How many of you downshift to 1st gear during autocrossing? the regions near me usually have pretty tight courses that require downshifting to stay in the evo's powerband; however about a month ago i broke the 1-2 shift fork and it cost me $1500 to fix and now i am very leary to autocross my evo again. Just wondering how many other people downshift to first and would like to know if you've had any problems.

 

I think your entering anti-lag territory

 

I do it when the course dictates, but I try to avoid it all costs. I wouldn't expect to break the shift fork just from downshifting as long as I wasn't doing it at 7k rpm each time.

For $1500, did you do an entire tranny rebuild with stronger internals from Shep or TRE?

 

+1

 

no, thats was just to replace the fork with a new one - i take it that i should have got one from Shep or TRE though? is that legal though to upgrade tranny parts for autocrossing?

 

Sound advice there!
The TRE/Shep trannies won't die from 2-1 downshifts. I have often noticed that my stock trannied car is a bit fussy to get into first at 15mph or more.

 

DON'T DO IT!

Unless you hit a COMPLETE stop for a count of one don't freakin' consider it... too much time, too much upsetting of your suspension ... geez, DON'T DO IT!

 

Dunno where that came from Kazz...it is often necessary in autocrossing depending on the layout. It's not recommended in most cases, but by no means do you have to come to a complete stop to make use of 1st gear when autocrossing.

Yes, $1500 to just fix the fork was a major ripoff, but most of that was probably just the cost to remove and re-install the tranny I'm guessing. Just strenghening your tranny doesn't randomly make it illegal for autocross - it all depends on the class you're in and what the rules are. Plus, you can opt for just freshening up the tranny without putting in upgraded parts that are illegal in case that is restricted in your class.

 

yea i dont think it's worth risking damage to your transmission for a measly autocross..where at most you can win is a plaque that doesnt even say your name on it.

 

i dont autocross but i downshift into 1st when i pull into my driveway when im still rolling, is that bad? i dont think it is

 

If you're not doing it to compete and win, then there's no reason to do it at all. For someone that competitively races, there is always inherent risk. We don't race with the attitude of "why make this shift for a measly <insert form of racing here>." Just because you don't doesn't mean it isn't valuable to those of us who do.

 

+1...even if i don't autocross, WRC and rally are infact awsome types of racing

 

Left foot brake!!!!!

Faster than downshifting, and keeps the boost up.

 

+1

 

I downshift occasionally but have been working on the left foot brake and its much much better in most situations...if you do have to down shift, I wouldn't worry about just slamming it in there even if it goes up to like 6k, been there done that a million times on my evo and she is still going strong (besides clutch which just said goodbye with the addition of nitrous...)