Yesterday's Metra CollisionOK, now here we have a case of a bunch of dumbbuttes who entered a railroad grade crossing when they could plainly...
Back in high school we used to call it "speed-shifting". Originated, I presume, with racers, to minimize time that HP was not going to the wheels. There' a fairly narrow RPM range when sequential gears are pretty well aligned, depending on their respective ratios, and you can just slide the gears to the new position without disengagement. However........
bear in mind that this kind of technique was developed by folks in an industry where rebuilding an engine or transmission every week was not considered too outrageous if that's what it took to win races. If you design the gear ratios properly, and hit the shift at *precisely* the right RPM, the gears will slide like butter. If you don't know just what your ratios are, or do it wrong, or too slowly, you may be treated to an automotive metallic symphony of gargantuan proportions as your transmission self destructs in a heartbeat. But it looks really cool and macho when you shift fast like that.......
Its my guess that every time you speedshift, you're taking a little metal off some gear teeth. If you make a habit of it, you'll probably shorten the life of your transmission greatly. I think the guy from work was trying to show off, and took a substantial risk with a powertrain with which he was unfamiliar. There's no reason on earth to speedshift a regular road vehicle.
