Ecliptech Shift-I progressive shift lights

[Sean]

I picked up one of these doohickeys, but I was a little concerned that if I mounted it in the logical place on a Seven, right there on the scuttle, it might:
a) get wet, and maybe stop working
b) not be there when I got back - still working maybe, but not for me

So I know this guy who knows a guy whose sister's boyfriend has a CNC mill, or something like that, and I made a drawing and gave away some good beer, and before long had a simple anti-rain/anti-theft bracket made from a scrap of 6061 and a couple of spare heli-coils (black anodized to minimize glare). I hope to be able to get it installed sometime before Halloween, but I'm not placing bets. :)

1st photo shows the Shift-I, the 2nd the bracket, and the 3rd shows them together.

[moosetestbestanden]

So what does the doohickey do?

[slomove]

So what does the doohickey do?

Help prevent buzzing the pistons off the crankshaft without staring at the tach. I mean...not that this ever happened to a certain Duratec engine in any of our cars......

Oh, and by the way mine is bigger than yours' and has HUD function:

[Sean]

So what does the doohickey do?

The Ecliptech Shift-I progressive shift lights doohickey is basically a set of shift lights that work progressively. Their web page can be located with a minimum of effort, as can many other pages with more independent information, where you can read all the relevant details.

I am acutely aware that I have what I feel is a basic character flaw in that I can often be somewhat cynical, but I am trying to do so less often as I get older. This one really tested me though. ;)


Looks cool, Gert!

[moosetestbestanden]

Help prevent buzzing the pistons off the crankshaft without staring at the tach. I mean...not that this ever happened to a certain Duratec engine in any of our cars......

Hmmm, I think you're right. I can't seem to remember any Duratec engines "buzzing the pistons off the crankshaft". I do recall an oil ring failure. I also recall that a more recent engine-out experience, specifically for engine issues requiring machine shop work (not totally weirdo 'htf did that metal bit get in the bellhousing' type issues), was in fact not a Duratec, and that the problem happened a little further east from where I live dot dot dot.

I rarely look at the tach. I can tell by the sound when to shift about 98% of the time. When I fuck up the other 2% of the time the ECU does a very good job of preventing overrev related issues on upshifts. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it the device doesn't actually prevent overrev, it simply serves to inform when it's time to upshift (just like a tach). Does the row of lights inform the driver of overrev on downshifts?

It is a nice gadget I suppose and I like the CNC work for sure Sean - it looks great.

How much does it weigh?:D

[slomove]

....How much does it weigh?:D.....

Little less than an ounce for mine. That means a whopping 0.2 milliseconds added to your 0-60 times, given a 1300 pound car and 4-5 seconds normally ;-)

I am not sure about actual benefits on the track either...theoretically it should give you an opportunity to optimize your shift timing without getting distracted from driving (most people's ears are not sufficiently calibrated to distinguish between e.g. 7000 and 7200 rpm). A simple shift light might do almost the same job but once you run into the ECU limiter you have already lost some power for half second or so.

For me being such an infrequent track driver it does not really matter but that was another fun project and may serve double duty in one of the industrial products I develop for a living. If that works out we may even start selling to the automotive crowd sometimes.

[Sean]

How much does it weigh?:D

Haven't put either on a scale, but can't be more than a few ounces, tops. Coincidentally, I was on a scale this morning: 158 lbs... Pure muscle, every bottle of it. :)

[moosetestbestanden]

How much does it weigh?:D

In the immortal words of Foghorn Leghorn, "That's a joke, son"

[slomove]

.... That means a whopping 0.2 milliseconds added to your 0-60 times, given a 1300 pound car and 4-5 seconds normally ;-).......

that one, too!

[Sean]

How much does it weigh?:D

1.6 ounces (~0.1 lb.) for the bracket. Probably up to around 2, maybe 2-1/2 ounces for the whole she-bang.