I know some guys who manually shift their automatic trans when street racing. Can this be a big problem for the trans and what happens if you miss a gear? Does this actually make your car accelerate faster.

 

I wouldn't do it every time I drove, but it's not going to kill your tranny. There's lots of fluid pumping through, and missing a gear don't mean much. You can control the shifts a little better, especially with a shift kit.

 

Like the previous guy said, dont manually shift it all the time but it wont hurt it when your racing. If you want to get really serious with it get a TransGo shift kit and a B&M Megashifter. The shift kit will give you quick, snappier shifts while the Megashifter will give you a ratchet action so you will never risk missing a gear, unlike your stock shifter.

 

I manually shift mine because I'm too lazy to play with the governor weights so that my tranny will shift at 6000 instead of the stock 4800(?).

If your motor is stock or near stock, I don't think manually shifting it will make a difference...you're better off leaving it in D. If you have mods that shift your powerband higher (like cam and heads), then you'll need to play with your shift points to get your best et's...then set up the governor to shift accordingly.

I've been manually shifting my auto for 4 years with no problems...but only when I'm racing.

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1989 IROC-Z, ZZ3 shortblock with some bolt-ons.
13.20 @ 108.69, 2.2 60'

 

Depending on the trannies setup you may be doing harm to the unit. Earlier 700's had fairly low fixed pressures in the Man 1/2 positions since they were only intending for people to use them for engine braking on deceleration, not acceleration. To know for sure you need a pressure gauge on the tranny to see what the readings are, or if you know what size the Int/Rev Boost valve is your using.

 

I wouldn't think of not manually shifting my tranny in a drag race. You have more control this way.

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Big 454 72 Chevy Nova
383 86 Camaro Z28
10.5:1compression Dart Pro 1 Aluminum heads 215cc,234dur.488lift exh&int,Victor Jr. intake, 770 Holley Avenger vac.sec 400 crank,flat top pistons,tranny shift kit,2500 stall converter. 3.42 ,Hooker Headers,2.5inchpipes with 40 s. Flowmasters,MSD coil,MSD module.

[This message has been edited by Big454blockchevy (edited June 20, 2001).]