I am writing this post today a little empty in the head and red in the cheeks to learn the proper way to operate a ratchet shifter.

The shop finally gave my B&M megashifter a proper adjustment and installed a new shifter cable, so now I have full functionality of it.

Which brings me to a topic I never bothered to learn before with the shifter in It's crippled state: How do I properly use a ratchet shifter?


I was assuming that the way to do it was to lift the trigger to shift between R, N and D, or at least that's how I had been doing it because of my shifter's lack of P. Once in D, you can ratchet all the way down to 1st, then back up into D and use the trigger to go back into the N, R and P gears? Also, I know the purpose of ratchet shifting is like a makeshift manual: to hold the transmission in that gear until you upshift. Does that mean for example, if I ratchet the shifter to 2nd and start from a dead stop, will I be starting in 2nd, or will I be starting in 1st and it will allow the tranny to shift into 2nd but not into 3rd until I upshift? This is so embarassing...

I know I have this all wrong, or at least close but no cigar. Someone please enlighten me as I do not fancy the idea of dragging my tranny down the freeway...

Yep. Whats the problem?


Well close. If youve ever raced your car, you will notice the transmission likes to shift, when IT wants, and not when you think it should. If you are making enough power, this can mean an entire seconds difference aroun 12-14 second 1/4 mile ET. If you try to shift with a regular shifter, there is a chance you could miss a shift in all the excitement. FOr example, you start off in 1st, and instead of pushing it forward to 2nd, you accidentally go into 3rd, or even neutral..... The ratchet ensures you only go up ONE slot at a time.

This depends on your transmission. You cannot just throw in a shifter, and expect your tranny to magically transform. You would require a proper valve body to acheive what you are looking for. If you have a full manual valve body, then YES, you could start off in any gear, and infact it WILL start in that gear. But if you just have the shifter in there, it will behave the same as a regualr auto depending on which gear it is in. If you are in 2 or 3, it will keep shifting up when it wants, but not go higher than where you have selected it.

OK. Here is another question I forgot to ask.

Say I am in 3rd gear and ratchet down to 2nd, or I'm in 2nd gear and ratchet down to 1st. Will it actually downshift, or would the transmission ignor this until I slow down enough for it to downshift on It's own?

no you can as longas your not going too fast for the gear. Just nail it and downshift at the same time dont use it as a brake though that would be bad

If the transmission is still stock, it will do everything exactly the same as if you had a factoary shifter. All the ratcheting shifter does is allows you to move the selector one shift at a time without the chance of going past a shift.

For street use with a manual valve body or shift kit, the novelty of a ratchet shifter wears off very quickly. For drag racing where the shifts are done at WOT, the ratchet shifter is fast and precise. Using a manual valve body, the transmission won't shift up or down until the shifter is put into a specific gear. A manual valve body also means you can start off in any gear. Putting the shifter into D means you start off in high gear and will probably burn out the clutches.

If your transmission is still stock, you can put the shifter into D and drive away as normal letting the transmission automatically shift through the gears. The same as a factory shifter, there's no need to manually shift through the lower gears.

Waut so you mean a full manual valve body is not for street/strip? If in D the yrabby won't shift up and down through the gears like normal?

I was actually considering getting the level 3 700r4 with FMVB vs the normal 700r4 and putting in a shift kit.

You can drive a full manual on the street but as I already said, the idea of constantly shifting an automatic transmission wears off quickly. It's not the same as shifting a manual transmission.

Some valve bodies or tranny kits have different shift options. Some may allow you to hold the tranny in any gear until you shift it and can start off in any gear including D (high gear, which is hard on friction clutches). Others allow shifting and holding in any gear but when in D, they shift by themselves like a normal transmission.

How a transmission shifts has nothing to do with the shifter. You can use a factory or ratchet shifter with a factory tranny and pull it down into first gear. The governor will still upshift the transmission at a specific rpm.

I thougt the whole point of the 1 2 3 methhod was to prevent the transmission from shifting above the gear you had selected?

It'll only work if the transmission has a manual valve body or a shift kit that allows that. A stock factory tranny will still upshift by itself if left in first gear but will do so at a high RPM controlled by the governor.

The main purpose of a ratchet shift is so you can quickly shift into the next gear without shifting past it. It's more a necessity for upshifting than downshifting.

I use a Proratchet shifter myself and use a powerglide so I only have one shift. I ratchet down into first gear. Shortly after I launch, my shift light comes on and I slam the shifter forward into the next gear. It's impossible to push it into neutral without letting go and pushing it forward again. The reverse lockout means it's impossible to accidentally put in in reverse without first releasing the lockout.

My transmission has a full manual valve body with a transbrake. I can red line the engine in first gear and it won't shift out of first. I could also pull the shifter from high to low at high speed and destroy the tranny or engine as it drops down a gear.