Feature lets you shift gears with gas pedal floored
February 14, 2008
By MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS AUTO CRITIC
The 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS offers a new performance feature that allows the driver to race through the gears of its manual transmission without easing off the throttle.
The result is faster acceleration in all-out driving, as GM's ace driver John Heinricy demonstrated flinging an HHR SS around Germany's legendary Nurburgring road course last year. A video of Heinricy and the HHR's assault on the hilly race course can be found by searching YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. for "Chevy/Heinricy at Nurburgring."
No-lift shift uses an algorithm in the car's control software to keep the engine from racing to the redline if you keep the accelerator floored and slam through the gears. The result is nearly uninterrupted power and better lap times and acceleration than is possible when you ease off the throttle slightly during each shift, as is necessary with other manual transmissions.
Every HHR SS equipped with the standard manual transmission gets the no-lift shift software.
Feature lets you shift gears with gas pedal floored
February 14, 2008
By MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS AUTO CRITIC
The 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS offers a new performance feature that allows the driver to race through the gears of its manual transmission without easing off the throttle.
The result is faster acceleration in all-out driving, as GM's ace driver John Heinricy demonstrated flinging an HHR SS around Germany's legendary Nurburgring road course last year. A video of Heinricy and the HHR's assault on the hilly race course can be found by searching YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. for "Chevy/Heinricy at Nurburgring."
No-lift shift uses an algorithm in the car's control software to keep the engine from racing to the redline if you keep the accelerator floored and slam through the gears. The result is nearly uninterrupted power and better lap times and acceleration than is possible when you ease off the throttle slightly during each shift, as is necessary with other manual transmissions.
Every HHR SS equipped with the standard manual transmission gets the no-lift shift software.
This is not on the GXP currently ('07 & '08 models) and there hasn't been anything released indicating it's present on the '09 models.
I'm personally waiting for the HHR's to come out and see if HP Tuners or someone else working the ECU's can find the code and if it can be installed into ours... would make things really nice!
Location: Under an invisibility cloak, somewhere in the Northeast
As kicked around in a couple December discusssions, the HHR SS/Cobolt SS and Solstice transmissions are a worlds apart.
The GM Europe (GME-Sweden) F35 transmission in the HHR SS/Cobolt SS is a front wheel drive unit.
The Aisin (Japan) AR5 transmission in the Solstice is a rear wheel drive unit.
So their build, operations and software is totally different.
For the time being, it will be a wait and see if this feature is adopted for the Solstice.
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Seems this is less an advance in transmission, and more a ECM mod, as rlhammon suggests. Theorhetically, if the ECM gets a signal when the clutch is depressed (which it might, if the clutch safety switch circuit goes through the ECM) it should be programmable.
But honestly, wouldn't the rev limiter that's already there do the same thing? I don't really understand how this is an "advance" or how it could really give any performance advantage over a just plain good driver. Seems to me though, that this is just as likely to lead to a burnt up clutch more than it would lead to a quicker lap time. The few tenths of a second you might gain in lap times could easily be made up by working on other techniques that make you faster (heel and toe, picking better apexes, etc.)
As kicked around in a couple December discusssions, the HHR SS/Cobolt SS and Solstice transmissions are a worlds apart.
The GM Europe (GME-Sweden) F35 transmission in the HHR SS/Cobolt SS is a front wheel drive unit.
The Aisin (Japan) AR5 transmission in the Solstice is a rear wheel drive unit.
So their build, operations and software is totally different.
For the time being, it will be a wait and see if this feature is adopted for the Solstice.
With a manual transmission car it's not going to be a software difference. Since the engine is the same, the ECM is likely similar (or the same) and one of the tuning companies should be able to add it at some point.
Seems this is less an advance in transmission, and more a ECM mod, as rlhammon suggests. Theorhetically, if the ECM gets a signal when the clutch is depressed (which it might, if the clutch safety switch circuit goes through the ECM) it should be programmable.
