Short shifting

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The term short shifting comes from motorsport and describes the early upshift to the next gear before the engine speed with the highest horsepower is reached .

Normally in motorsport the usable speed range is exhausted to the maximum in order to be able to use the engine power completely and to have a high speed in the area of ​​the maximum torque immediately after shifting up . However, this driving technique is not desirable under special conditions . These include a lack of traction (e.g. on a wet road), if too much power would cause the wheels to spin and could not be converted into propulsion, engine problems (e.g. due to overheating) or the protection of the vehicle technology or the fuel (in the formula 1), if the racing situation allows it (e.g. with safe leadership).

Short shifting generally reduces the stress on the drive and tires , but is usually bought at the price of lower average speeds.