Ride Along with Christina Lam, Recently Featured in GRM

That's an...unusual shifting technique. Could use some more clutch on the 4th-5th shifts.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

It helps to avoid the dreaded "money shift" on the M3 by ensuring you move it to the right.

Plus, the shifter isn't in the greatest location for her shorter stature, I'd likely suggest a modified shift lever that was bent to fall more closely to hand for her.

Stefan wrote: In reply to GameboyRMH: It helps to avoid the dreaded "money shift" on the M3 by ensuring you move it to the right. Plus, the shifter isn't in the greatest location for her shorter stature, I'd likely suggest a modified shift lever that was bent to fall more closely to hand for her.

I think you've got it. A lot of five and six speed transmissions will teach you to use something other than the classic Bondurant approved open palm technique. I shift Spec Miatas by grabbing the whole shifter with my with my thumb up against the knob and shifting with my wrist. It's fractionally slower but I get it in the correct gear every time. A Miata in good condition will survive grabbing first instead of third or second instead of fourth but it's tough on your lap times and in traffic can be detrimental to the condition of your back bumper cover.

Oh hai! I indeed have an unorthodox method of finding fifth gear. When I first got the car, I found third instead of fifth a few times. What a horrid noise! I caught it pretty quick those times, but it rattled me into changing my shifting. I didn't know any better back then and kept driving the car as it seemed okay. Probably the root cause of the valve drop last month haha. RIP S52.

I used the method APEowner described and it eventually evolved into whatever weird thing is happening now. Despite being wonky looking, it works, so I'll stick with it.

christinaylam wrote: Oh hai! I indeed have an unorthodox method of finding fifth gear. When I first got the car, I found third instead of fifth a few times. What a horrid noise! I caught it pretty quick those times, but it rattled me into changing my shifting. I didn't know any better back then and kept driving the car as it seemed okay. Probably the root cause of the valve drop last month haha. RIP S52. I used the method APEowner described and it eventually evolved into whatever weird thing is happening now. Despite being wonky looking, it works, so I'll stick with it.

Hey Christina! I'm glad you chimed in, and not just because its a rare moment when a women (or really, anyone) says that I'm right. I predict that now that it's been made famous on the internet all of the other M3 drivers are going to be emulating your technique without knowing why. It'll be like the Valentino Rossi leg wave. Someone will be asked why they do it and they'll say "I don't know, Christina Lam does it so it must be fast" and everyone will nod knowingly.

Goals: Take over the world with my strange shifting habits.

christinaylam wrote: Goals: Take over the world with my strange shifting habits.

Yay!

LOL it's like my twitter feed decided to move to the GRM forums.

Ever get the ABS going?

-Hans

In certain cars I do the same thing to make sure I get 5th and not 3rd. It works.

In reply to christinaylam:

Great battle at the beginning of the race- and given some of the threads here about racers not exactly behaving, it was also nice to see both of you give room when either of you could have easily done an F1 and force the other closer to the edge of the track.

Also hope you are a next Randy Pobst- starting as a hobbist driver, and then making fast progress up the ladder. Can't be that easy to field your own car like that.

Good luck! I ran out of guts on the track. Autocrossing was as far as my nerve would really take me.