Geartronics - Flatshift

Are you making use of the full potential of your sequential gearbox?

Almost without exception, sequential gearboxes use dog engagement rather than syncromesh. This enables
extremely rapid gear changes to be made, even without use of the clutch or lifting off the accelerator pedal.
This is often referred to as flat-shifting, power-shifting or shift without lift (SWOL).

Unless you are flat-shifting, you are not realising the full potential of your gearbox and are probably causing
unnecessary wear on the drive dogs. If you don't believe us, have a look at this excellent article by William
Hewland of Hewland Engineering.

To successfully change gear without the clutch, you first need to remove the driving torque from the gearbox.
Of course, you can simply lift off the throttle pedal at the right moment and then press it back to the floor as
soon as the next gear has been engaged. However, no matter how skilled the driver is, hand & foot co-
ordination is slow by comparison to a computer! Typically, a manual gear change can take as long as 1/2
second to complete. This means that for 1/2 second, no power is being transmitted to the road, leading to
reduced performance and the possibility of causing loss of cornering stability. The Geartronics Flatshift
system can allow gear change times to be reduced to as little as 50ms - that's just 5 hundredths of a second!

The Geartronics Flatshift system works by detecting an imminent gear change by means of a special sensor
mounted in the gear stick. The sensor sends a signal to the Flatshift ECU which then cuts the engine spark
for a precise length of time - the diriver does not lift off the accelerator pedal at any time during the gear shift,
hence the term 'Flatshift'.

The Geartronics system has the added sophistication of being fully programmable to adjust the spark cut
durarion for each gear change, rather than relying on just one compromise setting. Many aftermarket engine
management systems incorporate a basic flatshift function, but this will almost certainly only have provision
for a single cut duration, regardless of gear position. Furthermore, these ECU's will only have a 'digital' input
that is switched to ground to provide a trigger signal - they do not have the necessary circuitry to allow direct
connection of a load cell sensor - an essential component for reliable triggering of the spark cut.

All the settings of the Geartronics system are configurable via a laptop computer using our proprietary control
panel software. To download the full working copy of the software, click on the screenshot below.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Gear indicator: Analogue input from potentiometer. Capable of displaying up to 7
forward gears plus N & R. Fully programmable to suit any potentiometer
sensor in any angular position.

Engine speed input: Compatible with most 'tach' signals from aftermarket & OEM engine
management controllers.

Shift lights: 3 LED's in user programmable steps. Flashing at final rpm limit.

Spark cut: 0-250ms user programmable duration for each up change. Output either digital,
to interface directly to engine ECU or via built in power FET's to interrupt coils
and/or injectors.

Load cell: 4 wire bridge, nominal 350 Ohms impedance. M10 female thread at each end.

Data logging: Basic statistics provide recording of the maximum engine speed acheived in
each gear, and overall maximum engine speed.

Communications: Standard serial RS232 or USB to link to any PC/laptop.

Software: Fully configurable for gear position, shift light and spark cut duration. Feartures
advanced 'debounce' capability to eliminate false triggering. Compatible with
Win9x, WinNT, Win2k & WinXP.

Electrical: 10-15v supply, max current consumption 200mA

Dimensions: ECU 112 x 84 x 29mm - Anodised aluminium

Display 50 x 61 x 25mm - digit height 30mm - carbon-fibre effect ABS.