How do "paddle shifters" work

[H Richard]

You mentioned earlier, Not having t shift like in a 49 Dodge. Boy did that bring back memories, my first car was a 47 Dodge with the "Fluid Drive". Unfortunately it had no acceleration at all, so I usually shifted. It was so slow, you couldn't spin your wheels on glare ice.

 

[JcMack]

My father was addicted to Chrysler products. He had a '49 Dodge he bought new. Then in '55 he bought a new Dodge Hemi that was tri color, black, white, and yellow. We raced and beat some kids in a Hudson Hornet rag top one early morning on the way to going fishing. He was smilin for a week. After he wrecked the Hemi a couple times my mother made him buy a '61 Merc Comet.

 

[dkees]

I have an '05 Dodge Magnum Hemi that has the "slap shift". You have to "slap" the gear shift lever left/right and you have to still take your right hand off the wheel.

No paddles here.

I never use it.

 

[wuluf]

Given your choice, maybe you can explain to me the dislike of CVT gearboxes that so many have. My buddy has had two vehicles with CVT and I noticed no strange traits when traveling with him.

My Rav4 is a standard...
if i was going to buy an automatic, i'm not sure about the CVT, stayed with what i know.

 

[firebirdude]

The paddle shifters I have seen allow you to keep your hands on the steering wheel

This is a fact most people seem to be overlooking. Obviously they're starting to become a little gimmicky by being offered on vehicles that can barely even spin the tires, but regardless, this is the main point of paddle shifters. Picture F1 racers with one hand on the steering wheel because they're shifting 90% of the track.

 

[JcMack]

My "mid size" 2WD PU has automatic. It's a 4 speed auto with 4th being OD. When it's in "D" 4th gear is top. When in "3rd" top gear is 1:00 to 1:00. Given the shifter is on the column thats all the control this old fart needs. Paddles I've seen look like stalks, not like Swissmans pic. Do stalk type turn with steering wheel?

 

[m1gunner]

How do they work?

The newer auto transmissions use solenoids instead of mechanical spool valves to shift the transmission.

These electronic transmissions also have a computer to control the transmission, much like another computer controls the engine.

These paddles interface with the transmission control computer and allow an amount of "manual" control of the shift points. The paddle is an electric switch that sends a signal to the computer, if approved, the transmission responds.

 

[JohnnieB]

These paddles interface with the transmission control computer and allow an amount of "manual" control of the shift points. The paddle is an electric switch that sends a signal to the computer, if approved, the transmission responds.

In other words - Shift-by-Wire.
Next it'll probably be Steer-by-Wire
There's already some Refuel-by-Wire cars on the market

 

[smith revolver cop]

I had a 07 Charger with a slap stick and now have a 2011 Taurus with paddle shifters. I find them to be a useless gimmick or an interesting plaything at best. They are kind of neat to play with the first thousand miles or so while the car is new, after that I never use 'em.

I'll second that. I don't think modern automatic transmissions leave too much to be desired in terms of performance or mileage. The slap sticks and paddle shifters are gimmicks.

 

[The Big D]

Spot on! Lest one has a dual clutch automatic (very rare) paddle shifters are nothing other/better than described below.

My Corvette has them; fairly useless in the real world. However, you can impress (if that's the word) by paddle shifting down in traffic, parking lots, and similar places where folks can hear. The Corvette will blip the throttle and send some sweet noises about the area. It will also, if you're playing "hard," send some "backfire" kinda noises.

Bottom line: There are very few humans who can shift better than a modern day slushbox. Wanna go fast? Put it in drive and press the go pedal.

Be safe.

How do they work?

The newer auto transmissions use solenoids instead of mechanical spool valves to shift the transmission.

These electronic transmissions also have a computer to control the transmission, much like another computer controls the engine.

These paddles interface with the transmission control computer and allow an amount of "manual" control of the shift points. The paddle is an electric switch that sends a signal to the computer, if approved, the transmission responds.

 

[9146gt]

Real paddle shifters are on a stick shift gearbox and turn it into a programmable semi auto .From a stop pull the upshift paddle 5 times and it will shift to 6th gear 2>3>4>5>6...want to take a corner in third gear pull the downshift paddle 3 times ... when the computer is happy it will engage third gear.

Tom

 

[WR Moore]

If someone saw some kiddie punching buttons on their car's steering wheel, they were changing channnels, increasing the volume/changing the bass/treble mix, dialing a friend, texting another friend or all of the above.

I've had the opportunity to play with paddle shifters. They do give you the ability to let the tranny shift itself if you're feeling lazy. They also give you the ability to shift the tranny yourself for special conditions (including playing Speed Racer).

The Audi/Porsche/VW DSG gearbox is an electronically shifted manual transmission. They were originally developed for hillclimbing competition because their shift time is measured in hundreths of a second due to the multiple clutches.

Despite that, at least VW does't have paddle shifters(?????), you have to bat the gear selector around, possibly because the steering wheel is otherwise covered with buttons that control many of the things noted in paragraph one. Frankly, I buy vehicles to drive. If I want to play on computers, talk to people or tune stereos, I'd stay home and do it.