No-lift Shifting in the Camaro ZL1

No-lift shift isn’t new to GM. The Chevrolet Cobalt SS and HHR SS had it, the Buick Regal GS and the Cadillac CTS-V have it, but the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 wears it best.

Imagine you’re at a drag strip. You put the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stability system into Race mode, inch up to the starting line until you fully stage, then put your right foot flat onto the accelerator pedal to turn on launch control. After the engine figures out what rpm to launch at, you ease your foot off of the clutch to go. The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 charges forward, the tachometer’s needle approaches redline, and it’s time to shift. This is usually when you’d take your right foot off of the accelerator pedal, push the clutch pedal in with your left foot, shift into second gear, raise your left off of the clutch, and slam your right foot down onto the accelerator pedal again—but that’s not what’s going to happen this time.

With your right foot firmly planted on the accelerator pedal, your left foot hovers just above the clutch pedal. Then you start to push down it. For a second, every muscle in your body tenses off as you imagine obliterating the supercharged V-8 engine or the 6-speed manual transmission by doing what you’re about to do. Then you remind yourself that this engine is tuned for no-lift shifts. If you don’t use the feature, the supercharger won’t maintain boost between gears. So you ram your left foot down onto the clutch pedal, there’s a loud blat from the exhaust, your right hand yanks the transmission into second gear, and you get your left foot off of the accelerator as fast as you can. The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 surges forward, completely unscathed. Ditto for the next two shifts. As you cross the finish line in just over twelve seconds, you realize that the accelerator pedal has been on the floor since the start of your quarter-mile run.


Info from: Camaro5.com