Driving Impressions
*Reminder! Driving impressions are mostly dependent on your TCU calibrations!
Daily Driving:
Driving automatics for so long almost made me forget how much I hated being in traffic with a manual. Spongy, sore knees, repetitive shifting, and general road rage are a thing of the past with the Shrifter™. With true manual mode you will be reminded of this inconvenience as it is necessary to downshift to 1st at every stoplight. In smart manual mode the TCU will downshift to 1st whenever the car comes to a complete stop requiring you to use the Shrifter™ for upshifts. But for every day use I recommend disabling the unit and allowing the transmission to function as normal.
Spirited Driving:
Windy country roads, highway on/off ramps, and open road courses are now your friend. Shift when you want and ride the redline through any situation. One of the main downfalls for the automatic transmissions is the fact that you cannot choose your gears unless using a floor mounted lever. Bang gears like never before!
Track:
I will need to update this section after I attend a few track events. Just from doing a couple "test" runs on the local "course" roads, I can tell you this........ kick ***! The car moves and feels very similar to the M/T model 240sx; quick in and out of turns, excellent braking characteristics, snappy throttle response, and most importantly superb tranny control with much faster shifts than an M/T. A lot of this has to do with how the car is tuned but the Shrifter has certainly changed the car's attitude.
Drag:
Faster, firmer shifts. I can shift at the redline if I choose. The Shrifter may become very popular on drag240sx for this reason.
http://www.drag240sx.com
Drift:
I'm not really interested in the drift sport that much so I haven't taken it out, yet. Beware to those drifters who flail their arms and hands all over the steering wheel trying to counter-steer.You will end up hitting your hands on the paddles so just let the steering wheel slide in your hands. The ability to maintain the engine within certain rpms will make drifting much easier for A/Ts.
Things to Consider:
As stated in my Automatic Transmissions Ultimate Guide, you must prepare the A/T for any high performance driving. I've noticed manual shifting will accelerate the heating of ATF without precaution. It is imperative to install a tranny temp gauge and cooler to combat this problem. Even with extended performance driving, the fluid in my car has never exceeded 180F because of the cooler (170-200 normal op. temp). Its very effective and cheap insurance.
Keep both hands on the wheel. The paddles will interfere with your driving if you cant learn this. It has actually improved my form because my hands remain at the 10 and 3 while driving.
Calibrate the TCU. Take the time to calibrate your transmission. The car may preform poorly if their is no time invested in tuning the car.
New Beginnings: We stand on the threshold of a new era of automotive transmissions control.
"How often does a genuinely new, exciting product come along? Before the Shrifter, paddle shifters could only be found on high-end exotic sports cars. Now, you can adapt that technology to your hot rod! Common on new vehicles, manumatic control provides manual shifting of an automatic transmission on demand. The driver gets the best of both worlds: Added control over rpm, plus full automatic convenience....."
"....With the Shrifter, power shifting your automatic has never been more safe, easier, or more exciting! Combined with a modern electronic transmission and controller, the Shrifter adds performance and style to your hot rod." (Steve Chryssos, Twist Machine)
Products, Information, and Pictures provided by:
http://www.powertraincontrolsolutions.com
http://www.twistmachine.com
http://popularhotrodding.com/tech/0507phr_twst/
Linear Mode