But honestly, wouldn't the rev limiter that's already there do the same thing? I don't really understand how this is an "advance" or how it could really give any performance advantage over a just plain good driver. Seems to me though, that this is just as likely to lead to a burnt up clutch more than it would lead to a quicker lap time. The few tenths of a second you might gain in lap times could easily be made up by working on other techniques that make you faster (heel and toe, picking better apexes, etc.)
No, I haven't spent any time bouncing off of my Solstice's rev limiter, but generally a factory limiter kills the engine until it has dropped several hundred RPM.
A no-lift shift limiter would be more like a MSD soft-touch, which keeps the engine right at the desired RPM by cutting spark or fuel (or both) to a subset of the cylinders on each cycle instead of all of them at once. It keeps the engine much more responsive on the limiter (ready to accelerate once the clutch drops.) Also, in a turbo car, it keeps the turbine spooled so the compressor is still stuffing the engine with pressurized air, rather than having a delay before the boost kicks back in on a shift.
Finally, as far as the clutch is concerned, this is probably better on the clutch than someone trying to shift as fast as possible on their own. This is because (assuming GM set it up right) the "shift" rev limiter is set right to where the engine needs to be on an upshift, meaning the clutch doesn't have to absorb the difference in engine and transmission speed if the driver let the revs drop too far.
It's a big deal performance-wise, particularly if it is combined (as in the HHR SS) with launch control (3rd rev limit set to optimal launch RPM.)
Other than the clutch switch (and it'd be a different one than the saftey switch, cause you want these to trigger as soon as the clutch is depressed, rather than when it is fully depressed) being wired into the ECM, this is ENTIRELY a software driven feature, so it should be addable to the GXP Solstice.
No, I haven't spent any time bouncing off of my Solstice's rev limiter, but generally a factory limiter kills the engine until it has dropped several hundred RPM.
A no-lift shift limiter would be more like a MSD soft-touch, which keeps the engine right at the desired RPM by cutting spark or fuel (or both) to a subset of the cylinders on each cycle instead of all of them at once. It keeps the engine much more responsive on the limiter (ready to accelerate once the clutch drops.) Also, in a turbo car, it keeps the turbine spooled so the compressor is still stuffing the engine with pressurized air, rather than having a delay before the boost kicks back in on a shift.
Finally, as far as the clutch is concerned, this is probably better on the clutch than someone trying to shift as fast as possible on their own. This is because (assuming GM set it up right) the "shift" rev limiter is set right to where the engine needs to be on an upshift, meaning the clutch doesn't have to absorb the difference in engine and transmission speed if the driver let the revs drop too far.
It's a big deal performance-wise, particularly if it is combined (as in the HHR SS) with launch control (3rd rev limit set to optimal launch RPM.)
Other than the clutch switch (and it'd be a different one than the saftey switch, cause you want these to trigger as soon as the clutch is depressed, rather than when it is fully depressed) being wired into the ECM, this is ENTIRELY a software driven feature, so it should be addable to the GXP Solstice.
OK, if it works as you describe, it sounds pretty cool.
I'm still not sure if I want it, though. I must be getting old.
To me, every "advance" like this only serves to make the driving experience less engaging. The way I see it, it's more fun if you have to work to get the most performance out of a car. Give me a big, hairy old school Cobra-type car with no ABS, traction control, stability control, launch control, or this new feature, and I'll be happy to work on my driving skills all day long to lower my lap times. It's kind of like the difference between NASCAR and Formula1, I suppose.
Granted, ABS, stability control, and traction control are great safety features. I've finally come to realize this, and I'll finally stop ordering my new cars without these features. But if I'm out on a track day just having a good time, the less technology there is between me and the tires, the happier I am. The feature in question in this thread has nothing to do with safety, so I'll do without.
That's my 2 cents anyway. I mean no offense to anyone - I'm not saying this is a dumb idea - to the contrary, it seems pretty cool. I love technology most of the time, but I'd rather have my play car be "back to basics."
No, I haven't spent any time bouncing off of my Solstice's rev limiter, but generally a factory limiter kills the engine until it has dropped several hundred RPM.
