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Hank
Dodge Dakota
11/13/2001
16:11:49
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 Subject: 5 speed shift patterns
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Message:
all you guys that take your trucks to the dragstrip and have a 5 speed and a 3.9L, what kind of shift patterns do you use to get maximum acceleration?
-Hank
'99 4x2 RC 3.9L 5spd
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alex
Dodge Dakota
11/13/2001
16:44:56
|  RE: 5 speed shift patterns
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Message:
I use the pattern on the shift knob. It's shaped like an "H."
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Hank
Dodge Dakota
11/13/2001
17:10:32
| RE: 5 speed shift patterns
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Message:
hey alex, if you're trying to be funny, try a little harder, unless that lame attempt at humor already made your head hurt. i'm talking about when to shift gears, at what RPM. the little annoying indicator light tells you to shift at around 2000 RPMs for every gear, yet i'm thinking that may not achieve maximum acceleration.
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alex
Dodge Dakota
11/13/2001
17:55:48
| RE: 5 speed shift patterns
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Message:
Don't want to be funny, huh? Well, what did you find out about your truck when you went to the track? Oh- you haven't been yet?
Well, the first time I went to the track in my V-6 Club Cab back in 1995, I didn't know jack either. But, I paid attention to the way the acceleration pushed me back in my seat. With lots of EXPERIMENTING (key word) I noticed that it wasn't pushing me back much after about 4000 rpm. It was just making noise. So I learned to shift at 4000 every shift. With the 3.20 rear gear, I was having to decide between staying in 3rd gear all the way thru the lights and shifting to 4th gear for the last 500 feet. After EXPERIMENTING some more, I decided to keep it in 3rd gear thru the lights. With some more EXPERIMENTS, I tried shifting at 4200 and that made a little quicker e.t. appear on the little white piece of paper that they give you at the timing shack at the end of the track. Once I added the Mopar Computer, I had no rev limiter and I began to EXPERIMENT (key word, again)some more. I shifted at 4700 and then at 5000. After I removed the clutch fan and replaced it with an electric fan, and added the roller-tip rockers and thicker pushrods and the V-8 throttle body and the DynoMax Cat Back Kit, I started shifting at 5000rpm. At that point, I was definitely in 4th gear thru the lights. It was hard to launch because I launched on street tires at 2000 rpm and hoped for the best. But that was with the right rear tire at 28 psi. Which I figured out by EXPERIMENTING. So, after 140 dragstrip runs and countless other street launches, and 168,000 miles, I had whittled my v-6 5-spd Club Cab with the 3.20 open rear down from a 17.98 @ 84 mph to a 16.00 at 87 mph. Then I sold the truck to buy my 2000 Sport 4.7 L with the 3.55 rear gear and the 5-spd. I'm still EXPERIMENTING with that truck and so far, i'm down from a 16.38 @ 85 mph to a 15.30 @ 89 mph.
Gosh, I guess what I'm telling you is, GO TO THE TRACK. While you're there, pay attention and take notes on how each improvement affected your race. Did it slow you down? Did it speed you up? By How much? Did you do the same thing as before, only this time it worked better? What caused that? Then, when you come back from the track, save your time slips and your notes. And be sure to post here as to what "shift pattern" you developed.
Personally, I'm sticking with the "H" pattern on the knob.
PS- Practice makes perfect (especially with sex).
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TomM
Dodge Dakota
11/13/2001
19:42:38
| RE: 5 speed shift patterns
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Message:
Thanks Alex..I got teardrops on my keyboard from laughing over the "H" pattern joke.
Hank, Lighten up. Alex has good info for you. Also record the time of day/night, air temps, sun position, and humidity if those items don't appear on your time slip. Everyone has a different style when shifting. You'll just need to experiment and take notes. Took me over thirty years to get my 67 Dart from the 18's into the 10's. Have fun with it, that's the pattern!
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ACE
Dodge Dakota
11/13/2001
20:08:19
| RE: 5 speed shift patterns
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Message:
A quick way to find when the power falls of is to tie a string to the rear view mirror with a small weight (a big paperclip) so it hangs just over the dash.Then put it in 3rd and floor it slowly keep one eye on the tach and one on the paperclip when it moves toward the windshield the HP is going down.ITS helps if you have someone with you and you will notice the paperclip move a bit after power is falling off.A g-tech will do this better if set to read g-force.
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