2005-2014 Mustangs Discussions on the latest S197 model Mustangs from Ford.

how bad is power shifting...

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Old May 12, 2009 | 03:46 PM
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Default how bad is power shifting...

I think i've done this maybe three times total.... twice being this past weekend one 1-2 shift and 1 2-3 shift.

and once being when i taught myself about 12k miles ago (1-2 shift)


It doesnt sound like anything good's going on under the hood when I do... So i just wanted some input on how often I can do this... and how bad it is, and whats gonna be damaged

thanks
Old May 12, 2009 | 04:23 PM
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Hhm depends on how much nawz u runnin and your body kit. But srsly, it's a little rough on the clutch I think but other than that not much
Old May 12, 2009 | 04:30 PM
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All the strain is on your clutch. Do you smell the clutch burning after powershifting a little?
Old May 12, 2009 | 05:24 PM
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i did smell something, but i didnt think it was the clutch, tho i could be wrong. I plan to upgrade the clutch in about 2 years so i wanted to make sure i wasnt gonna be driving along perfectly fine one day and bang out 1st to 2nd and then be dead in the water afterwords
Old May 12, 2009 | 05:46 PM
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my definition of power shifting is shifting under full throttle without letting off the gas, I don't think it hurts the clutch per say if you do it correctly the clutch is engaging violently, very little slip, however it just feels like it has to be hard on the trans, throwout bearing, input shaft, unjoints and diff, I would only do it if you need to keep from loosing a street race or at the drag strip.
Old May 12, 2009 | 05:54 PM
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I think the main thing is, on a daily driver it probably wouldn't be a problem. Now on like a track car or drag car, where your doing back to back runs doing it it would create problems on stock parts.

I imagine the clutch would take the blunt of punishment when power shifting. Other things will be affected as well such as more then normal wear on your drivetrain and transmission and mabye also reduced life of your syncro's in the shifter.

But to just power shift around town occasionally wouldn't just cause part failure on it's own. It might reduce the life of a few parts of the car some (you would probably replace them before they actually died of failure anyways), so it shouldn't be too much of a concern if you do it CORRECTLY occasionally.

Edit: I have done it a few times to do it, but it's useless for the most part unless you've invested in a bunch of suspension upgrades. I have trouble not even power shifting with traction issues. I only have CAI and tuner and 275/40/18 ultra performance sumitomo tires and still spin from 1->2

Last edited by cegha; May 12, 2009 at 05:57 PM.
Old May 12, 2009 | 06:14 PM
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i did get a good amount of spin from one to two... and yes my def. of power shifting is the same as yours cummins cowboy .

so that being said, with the amount of spin i get from doing it, would it be better to NOT do it in the "heat of the moment street race" ?

and on another note, i do hear a crazy noise from the engine when I do it (sorry for the noob questions) .

and one last note... CEGHA, what is your definition of doing it correctly ?
Old May 12, 2009 | 06:25 PM
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Originally Posted by cummins cowboy
my definition of power shifting is shifting under full throttle without letting off the gas, I don't think it hurts the clutch per say if you do it correctly the clutch is engaging violently, very little slip, however it just feels like it has to be hard on the trans, throwout bearing, input shaft, unjoints and diff, I would only do it if you need to keep from loosing a street race or at the drag strip.
Agreed, at least with respect to a sanctioned race at a strip.

My opinion about the risk of parts breakage in a street race is that neither anybody else nor my own pride is worth it. If something breaks right then and there, I lose the race anyway (and get to pay for a flatbed ride as a bonus). If it breaks several races and weeks later while I'm on my way to work, I still lose.

The impact loading will tend to shorten the life of everything in the power path, and mathematically the amount of this load can easily exceed two times the maximum advertised engine torque. Obviously, it'll be the weakest link that lets go first, as sooner or later it will. I've seen a few trannies with busted synchro hubs and such.

A little food for thought - back in the 1960's, one of the design criteria for Chrysler's then-new 4-speed manual transmssion was that the synchros had to withstand 75 full throttle power shifts behind a big-block.


Norm

Last edited by Norm Peterson; May 12, 2009 at 06:32 PM.
Old May 12, 2009 | 06:39 PM
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I have heard of input shafts snapping on these trannys. not sure how rough you have to treat your tranny to do that though
Old May 12, 2009 | 06:51 PM
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It's hard on the synchros and will cause them to wear out prematurely. I would refrain from power shifting.

Never heard of an input shaft breaking on anything with 450rwhp or less. Usually you need 500+hp and a good 2-3 or 3-4 power shift.



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