- 33
- 46
So, driving the Boss home from 'Mexico' the other day, I happened to turn onto the on-ramp of the local expressway, and low and behold, what do I see in front of me?? Miles of straight highway with practically NO cars on it. So what is an old (42 yr old) guy like me to do? Having been deprived of track time for Lord knows WAY too long, I decided it was time to stretch the old gal's legs a bit. Open side exhaust screaming, windows down with what's left of my hair flapping... 7k rpms repeated several times through the gears. Before you know it, I'm well north of 100mph, laughing like an idiot, and in 5th gear, still climbing. I decide to reach for 6th and drop the clutch pedal, only to hear it rev to the moon whilst the ass end slides out... again, well north of 100-something mph. On a highway. Pucker much? About 0.3 seconds into this situation I realize I had missed 6th and dropped it back into 4th. Dump the clutch, straighten the car out, pretend nothing happened, and drive my ass home. Lol. It was fun, but the gear mis-hap could have been not-so-fun... thanking my lucky stars. Car is fine, pretty certain I didn't over-rev, and also pretty certain I shaved several years of life off of that factory crappy clutch (only 12k miles on the car). The clutch definitely feels different now, the engagement point is 'softer'. Doesn't slip, just different.
So the questions... I've been driving manual cars for the last 26 years; rarely do I miss a gear. 6th has been challenging from time to time in this car. Is this a function of the trans, shifter, or both? Or the spongy engine/trans mounts, and the disconnected shifter? I'm willing to guess all of the above, but thought I'd throw it out there for discussion. Perfectly willing to accept driver error if you say so, too! Clutch, shifter are on the to-buy list one of these days. But if narrow gear "windows" are a function of the trans, then other purchases might be in order.
Edit: We only drive this fast off track south of the border.
So the questions... I've been driving manual cars for the last 26 years; rarely do I miss a gear. 6th has been challenging from time to time in this car. Is this a function of the trans, shifter, or both? Or the spongy engine/trans mounts, and the disconnected shifter? I'm willing to guess all of the above, but thought I'd throw it out there for discussion. Perfectly willing to accept driver error if you say so, too! Clutch, shifter are on the to-buy list one of these days. But if narrow gear "windows" are a function of the trans, then other purchases might be in order.
Edit: We only drive this fast off track south of the border.