Ranger

The thread is up on the racing board.

11.55.117.69 video

Here is is at youtube.

Ranger

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

Very nice. What rpm where you shifting at?

Ranger

Clutch-in at 6500 was the target. Achieving that takes some calibration on the 1-2 and 2-3 because the tach lags behind the motor.

Ranger

BigRon77

iTrader: (1)

Ranger, you are one smooth driving son-of-a-bitch.

I raced Doug Nash and Liberty 5 spds 15 years ago when I was but a tike and I could shift those as well as anybody (in-line shifter didn't hurt either ), but my Dad bought an M6 C6 shortly after I bought mine (since sold it due to being disgusted by the shifting), and the clutch made me want to cry, the shifting was horrific and I couldn't see how you powershift the car without destroying something for any length of time (my Dad, who's an incredible stick man on old trannys, was the same way).

You must have countless hours or unmatched natural ability behind these trannys.

scramblerman

iTrader: (16)

Ranger is the MAN! I want to say thanks for the info you have provided us all. It helped me get into the 11's my first time at the track with the Z06, on my fifth try. Glad to see you are on here now incase I need a ansewer for something.

allngn_c5

iTrader: (3)

Awesome times.

Ranger

It's a good point to bring up because it involves drills to set muscle memory.

The smoothness of that pass comes from very fast shifting. Studying the video frame by frame I can discern the 1-2 shift during which the nose dropped a couple inches, but the nose stay pretty much up on the 2-3 and 3-4. The 3-4 can be heard clearly, though it sounds like an automatic.

Shift speed and accuracy derive from my doing a lot of shift drills with the motor off. Here is the procedure.

Ranger

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

Do you tend to sit back or more on top of the shifter? I'm a terrible T56 driver, almost legendary. I tend to sit more forward, but I'm wondering what you do. I'm 6 foot tall as well.

tones2SS

AWESOME POST!!!!
thanks for the tips and info on this awesome car.

Ranger

When I get a new car, I set the seat and steering column to give me comfortable access to the clutch. I then adjust the seat-back to the correct position for an optimal 2-3 shift, with sufficient strength retained from not reaching too far; want my back to retain full contact with the seat.

That having been done, I lock those positions into a memory preset. (except seat-back rake in a Z06).

Thereafter, that's the position I use for street driving, shifting drills and making passes. I do change them sometimes when driving more that 2-3 hours. But the stored memory positions are there again on next start.

The way to improve shifting skill is by doing the drills at the link I posted earlier on this thread.

The more automatic the shifts become, the more the driver can focus on shift-point correctness. And shift speed and shift points are crucial to the acceleration of the car.

Ranger

Sigforty

Nice, if you ever come down to Louisiana let me know I would love to see what you can do in my car.

DocT

Wow, very impressive Ranger! Is your DVD out?

Ranger

Thanks, Doc. DVD...shooting for later this year.

Ranger

bonestockz06

iTrader: (6)

Hey Ranger, How many gears did you powershift on that record setting run?

Ranger

Powershifting is very much a mixed bag.

(1) it increases the risk of damage to the tranny.
(2) it isn't necessarily faster unless traction is fabulous.

So as a rule, I don't powershift unless there is a reward for the risk.

I can shift just as fast with "throttle ease" as I can with the throttle on the floor. That comes from practicing my shift drills.

If
(1) your technique is good
(2) your clutch is in good shape and
(3) traction is great

What you can get from powershifting is the opportunity to capture some of the stored inertia of the flywheel spinning at 6500 or so. There is some benefit to that. But if traction isn't truly great, that benefit disappears in wheel spin.

On the two previous passes that day I found that strong shifts with throttle lift were essentially dead-hooking. So on the 3d pass I went to full powershifts and ran 11.55.

Two years later, I ran four passes in the low-to-mid 11.5s with a powershift only on the 3-4. But those passes were in much better weather.

Ranger

bonestockz06

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for your response, I appreciate the fact that you explain everything in detail. When you say "throttle ease", exactly how much of it are we talking about here? I been practicing your shifting drills and launch techniques but still haven't got that part about throttle ease, everytime I do it, the nose just drops. How much ease are we talking about here without actually powershfting? Say your ready to shift into the next gear, how much are you really backing off the throttle, Say 1/4 throttle? I'm having a difficult time with it because I think I'm backing easing too much, but I'm still practicing.

hanks again Ranger, your knowledge and advice is priceless.

Ranger

^^^

bonestockz06, my measured shift speed during a pass is about 200 milliseconds. That's two tenths with the clutch in.

During clutch-in, my right foot comes 100% off the throttle.

Due to the C5/C6 drive-by-wire, there is some latency in the action of the throttle position sensor. So the actual easing of the throttle is less than 100%.

An average driver struggles to do the shifts in 400-500 milliseconds; that's why the nose drops. Shift drills with the engine off are the way to get the synchronization of the movements groove.

No one ever got good at foul shots, putting, a tennis serve without practice outside of game day. Shifting is no different. It's all technique and muscle memory.

The videos, narrative, and logged file charts that will be part of the DVD help make the point better than is possible in a couple paragraphs in a post.

Ranger

Pewtavert

Wow! Sounds like a 10 second car with heads/cam.......Unbelievable.

bonestockz06

iTrader: (6)

Thanks again Ranger, can't wait to the DVD is out...

Ranger

Camcorder guy was at positioned off-axis between the 330' and 660' timers. So when I passed by, the mic got a good blast from the stock Z06 titanium exhaust with the LS6 at full song. That's a perspective that is not often captured on video. :thumbs:

Ranger