. It just dose not feel as if it has enough “pull” around town in OD. I like my car to have that feeling my 3.42s and Eaton offer.

 

Ummmmm....You do realize though, that even though the gear selector is in 2, the trans is still starting off from a stop in 1st gear. Shifting into by 2nd itself and you are only in control of shifting into 3rd gear & the TPS position & engine rpm controls OD.

 

Valley gasket? and that can be from shifting gears and stretching the rpms?

 

well.....not so much shifting the transmission. but since your shifting so it will hold a gear longer, then i assume your letting it get up there in revs. gettin ANY 20 year old car up near yellow or redline will put stress on gaskets, seals, worn out parts etc. so yes in-directly holding your car in a lower gear at higher speed could have made you blow a gasket. BUT it probably would have done that if you just floored it and held it there (W/O shifting)

i would not blame it directly. id blame age and shape of parts.

 

no really that's the best thing to do when racing only problem is with the stock shifter its hard to upshift and not pass over a gear. i prefer the slap stick shifters like the megashifter I havnt gotten one for my camaro yet but soon!

 

does yours feel like its harder to put it in first (at a stop) then other gears?? or would something be needing some type of adjustment?

 

Nah you should be ok just do not forget to SHIFT ha. Mine will not go in reverse unless you press the release button on the shifter and mines stock..all i have is and aftermarket shift **** but that dosen't have anything to do with it.

 

Finally got my bm shifter in I love it. Deffinately better to shift from 1 thru the gears.

 

Just buy yourself a level 3 full manual 700R4 from Bowtie Overdrives, then a ratchet shifter, and you can pretend to have a manual.

http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/cata...php?ITEMID=653

It's under 2 grand, not really that bad for a fully manual 700R4 built to handle over 600 TQ. I paid a little over $2,000 for my T56 plus the Centerforce DFX and 26 spline input, aluminum driveshaft, Steeda shifter.

I'm probably going that route too eventually, a manual 700R4. PATC sells a 700R4 rated for 700 HP for a little under $3,000, and I'd have them throw a TCI reverse manual valve body in it. The T56 is fun and I'm obviously keeping it in the Mustang, but autos always seem to win when you get into serious power. Unless it's something like a Lenco manual. So, the IROC will stay an auto.

 

Shifting manually will not hurt the 700R4. As long as you know when to upshift/downshift; drive it properly and shift like you would a manual. Though only pros (I think) to manually shifting your 700R4 is when you want to "race". Well I see shifting manually when you race as a positive, others may not.

But for the record I had my 700R4 with 14xxxx kms on it recently rebuilt this winter, and the builder told me that the clutch packs still had life in them and that the transmission was in great shape even though it had high kms. And when I first got the car I shifted manually for a long time, I loved the feel. Haha but I only do it when I "race" now.
Hope this helps meng.

 

He could just put a manual valve body in his current trans and make it fully manual right? And from what i have heard a fully manual auto is a ***** for a DD, but yes it would be perfect for racing.

 

I'm not sure what you said that was blocked out, but how is a fully manual auto a "*****" for a daily driver?

I daily drive a 6 speed Mustang with 3.73s.. If I can manage to do all that clutching and shifting up to 6th only to stop again soon, I don't see how an auto would be a pain for daily driving. Basically in a town I live close to, there's a strip of road that goes on for about 2 or 3 miles easily, where it's nothing but light after light. Each one has just enough room to get up to 6th, then have to stop again.

Basically for me it's, 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 > 6, cruise for a second, then rev match down to 4th to roll up to the light, clutch, neutral, start all over again! I used to bother with downshifting to 4th, then 3rd, and 2nd once I was close to a light with the 5 speed, but with my Centerforce clutch and 6 speed, it's just not practical. The thing just grips so hard that if you don't rev match perfectly, it rattles the whole dash of the car. Have to get it within a couple hundred RPM.

 

I said thats what ive heard i wouldnt know for sure.. but yea I would rather drive a straight gear any day. Its different with an auto there is no clutch so its a little harder to rev match and stuff. I feel a shift kit would be better that way you dont have to always shift it manually since it is an auto.

