Glossary / General

short shift

9 Episode Mentions

Too Afraid to Ask

“Short shift” means you shift to the next gear sooner than usual. The goal is to keep the engine in the right zone so it keeps pulling instead of falling off when traction isn’t great.

Technical Definition

“Short shift” means shifting gears earlier than you normally would to keep the engine in a favorable RPM/load range. In nitro drag racing, it can help maintain the engine’s required load and avoid bogging or instability when traction is poor.

Hear It Discussed

"So but the current engine works. So okay, well, hopefully, I mean, you know, short shift. Yeah, what track is the race at? Sebring."
Audi Nuvolari; Teaching Kids to Judge Tires (for charity!) The Smoking Tire 30:01

"You can just, you can just short shift in the CS and flow down a road and it feels like so far above a standard F90."
Our daily drivers & the world's best saloon, with Henry Catchpole | evo Q&A EP3 The evo podcast 04:23

"So it's like, you know, short shift and so to speak, and how it kind of [2703.6s] lugs the motor and you're not really lugging the motor, but it needs to be"
Tony Stewart Finally Opens Up About Leaving NASCAR Oil and Whiskey with Roadster Shop 45:00