What good is First Gear?

[mdross1]

For the coil-over equipped cars,it is a must to have the cars suspension scaled.Not having it done,forget a controllable launch.Also setup rearend with up to 4 degrees positive,it helps off the line traction considerablly.Finally practice launching the car and limiting wheel spin.Anything more than this,(suspension upgrades,better tires,gear changes,things that help make the car quicker) it's how much are you willing to spend.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by mdross1

For the coil-over equipped cars,it is a must to have the cars suspension scaled.

That's good advice for almost everyone on this forum. You can rent a set of scales for the day from your local race shop and then it just takes a little time on the coilovers to get your corner weights right. There are no tricks to it, just remember to loosen up your sway bars, check your tire pressure, use a level floor, and put some weight in the driver's seat. It's actually a pretty satisfying task to complete -- just remember to tighten your sway bars up when you're done.

[Argess]

Ah...a new response to this thread. I had let the thread go as it was deteriorating and I was unintenionally digging a hole I couldn't get out of.

Fact is, I've been reviewing as many on-line videos as I can, and for the most part, I shift like the ones I see. What I was attempting to do, was shift into 2nd a little higher in the power band, and that wasn't smooth.

There have been quite a few acceleration charts made of the Cobra over the years, and most of them depict a 1-2 shift from as low as 5800 and up to almost 7000 rpm. I find my best shifting is more around 3500 and getting into second gear low in the power band and letting it rip up from there, quite high, and then shift into 3rd with no issues.

Thank-you for your reply.