Newbie to drag racing. Finally took the challenger out to the drag strip. It was the cars first time and my first time going down the 1/4 mile, and now I really want to do it again! haha. Anyways I have a 5 speed tko 600 and had a lot of trouble with the 2-3 shift. Only got to make 3 passes and missed 3rd 2 time's when I tried to power shift it. Finally I gave up and shifted "normal" just let of throttle when I shifted and finally made it thru all the gears. Any tips on shifting this thing? I'm sure I will get better but I really don't like missing a gear and would really like to hit all the gears when I go back.
Also curious what you think about my time. Keep in mind this is a street car on street tires. My best time was 13.03 @ 111.33 with a 2.067 60'. Was really hoping for a 12 second pass but didn't happen. I know with only 3 passes and me being a virgin it's hard to determine what I need to do, but any tips? What should I expect for 60' time? The car ran really good didn't have any issues with that and was pleased overall for my first time.
Car
Challenger stock weight, stock suspension
500 cubic inches chassis dyno 450hp 530tq
3.91 gears
275 60 radials

1.7 even 1.6 60s is more than do able..
should get you deep in the 12s.
that kind of mph should get you tingling the 11s
if you can get the hook and 60ft down

I'll give you a tip..... don't shift that tremec hard they don't like it. If you wanna bang gears poke an 833 in it.

Seems pretty good for stock tires. MPH should be good for low 12's.

I took the Convertible out two weeks ago and had a hard time getting 60' times under 2.5 seconds. No traction at all in first gear. Managed some 14.2-14.3 runs at 103+ MPH (Best was 104.67 MPH.) I did weigh the car at the track, 4,375 lbs so I guess it was doing OK for 9,000 ft corrected altitude?
The SS700 shifts good, but I did not try to power shift it. Only have about 300 miles on it.

you need a short throw shifter, which will not only give quicker shifts but more importantly makes 2-3 easier. It self centers between 3-4 so you need to push side ways from 1-2 then going 2-3 is just strait forward shifting as fast as you can! What oil have you in that box?

Thanks for the replys. That's what I was hoping to hear. Have a set of 28 by 10 slicks that I will give a try as soon as I have time to get my drive shaft loop in. I'm sure they will help with the 60' times too. But I want to get the best time I can in street trim first.
I have gm synchromesh in it now after it started leaking out the breather last summer. Helped with that but now I've noticed when I get some miles in the heat it starts to get hard to shift, don't know what that's all about. There is only about 1200 miles on it so I'll give it some time before I worry about that. Going to do a search on those shifters.

That Tremec was made for a 6 cylinder, [ 600 ] if you want to race, t yourself a real transmission.

If you still have the stock tremec shifter then a Pro 5.0 shifter will help with the shifting issues. Other aftermarket shifters may be just as good but I only have experience with the Pro 5.0 shifter

I agree completely with the short throw shifter addition. I’ve driven a couple 500-600hp Mustangs with TKO’s in them and with the right shifter powershifting 3rd is really, really easy. From my experience they actually shifted better under power than just cruising around town. If the shifter doesn’t help it try checking your clutch setup, freeplay, etc.

These transmission have an inherent problem with the shifter rails..That cause this exact issue..There is a fix. But offhand I do not know where to find it. Google the issue you will find many people with the same complaint about this transmission and hopefully the fix.

Cool. Thanks for all the replys will do some more research. Need to give keisler a call for some other stuff so I will ask them about it too.

Liberty can fix the issue for you, or you can call them and have them send you the parts to do it....IIRC my buddy paid about $250 for the parts to his shop in Canada to fix the 2-3 shift issue in his TKO swapped 84 vette

I had the gear clash issue (hard shifting) with a dodge service truck using the factory recommended oil. Cold, it would shift perfectly, hot, it'd clash between shifts. Solved that problem by putting synthetic 50w gear oil in it. It clashes a little when it's cold, but once it warms up it shifts like a dream. I wanted to try 30w synthetic, but our shop didn't have any and I didn't want to wait.

I have a tko600 in one of my cars and all you will need is that short throw shifter. I got mine from steeda. I use automatic transmission fluid. The spigot bearing i made an adapter and run a roller bearing. I'm using a sprung button clutch and 3000lb presure plate. 7200rpm shifts easy.

A mate of mine also uses a tko600 in a dedicated track car 670hp 620torque had the same problem kept on missing 3rd. Put a short throw shifter in fixed.

It's money well spent

Transmission:
There is a kit to fix the 3rd gear problem.
I installed one last year. No big deal if you have taken manual transmissions apart before.
You get a shift rod, carbon fiber blocker rings and some other small parts that I don't remember.
Call Liberty and they can hook you up.
http://www.libertysgears.com/index.htm

I;ve been thru all this before and then some... All I can say is if you really want to run this tranny with overdrive (like I do), and you are going to be racing it at the track occasionally, "Liberty" is the answer.

This is exactly what I ran into, and this is a post from someone at Tremec about the tko600 that I found on the computer. Not sure who< but this is the statement:
"Moving on... Shifting a TKO aggressively (like most manual transmissions) requires you to do and know a few things. For starters, keep in mind that the single cone synchronizer in a TKO is only good to about 6,500 RPM. Any higher than that, and you're likely to experience a block out condition, or in other words, you will exceed the synchro's capacity and it will not go into gear without extraordinary effort. Second, clutch release is of critical importance. If the clutch is not fully disengaged at the point when you attempt to complete the shift, the synchronizers will have to contend with all the rotating inertia of the engine in front of them, instead of just the mass of the speed gears they were designed for. So if your timing is not right the best case scenario is that the trans will not make the shift and the worst case is that you will severely damage synchros trying. Lastly, as equipped from TREMEC, the TKO has a self-centering shifter that lines you up with the 3-4 'gate'. Do not try to 'steer' the shifter by gripping it and slamming it around. Rather you want to let the trans do some of the work. So when performing a 2-3 shift, just put your palm against the back of the shift ball and shove it straigt forward--the trans will take care of the rest.

Normally in a case such as yours, I strongly recommend that you play around with the trans, first at rest, and then at graduating RPM's. Get a feel for how your TKO likes to be shifted and slowly add revs as you feel comfortable. Until you feel confident, I would surely recommend lifting between shifts. However as you get better and better you'll eventually be "power-shifting" like a pro--foot on the gas and kicking... well, you get the idea! Just remember the harder you are on your trans, the faster it will wear, period. Additionally, if you screw up badly in the heat of battle, you run the risk of really causing some carnage inside the trans. But hey that's all part of the game my friend, and what seperates people like us from those girly-men who would rather let a valve-body do the work for them(LOL)!"


There you have it from the source. If you want to powershift or shift at higher rpms, modification is the only answer. I had mine "Faceplated", but there is also "Pro shifted" mods.

Check it out here:http://www.libertysgears.com/faceplate-proshift.htm

Good luck.

When you set this up did you dial in the bell housing? If not you will have shifting problems.

Thank you very very much Chargerfan68. That info you posted was exactly what I, too, was looking for.

I´ve got a TKO600 with all the "big kit" stuff from Keisler (pedals, driveshaft, clutch, floor hump etc.).

How do I know if I have a "standard" shifter ie. not the optimal 3-4 gate centering one? My trans is still on the shelve here, not installed in the car, yet.

Thanks for info!