Looking for a little advise from you track junkies out there! While at the track, on occasion I seem to miss third gear and find fifth instead. Sure sure, more experience will help me precisely place the gear selector into the proper location. However, I am wondering if there is anything else I could be doing to address a missed third gear, some things I thought of which may or may not be of value are: 1. Get a 4 point harness, to lock myself in the seat at a fixed position. Preventing the driver from sliding around may you find each gear as the gear location will ALWAYS be in the same relative place. 2. Would a weighted shift knob help? 3. Would a shorter gear selector shaft help? What works for you?
I find the best approach is one of patience. I find myself doing stuff like that when I get a bit ahead of myself. As long as I try to be smooth, the patience comes back and all is good. I also find that I don't need to think about going into 3rd from 2nd, I just let the gear shift do the work for me. And the Schroth is an excellent idea too.....!
Like Scott says... Relax and let it flow, I know that is a LOT easier said than done but if you put the aspect of shifting out of your mind and just let it flow you'll find it just slots into the right gear. Of course a Whalen knob helps too... Short Shifters tend to make it a little more difficult it seems. I also wonder since there was another post about lubing the cables in the sleeves if that helps. Might also want to check the fittings at each end to make sure they are moving smoothly.
Instead of thinking 2nd to 3rd, think 2nd to neutral to 3rd. There's a little spring action that centers the knob right between 3rd and 4th when it's in neutral, so a little pause helps to line everything up. Also, that little pause will give the flywheel a chance to slow down and match the revs better on the upshift.
Thanks for the input guys. This happened to me a few times when braking for a turn when you are also selecting the proper gear for exiting the corner. So, I'm in 4th, come blasting in, throw out the anchor and down shift to 3rd, a few milliseconds later it is time to release the clutch and get back on it. So great, I do everything right as far as line, position, braking, then I get on it right before I hit the apex and uh oh.............we are going nowhere fast. Just a matter of patience and practice I suppose, as mentioned above. Thinking of a shift as 2 steps instead of one may also be helpful. And a harness can't hurt. I have never really considered a short throw shifter, but have considered a weighted knob. It seems like Whalen is the only high quality choice out there, but it aint cheap.
Suggestion: Time to learn heel/toe braking. Sequence should be brake, down shift (completely - in third with clutch engaged), turn-in / goto throttle. Last bit is corner dependent - i.e. may need to trail brake. This way you'll know about any shift issues before turn-in. Don't want to be "free wheeling" any longer than necessary. If car gets loose at turn-in you want to be able to go to throttle immediately. Could be me reading your statement too literally, though. Apologies if thats it. Learning heel/toe braking took me 4 DE weekends before I was doing it without thinking about it. I'm a slow learner though. And practicing on the street does nothing for me - don't threshold brake on the street. Alan
Alan is right on about the heel toe and shifting. Try to get everything done before you turn in. That way you only focus on one thing at a time. Also if its one turn that this happens in more than others slow more for it a few times to get the rythem and then increase your speed as everything comes together.
Hey Chris, Thanks for the input and good advice. I don't think I'll ever cease to be amazed at how effective it is to slow down in order to go faster. It is always effective. The last time I went out, as well as slowing down I also used the harness and it helped for me to be more secure in my seat, that way the gear shifter is always a fixed distance away. It all comes together with experience, so for me it is obviously still coming together, not quite there yet.
I haven't driven competitively for many years but I agree with the points made so far. Here is a link to an article that sums up the zen of driving very well I think. Mini Cooper Motoring: Smoothness counts in a MINI Cooper PS: I never could become proficient at the heel-toe sequence so I had to work fast to have the right stuff on hand for exiting that pesky 360 pylon turn.