That you pulled the shift **** off? Well I just did that on my way home... WTF?!!

 

Not in the mini at least not yet lol, I did in my Ram SRT10 I was at the track on my first run after a few mods one being a short shift kit and a pistol shifter spun hard in first went for 2nd like a madman and pulled off the handle lol I still ran a 13.4 @ 107 MPH.
Maybe its time for an upgrade ?

 

Sounds like somebody was doing a bit of racing ... None of us on here have EVER done that before, right???

You might have to upgrade to a short shifter that the **** screws on !!!

 

Yes, it has happened to me with both the stock **** and my Whalen ****. Easier to do with the latter as I will accidentally lift up on the locking latch.

 

+2!! Ive done this twice Whalen **** popped off and rolled all the way to the back of the car!

 

It's funny because I read the "things you didn't know about your mini" thread a few weeks back and it said that to take the shift **** off you just lift up (and to be careful not to hit yourself in the face)... Never in my dreams did I expect to be shifting and have my hand fly up and the shift **** hit the sunroof! After a split second of panic (I was shifting from 1st to second) I regrouped and shifted to the next light without the **** (awkward)... Luckily it landed between the e-brake and the shifter...

 

The best shifting only requires you to use your wrist and elbow. If you're having to use your shoulder to shift, your seat needs to be adjusted.

 

My wife just told me last night she did this twice already.

 

thanks for the tip... My seat is out of adjustment, too bad it was after I paid for it that I realized the up and down adjustment is broken... My seat could definitely be lowered a bit... I'm 6'1" 190 and although my head isn't touching the ceiling, I do feel a little too high...

 

Yep, been there, done that!

 

WHAT???!!! You guys are yanking on the locking collar???

 

No offense, but that sounds a bit extreme. You can (in fact you should) be able to shift fast AND gentle. Consider Neutral a gear, feel yourself go through it, you'll get a nice smooth shift, and a smooth shift is faster than jamming the gears into place, not to mention better for the life of your transmission.

You have to pull up to get the **** off; not sure how you're doing that. I have a fairly soft grip on the shift ****; firm enough to shift comfortably, but by no means a death grip.

I'm not trying to sound too critical--I used to blast through the gears with reckless abandon until an instructor called me on it. Glad he did, because my shifting on the track got better almost immediately afterwards.

 

Thats what i do. Shifting with your wrist gives you such a better feeling too.

 

That's easier said than done. Many people get excited when they are in a fast mood and shift harder than normal.

 

I was trying to go as fast as I could to get in front of this dude to my right because my lane was ending... I pulled back so hard from first to second (no death grip) that the **** came off. Believe me, I was pretty shocked and as I said, after a split second panic, I regrouped and grabbed the ****-less stick and continued on...

Honestly, the stock throw is a bit longer than I am used to and it has a lot of play (maybe from use since my car is on the older side). You couple that with a guy who hasn't driven stick day to day or to race in 7 or 8 years (since college) and you get a flying shift ****. What can I say?

I am excellent at driving stick for the most part, but it just so happened I was amped up and pulled down a little too hard. Part of the problem as we discussed is that my seat is a bit higher than I would like it to be and I can't adjust it...

 

No, but i do seem to be developing Tennis Elbow...

 

Makes sense; when thing get frantic we all react with an adrenalin surge. Like someone said above, keeping it 100% completely calm is easier said than done. It's what makes driving on the track an art as well as a skill; I've ham-fisted my car too many times to count...

 

double post

 

Sounds like someone needs to lay off the Red Bull!

Jim