A no-lift shift limiter would be more like a MSD soft-touch, which keeps the engine right at the desired RPM by cutting spark or fuel (or both) to a subset of the cylinders on each cycle instead of all of them at once. It keeps the engine much more responsive on the limiter (ready to accelerate once the clutch drops.) Also, in a turbo car, it keeps the turbine spooled so the compressor is still stuffing the engine with pressurized air, rather than having a delay before the boost kicks back in on a shift.
Finally, as far as the clutch is concerned, this is probably better on the clutch than someone trying to shift as fast as possible on their own. This is because (assuming GM set it up right) the "shift" rev limiter is set right to where the engine needs to be on an upshift, meaning the clutch doesn't have to absorb the difference in engine and transmission speed if the driver let the revs drop too far.
It's a big deal performance-wise, particularly if it is combined (as in the HHR SS) with launch control (3rd rev limit set to optimal launch RPM.)
Other than the clutch switch (and it'd be a different one than the saftey switch, cause you want these to trigger as soon as the clutch is depressed, rather than when it is fully depressed) being wired into the ECM, this is ENTIRELY a software driven feature, so it should be addable to the GXP Solstice.
I don't think it should be a spark that limits the revs, I think it should be the throttle
this is drive by wire and I can't see why the ecu can't just stop throttle when you reach the preset that you want to shift
Feature lets you shift gears with gas pedal floored
February 14, 2008
By MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS AUTO CRITIC
The 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS offers a new performance feature that allows the driver to race through the gears of its manual transmission without easing off the throttle.
The result is faster acceleration in all-out driving, as GM's ace driver John Heinricy demonstrated flinging an HHR SS around Germany's legendary Nurburgring road course last year. A video of Heinricy and the HHR's assault on the hilly race course can be found by searching YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. for "Chevy/Heinricy at Nurburgring."
No-lift shift uses an algorithm in the car's control software to keep the engine from racing to the redline if you keep the accelerator floored and slam through the gears. The result is nearly uninterrupted power and better lap times and acceleration than is possible when you ease off the throttle slightly during each shift, as is necessary with other manual transmissions.
Every HHR SS equipped with the standard manual transmission gets the no-lift shift software.
you mean I'm supposed to let off the gas to shift ? DARN, I never thought of such a thing.
OK, if it works as you describe, it sounds pretty cool.
I'm still not sure if I want it, though. I must be getting old.
To me, every "advance" like this only serves to make the driving experience less engaging. The way I see it, it's more fun if you have to work to get the most performance out of a car. Give me a big, hairy old school Cobra-type car with no ABS, traction control, stability control, launch control, or this new feature, and I'll be happy to work on my driving skills all day long to lower my lap times. It's kind of like the difference between NASCAR and Formula1, I suppose.
Granted, ABS, stability control, and traction control are great safety features. I've finally come to realize this, and I'll finally stop ordering my new cars without these features. But if I'm out on a track day just having a good time, the less technology there is between me and the tires, the happier I am. The feature in question in this thread has nothing to do with safety, so I'll do without.
That's my 2 cents anyway. I mean no offense to anyone - I'm not saying this is a dumb idea - to the contrary, it seems pretty cool. I love technology most of the time, but I'd rather have my play car be "back to basics."
Having driven cars with similar systems, I can assure you that it does not make the drive less engaging, it just makes it faster because the power comes on more quickly after each shift. It won't make up for someone who shifts slowly, it enhances the performance of someone who can already drive well.
I don't think it should be a spark that limits the revs, I think it should be the throttle
this is drive by wire and I can't see why the ecu can't just stop throttle when you reach the preset that you want to shift
No, it's got to be the spark or fuel for something like this to work with a turbocharged engine properly. To keep the turbo spooled during the shift, you need to keep the throttle wide open, and the engine pumping as much air as possible.
For an NA car, a no-lift shift could probably work with the throttle, but still, you'd have a delay after the completion of the shift waiting for the plate to snap back open. You get better results (acceleration) cutting spark on alternating cylinders because the engine is able to recover from a properly set up spark-cut event faster than a partially closed throttle.
