[Wetzel]

Is a shifting transmission really necessary?

The better educated engineers above me have pointed out most of the pros and cons of shifting or not. That doesn't really address the question.

The correct answer is, it depends on the game and your game play strategy. Its been mentioned before, but it has been buried inside justification-by-feature.

In 2002, it was absolutely necessary for some teams to shift to get to the goals faster. The difference between 8fps and 12 fps was a full second of personal time with the goals. However, Beatty didn't need a shifting transmission because they thought outside the box and engineered another solution to the problem. Now, because of rule changes, their file card trick won't work anymore, but I am POSITIVE that there is another way to pull off a similar outside-the-box solution to a movement problem.

Is a shifting transmission really necessary?

I'd say no, not because the features are unnecessary, but because limiting yourself to one solution is a bad idea in FIRST.

Wetzel