b4i4getit

I was thinking about some things they could improve on the Z06 and I thought about the transmission. I heard that it is not possible to shift accidently to reverse while in motion. I never tried this so I can't verify this. So why can't they engineer an interlock to prevent you from going from fifth gear to first gear accidentally. I am sure there are a few people that may have blown their engine by this one mistake.

2010drive

I'm sure they could make it where it won't go into first gear above 60 mph or any speed for that matter

u1arunit

How do you from 5th to 1st gear accidentally..? Looking for 4th and getting 2nd I can understand..

Bill Dearborn

Fifth to first would be a difficult maneuver to do. The main reason they don't do that is it is already hard to do. Actually the reverse gear lockout can be over ridden if the user needs to do that (like when the solenoid fails in lock out mode while the car is parked and the driver needs to shift into reverse to back out). Since that override is there ham fisted drivers that could make the shift from 6th to 1st could also jam the transmission into reverse.

The secret to shifting the T56 and the T6060 is a soft touch and shifting properly not the way you would shift an old muscle car that only had a 4 speed transmission.

Bill

b4i4getit

I used 5th as an example. It could be 4th to 2nd it really does not matter. The point I am trying to make is you could get the revs up high enough in any gear such that a move to first gear would be a disaster. Seems to me they should be able to prevent this if you are anywhere near 7K rpm.

u1arunit

I hear ya. Honestly though I do not see you being able to get it into 1st at the higher rpms or higher speeds although I have not tried it either.

Seems that it would surely make the tranny more complicated as solenoids and control systems would need to be added, more to the point that it be more like an automatic than a true manual.

The reverse lockout uses a special solenoid.

widgetsupply

I have trouble getting into reverse sometimes, especially when my cup is in the holder.

PureSwank

Why wanting 4th and hitting 2nd from 5th gear is no different then wanting 3rd and hitting 1st gear from 5th gear. It can happen if you don't pay attention to how much your actually moving the shifter over.

xcutter

Why can't they just have a gear indicator on the DIC like they do for the automatic? Before letting up on the clutch, you could see what gear you are going into.

RFZ

i think learning to shift is the way to go

PureSwank

No, you can't do that. That's to fancy for our interior. Plus that alone will prolly be an additional 5k the way dealerships and companies run things now a days.

Carnac

If you are looking at the DIC to see what gear you have just shifted to...well I don't know what to say really, any shift that is done remotely quick enough to possibly be in error (due to rushing things) is not one that you would be looking at the DIC, HUD, etc.

WIth the Z06 transmission, keep left pressure on the shifter (semi-open cupped palm facing you) for 1st and 2nd. For 3rd and 4th use no left or right pressure (heel of your palm to 3rd and fingertips for 4th). For 5th and 6th keep right pressure on the shifter (semi-open palm facing the passenger seat).

With the Z06 six speed pattern, the most likely missed shifts are (ones to be concerned about anyway - those that are a lower gear): 6th to 3rd (when trying for 5th), 4th to 1st (when trying for 3rd), and 5th to 2nd (when trying for 4th).

Any shift from top of the pattern to top of the pattern or bottom of the pattern to bottom of the pattern, is usually a deliberate (as in slow) shift, because the intention is to skip down two gears.

For example - desired going from cursing in 6th and wanting to down shift to 4th (both on the bottom of the pattern), but get 2nd - well that means that you applied left side pressure while shifting - that is a mistake. The correct way: get off gas, clutch in, use open palm (fingers-up) push of the lever out of 6th into neutral, shifter is now centered so now use a pull straight back with down-facing fingertips while blipping the gas to rev match a bit, and let out the clutch. To get into 2nd instead of the desired 4th you would have had held left pressure on the shift **** (not really possible if you are using down-facing fingertips).

Just learn the pattern of the Z06 and get a good feel for left pressure (gears 1 and 2), centered shifter (gears 3 and 4), and right pressure (gears 5 and 6). In no time your hand will know what gear you are in just from the position of the lever (left, right or center).

Get out and practice, be deliberate (even exaggerate) with your hand movements and get comfortable with a 6 speed manual transmission - or truthfully, trade it in for a GS with an auto...

hoefi

The new Porsche GT3RS (don't know if other models have the same feature) has a device inside the clutch which will decouple the tranny from the engine if the rpm exceeds a certain preset value. My friend found out when he missed a shift.

foremaw

I am kind of thinking the same thing. More tech is possible but more tech isn't always better. More tech=more expense=one more thing that can break/get screwed up. I'm not sure we've exactly seen a sufficient number of "OMG I shifted from 6th to 1st and blew my engine" threads to warrant it at this point.

H8VTEC

I'm sorry but shifting from 6th or 5th to 1st is hard....I can understand if you go from 1st to 2nd back to 1st if you're nervous and racing for a million bucks, but 6th, 5th to 1st???? C'mon....

b4i4getit

It may be hard but not impossible. Consider that dropping down one gear near a redline shift will explode your engine. As I said previously it does not matter what gear you mess up. Some have done it on this forum. I am just saying they should make this impossible by design.

Vito.A

My opinion: The fewer mechanical lockouts in the shifter the better.
A six speed shifting mechanism is already over complicated, and why make it any heavier.

forg0tmypen

All I can say is PAY ATTENTION AND DON'T GET LAZY when shifting. Ive gotten lazy a few times and tried to be "too smooth" with my timing between clutch and shift and have caused the gears to grind.

Landru

Valid question, IMO.
A shifting goof-up such as you describe is the ONE & ONLY concern I have when allowing a pal seat time in my Z06. I warn'em --repeatedly-- to make double certain they're NOT downshifting into 1st from 5th/6th while trying to catch 4th. Pretty easy to do for anyone not totally familiar with stick location, happened to me when the car was new, thankfully I caught myself before inadvertently destroying the LS-7.

FWIW Ferrari really got it right using gates for gear position on all their manuals.

JoesC5

I'm guessing they could place a gear sensor to 'read' what gear you are in combined with the speedometer input. Then put a solenoid valve in the clutch line.

If you downshifted, say from 4th to 1st at 90 MPH, when you meant to shift into 3rd gear, the computer would see that the transmission was in 1st gear, and the computer would see that you were doing 90 MPH. The computer would determine(much faster then you would) that you would have a serious over rev condition and would active the clutch solenoid, not allowing the fluid to go back into the clutch master cylinder. When you released the clutch pedal, it would stay on the floor, and would keep the transmission from over reving the engine, and at the same time, the computer would hold the throttle closed.