shifting technique

[George Roffe]

Khiem, <spdracer@mail.utexas.edu> wrote:

>I was watching some Austrialan touring car racing and they showed a shot
>of the driver's footwork.  It was pretty interesting.... for upshifting,
>they'd just lift the throttle, no clutch.  For downshifting, they'd do the
>usual heel-toe work.  For a no clutch upshift, do they need some heavy
>duty synchros or something?

Dog rings.

Now my description may not be exactly right, but here goes (someone more
knowledgeable about them can correct me).  My understanding is they are
like synchros only with fewer teeth.  Think of them as redneck synchros.
;-)  IIRC they are usually combined with straight-cut gears.

I actually made a few no clutch shifts in the Reynard F2000 car I drove at
racing school.  It just shifted so easily the shift actually beat my
footwork.  It was kind of wild.

I can shift a street gearbox w/o the clutch and 20 years ago I had to one
night when my clutch cable broke across town.  Drove all night that
way.  Turned the car off when I had to stop and started it up in gear -
even on a fairly steep slop.  Man, that was a good battery.  Anyway, it
certainly is much easier with the racing gearbox.

George Roffe
Houston, TX
91 SE-R (well modded)
91 G20  (well modded)
84 944 SCCA ITS race car under construction
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