Right Hand Position During Shifts - Page 2 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

louv · 11th May 2002, 07:48

Another tip I've heard a few times is shift by holding the knob with just 2 or 3 fingers. Holding it gently helps prevent damage due to forcing a missed shift. If you miss, it slips out of your fingers, instead of slamming your transmission. If you shift hard and fast, you better be damn sure of where you are putting that lever.

M5-BEAR · 11th May 2002, 08:30

Sounds like a whole big bunch of " BULL SHIFT " to me !

chunpng · 11th May 2002, 08:39

Quote:

Originally posted by louv
Another tip I've heard a few times is shift by holding the knob with just 2 or 3 fingers. Holding it gently helps prevent damage due to forcing a missed shift. If you miss, it slips out of your fingers, instead of slamming your transmission. If you shift hard and fast, you better be damn sure of where you are putting that lever.

That brings up a very good point. In my M5, I habitually shift directly from 4th to 6th. However, in my 5 speed Lexus, the 6th gear poistion (in the M5) is actually REVERSE.

One time in my Lexus, I absent-mindedly shifted from 4th to 6th, and the gears ground lightly. Fortunately I was doing a 3-finger light shift, so I never did get into reverse. If I was doing a hard and fast shift that time, my Lexus transmission would have been toast.

and I would be doing a one-finger salute to myself.

CP

MBrown1003 · 11th May 2002, 10:37

In my 540i/6 (and my GTI), I usually rest my hand on top of the shift lever, and move it lightly, letting the springs in the transmission guide the lever. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on my M5 (in about 4-5 weeks) and trying that one!

Of all the cars I've had, though, probably the nicest, smoothest, easiest shift action was in my 1985 Peugeot 505 Turbo. The shift lever was this tall skinny thing with a hard plastic knob on the end. But the SHAPE of the knob was different from any other I've seen. It wasn't symmetric -- from the shift lever, it went up, then curved down and backward. Think of a teardrop on top of the shift lever, but being blown backward by the wind.

robert47 · 11th May 2002, 18:41

RareM5 - great post and pics. That is the exact technique taught at Skip Barber. This should be kept permanently in the "Tips" section!

Richard in NC · 11th May 2002, 19:31

I've always shifted with my hand over the top. I have a big enough hand to use my fingers & palm like chunpng. I will move my hand to the left side of the shifter to put it in 6th. I can't see myself using the techniques in Rare's post. The 4th gear tehniques may cause a problem in the M5 with accidently finding 6th.

I generaly shift smooth but quickly. I have found if I delay especially in traffic where you can't apply power that I can loose the synchro and have a bit of a problem getting some gears. This usually is 1-2 but has happened from 3-4 as well. When I am driving quickly I will speed up the shifts some.

kgk · 12th May 2002, 10:52

Quote:

Originally posted by chunpng
When I shift, my right hand is over the top of the shifter. To get to first, third and fifth gears, I basically use my palm to push the shifter forward. Going to second, fourth, and sixth, I use both my palm and fingers to move the lever downwards.

I shift exactly like you do. The "ice cream" grip is a mess, because if one uses shuffle-steering and holds the wheel near the bottom, the center console will get in the way of one's arm!

I suspect that the "ice cream" grip was natural for people who have the ancient (and dangerous) habit of steering at 10-and-2---their hand is already in an "ice cream" shape, and they might view it as natural to just "ice cream grip" the stick, as well....

kgk · 12th May 2002, 11:00

Quote:

Originally posted by RAREM5
The following pictures and notes are from UUC MotorWerks.
This is a tip for people interested in preventing missed gears when driving in a spirited fasion. I have used this technique and works just fine for me. Although I occasionaly missed shift from second to third.

I'm curious about the need for multiple grips. Every time I shift, I go for the absolute maximum speed that I can manage (including gas blipping, etc.), and I have never missed a shift, once... and, as you can imagine, the repeated high-speed practice has made me very fast. And don't think that I have natural skill---I think that I'm a slow learner with regard to automotive areas.

Then again, perhaps these guys are a tenth of a second faster than I am?

alpywhite · 12th May 2002, 19:00

In town, I push 1/3/5 with my palm and flick 2/4/6 with my fingers.

The fingers curl around the shifter a little more when I'm going hard, but generally I'm not a gripper.

Alps

MEnthusiast · 13th May 2002, 05:49

Quote:

Originally posted by louv
Another tip I've heard a few times is shift by holding the knob with just 2 or 3 fingers. Holding it gently helps prevent damage due to forcing a missed shift. If you miss, it slips out of your fingers, instead of slamming your transmission. If you shift hard and fast, you better be damn sure of where you are putting that lever.

this is basically how I do it- just real gentle and smooth. In 11 years of driving only standards until I picked up the 7 Id say I had a shifter not go in all the way a few times. this method made it real easy on the tranny.