Given the amount of race use my Z gets it's not worth getting a real sequential shift box so I'm thinking of an Ikeya bolt on converter. The only concern I have is when shifting quickly down through the gears when braking into a corner, not the actual shifting but working the clutch. Is it pushed in and held in while the shifting is done quickly or are you supposed to quickly bang the clutch in and out in time with the shifts? Even with a real sequential box I think the clutch has to be used for downshifts.

Anyone have race experience with a sequential shift?

 

Might add that I am a rotten manual shifter and am too rough trying to use the standard H setup particularly when down shifting several gears into a corner, it must be a block I have, autos forever LOL. This forum seems to have the only pool of knowledge that may have the relevant knowledge ie blokes who know stuff.

 

Never used the Ikeya sequential shifter as it's not allowed in the SCCA classes I compete in. Developing clean, fast shifts with heel/toe rev matching is one of the basic skills that have to be mastered. It doesn't look like the Ikeya unit rev matches with multiple downshifts and could result in severe clutch and syncro wear as a result. Unless it's a full dogring sequential tranny, I don't know how the Ikeya releases the driver from using the clutch pedal. The Z33 six speed gearbox remains a good and reliable unit with regular fluid changes. I just spoke with one of my fellow competitors who says his Porsche gearbox gets freshened every year without failure.

 

Porker fellas getting right into how to shift with a sequential https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...equential.html Sounds like a throttle blipper is the go, there are mechanical ones available but I'll check if the Haltech can work one electronically.

 

that sounds like a lot of time, money and complexity to do a faux sequential shifter. Why not spend a fraction of that on learning to heel/toe and rev-match correctly? It'll handicap you for the rest of your driving career if you can't get this basic skill down. Besides, you can practice EVERY day on the street. I do it when I'm driving my street Z (almost unconsciously) and it helps preserve the clutch and reduce syncro wear.

It's like riding a bike- you won't forget it once you've got it IMO.

 

Agree with dkmura 1,000%.

As many here know, I’m that irritating guy constantly advocating driving skill over hardware (#drivingschool).

I don’t understand what a “throttle blipper” would do that a good H/T downshift wouldn’t. Kind of like the Nissan Synchrorev feature. Works OK but it's yet another car feature that takes “driver skill required” down yet another notch.... sigh.

#getoffmylawn

 

Oh I can heel and toe but the only practice I get is in the 350 on the track, my daily is an auto. My take is this, I'm an amateur so my skills are limited and changing down gears when entering a corner is a PITA when trying to concentrate on line, traffic and braking. So anything that helps improve my braking and cornering skills is a priority and a plus. That linked Porsche forum chat resonated with me so I thought it may be of interest to others too.

Speaking of Porsche and throttle blippers, theirs cost ~$1000, a fully adjustable one for the 350 is ~$380. Guess who is getting bent over, again

 

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing necessarily “against” things that can help a driver gain some edge within the regulations.. My take is that heel & toe is a fundamental skill and costs nothing but practice to get an extra edge.

From a clinical perspective, would be interested in a review of this throttle blipper thing. There was some review of something similar (if not the same one) a while back.

 

The idea is to try the blipper to see if that works sufficiently for my purposes without a sequential. That can be added later if needed. The whole idea is to protect the transmission from my less than ideal downshifts and free the brain to concentrate on improving lap times. With a relatively poor power/weight the 350 needs all the help it can get, I run against 240Z's with big cheater over 3 litre engines.

 

dual carbon fiber clutches are supposed to help alot with down shifting since they have alot less mass and let the trans slow down much faster. Z1 has a video explaining how it can help. One side effect is that they tend to slip a little when the carbon is cold, yes as they heat up they get stickier and more grab.

 

At one point I utilized a Tilton twin disc clutch with the ultralight flywheel. 13 lbs total, and yes, it made lightening quick shifts. But it was a b*^%$ to engage off the line and the Z likes a lot of rotational mass to extract top end speed. Lap times showed it didn't help that much without a major retune, so I ended up selling it. You still need solid technique with H/T to rev-match properly with a softer touch.

 

Its not the light flywheel that helps the transmission, it is the lightened friction discs that make the difference. Not a huge mass difference but according to z1's videos can help the syncros slow the trans faster with less mass on the input shaft.

 

Understood- my point is the Tilton package featured lightened carbon clutch discs as well as the flywheel. The package was 13# total weight and only made shifting a bit easier once you get the timing down. For purposes of this discussion, it won't make up for a lack of H/T and rev matching skills.

 

agree