paddle shifter?

[accord98lx]

whats a paddle shifter??? the stuff on the steering wheel or where is it located? explain plz!!

[Kyle]

paddle shifter is on the steering wheel...
i've never actually seen them in a car...but i have played a video game with it...

[VR4_Craver]

The new (2004) grand prix or the grand am has the paddle shifter. They are on the steering wheel as *paddles* or buttons on the sterring wheel. The Lexus IS300 autos have a sport shift that alows the driver to control shift points or if the driver dont shift, the car will drive clear up until redline and shift itself.

[Kyle]

i've known about the pontiac one...but i didn't really think that counted as a paddle shifter...

[pbateson]

paddle shifter? Never heard that! I think it will be better than maunal.

[G-M-W]

you can getthe bmw m3 with the smg transmission...thats a paddle shifter

the ferarris have em too

imo i think they are gay.....get a clutch and a shift knob

[pbateson]

No! It not gay! Don't need Shift knob and clutch! It's will be a lot of $$$ or misshift.

Well, the replacement clutch will be too expersive! Hehe!

[nonovurbizniz]

They ALLEGEDLY perform better than a standard tranny... I don't really believe it...

They are little paddles set back about an inch or two behind the steering wheel directly behind your hands at 10 and 2.

I like the "feel" of them but most "push button standard trannies" leave me wishing there was a clutch pedal and a 5-6 speed.

[accord98lx]

wtf...so basically its a manual trans with no clutch but you can manually shift gears with this button on the steering wheel?

[nonovurbizniz]

unfortunately more like an auto trans you control the shiftpoints if you choose...

There are some cluthcless manuals though... ferrari had one that engaged the clutch when it sensed pressure on the shift handle (normal shifter style/position)...

And an aftermarket company in japan makes a system that essentially lets you engage the clutch with the push of a button on the shift knob...

It wouldn't be that hard to do yourself... just a lot of work and testing.

overall ever automanual I've driven has lacked the real feel of a manual but they're usually better than an auto you have no control over.

[GT40FIED]

Paddle shifts got their start in F1, I think. It makes sense to not take your hands off the wheel at 200mph+. As for street cars...they've yet to get it right. I've driven a car with that setup and I was VERY underwhelmed. Kinda felt like the "shift on the fly" dual gate automatics. That said I'm sure they've improved recently. I'd bet one from Ferrari is like butter but as for Pontiac...probably just cheesy slushbox crap.

[pdiggitydogg]

i drove the pontiac that has em...I hated it

[MAXed Out]

The new M3's SMG, M5 Smg Benz MAyback some Audi RS6's and i'm not quite sure it's a option on the new s4'shas it

[spoogenet]

Originally posted by VR4_Craver
The new (2004) grand prix or the grand am has the paddle shifter. They are on the steering wheel as *paddles* or buttons on the sterring wheel. The Lexus IS300 autos have a sport shift that alows the driver to control shift points or if the driver dont shift, the car will drive clear up until redline and shift itself.

IS300 shouldn't shift up unless you tell it to. It'll go to redline and stay there. If you put it in regular auto and turn sport mode on, then it'll shift at redline.

the IS300 and GrandAss still are just normal automatic trannies.

The BMW SMG in the M3 and now the new 5's is just a 6-sp manual transmission, exact same one as what's in the regular manual tranny M3. It's just a hydraulicly controlled clutch and shift linkage, it's not a true sequential manual, it's still a synchromesh tranny.

The BMW SMG is far superior to any manumatic transmission because it's still a standard transmission. It's just in theory faster because it's automatically controlled rather than having a clutch pedal and a shift lever for the driver. I think Audi and MB basically do the same thing.

Ferarri had a cool system where you still had a shift lever and just no clutch pedal. The clutch was automatically controlled by hydraulics but the shift linkage was like a normal manual. Based upon throttle and shift lever pressure read in by a bunch of sensors, it would detect when you wanted to shift and engage/disengage the clutch accordingly.

I'm not aware of any cars that are truly clutchless. They may be clutch-pedalless but not clutchless. Just cuz the pedal aint there doesn't mean the clutch isn't there either..... :no:

AFAIK a true sequential still has a clutch, or does it? Anybody who's familiar with F1 know?

b

[pbateson]

F1 doesn't need for clutch.