 

Wouldn't have to rev match a full manual auto. The torque converter is not going to be locked up when you're on and off the gas in a daily driving situation. At that point it's just a fluid drive, no mechanical connection.

You have to rev match a regular manual trans to get a smooth downshift because of the mechanical connection, when you let off of the clutch pedal. Sure the RPMs are going to go up and give a little "push" on you, but not the slightly more harsh rattles and thuds of not rev matching a manual when downshifting.

 

Yea i get what your saying. i just think it would be easy to wear down your transmission having to downshift EVERYSINGLE time like that..Yea you get those same thuds with a manual but you can do things to prevent some of the stress on the transmission in a manual; double clutching, and rev matching like you said. I hope i'm making sense lol

 

The downshifting you're thinking of isn't necessary. Since even a fully manual automatic still has that fluid drive of an automatic, you could roll to a complete stop with it in overdrive, then just ratchet down to 1st again once you're stopped.

I'd roll to nearly a stop in 6th if the Mustang wouldn't nearly stall. I rev match from 6th to 4th so that I can go down to about 5 MPH before I throw it in neutral. Saves wear on the clutch. The only annoying part is when I don't get to come to a complete stop. I have to rev match to take off in 2nd, since going from a rolling start in 1st would give it the "herky jerkies" a bit too much.

 

Nah i wasnt really thinking like, coming to a stop and having to go down through gears like D>2>1. I get what your saying though. Yea i usually just pull it out of gear and start easing on the brakes and just rev match to or 3rd or 2nd . Just depends on what im feeling that day haha.

 

I would ALWAYS pull it down into manual 1st gear if you are going to hammer on it. It engages an additional clutch pack that gives extra holding power. It also prevents the transmission from short shifting into 2nd gear if the tires spin, giving you a more controlled take-off. It is hard to hurt a 700r4 with a stock 305 TBI and nearly impossible to hurt the 305 with the stock cam, swirl ports, and exhaust on the car.

 

Yea i always start in first if im shifting it manually, but if you hammer it too hard in first isnt there a big chance you will shatter your trans mount?

 

HAHA, not a chance on the polyurethane energy trans mount and I am making over 450 ft/lbs at the crank, feeding a 3,200 rpm 2.7 STR Yank converter, into 3.08 gears pushing 5,500 lbs. The big thing that likes to go boom is the 700r4 input drums, case lugs, beast sun-shells and the like oh and the u-joint yokes that like to shatter the bearing caps.

 

I manually shifted my dodge charger auto tranny for years with no reprocussions. My camaro I leave it in D or OD when driving normally then hammer it down to 1st gear when wanting to "race". All good. Going to the track tomorrow with my new shifter that I dont have to focus on misshifting with tomorrow. See how she performs.

 

Let me guess..B&m megashifter?

 

I quite often shift my 700's manually. That's why the option is there. If it weren't, there would be just D. It is better to shift too late, or later than it would automatically. Manual shifting assures the line pressure is high, and helps the clutch packs last longer.

If you are constantly being hard on it, you will eventually blow a number of things: Rear ends, u joints, and your engine will have the guts pulled out of it sooner than later. These small blocks will take a hell of a lot of abuse and still run for a long time.

 

Exactly. If you dog it like its nothing then of course somethings probably gonna go wrong

 

Which is why I have a pile of both Chevrolet and Mopar engines and transmissions in my garage. Things do break and when things let go at WOT and 6,000+ RPM they go very well.

 

Yup in the Camaro. And I love it! The Charger has a B&M z gate shifter

Mopar nut too eh? What ya running? (you can pm me and tell me if you dont wanna talk about dodges in the thread) haah.

 

Late model stuff, both a 13 second 5.7 2006 Hemi Ram Quadcab and a 13 second 2003 Dakota Club Cab 4.7. Both run solid 14.30s on street tires in street trim, toss a set of drag radials on them, do a little track prep and they go 13.70s and 13.90s respectfully.