How do "paddle shifters" work

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Help an old guy out, don't respond "very well". Is there a clutch, clutch pedal, or what? Thanks.

its all automated .. hit the paddle and it hits an automated clutch, grabs the next gear and drops the tranny back into the flywheel all on its own.

Kinda cool ... I prefer oldschool however. I just like the satisfaction of directly interacting with my beloved machinery
 
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 terms that an old guy might understand, it's a reincarnation of the old MoPar typewriter system. :D
 
The paddle shifters I have seen allow you to keep your hands on the steering wheel while manually selecting gears with 'paddles' mounted on the steering wheel.

Not a paddle design but my wife had a setup on her Volvo S60 turbo that you bumped the gear selector to the right or left to manually select higher or lower gears. Like others have said... it was fun to use on the way home from the dealership.... other than that it stayed in "D". And my wife got tired of those cool looking 45 series Pirelli tires within a few days too. That was a real expensive midlife crisis car to own for a year. :rolleyes:
 
its all automated .. hit the paddle and it hits an automated clutch, grabs the next gear and drops the tranny back into the flywheel all on its own.

Kinda cool ... I prefer oldschool however. I just like the satisfaction of directly interacting with my beloved machinery

Nothin better than "oldschool shifting", It's like shootin a revolver.
 
Ah yes...Pushbuttons. So with paddles you don't have to shift if you don't want to, like a '49 Dodge??

More on the order of being able to shift when you want to instead of letting the transmission or computer do the thinking for you.

Back in the day, I had a B&M Hydro-Stick mounted on "slightly" modified 421 with a Tri-power stuffed into a '57 Pontiac sleeper, which was probably a mechanical version of what they're doing with computers theses days.
It was fun on the track, but I usually just let the tranny do the thinking for me on the street. Still got my fair share of tickets :mad:

I might be wrong, but I suspect the paddle system is akin the the shifters on the wheel of Formula-1 and Indy cars.

Now, I've got little paddles on my sterring wheel to control the Radio/CD Player, but I don't use them and probably wouldn't use a paddle shifter either. :rolleyes:

John
 
Thanks everybody for replies. I don't see one of those in my future. I was just curious. Seems like every time I'm racing down the road at 30-35 mph some little girl passes me in some little twerpmobile, all the while flikin those little paddle gizmos.
 
"Paddle Shifters" , "Texting"....are we really going in the right direction? I remember my dad's first car that had a fully automatic transmission. It took him about 6 months to not hit the brake with his left foot, thinking he still had a clutch. America went nuts when Morse Code (Texting) was replaced by a device (Telephone) that enabled you to actually talk to someone. I probably should have held on to my old 8 track..............
 
Paddle shift start out on F1 race car so the driver can shift gear without taking his hand off the steering wheel.

I for one still love standard stick shift, all my cars has them, except my F 150 pickup truck, brought used, comes with auto.

What annoys me these days about standard shift is, since most car buyer don't want them, unless you goes for a high end vehicle, standard gear boxes on most cars are just an after though with clutches set way too tall.

Wife won't drive my car because it has stick shift, funny she learns to drive in a VW bug in the 1960s.

As for driver interacting with machine, I'm afraid in a few more yrs, all cars will have computer controled shifting, better milage you see.
 
Paddle shifters can be used in several ways:

1) Added as a manual override to a normal slushbox instead of, or in addition to, the +/- position that some have on the gearstick. Porsche Tiptronic is a good example.

2) Added to select fixed ratios in a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The Mitsubishi Lancer has this feature.

3) As the controls for a semi, or fully automated gearbox with a clutch. Such a transmission is the DSG system used by Volkswagen which has two clutches that engage sequentially to connect gears that are already selected and engaged. I advise against home adjustment.:eek:

As for driver interacting with machine, I'm afraid in a few more yrs, all cars will have computer controled shifting, better milage you see.

You do not have to wait as that horror is already here. Just recently I have read two or three car reviews where it seems the manual override for the auto-box does not let you do things that you would normally do with a manual shifter. That is a "no sale" issue for me.

ChattanoogaPhil: I am guessing that your wife did not like the ride or the road noise from the 45 series Pirellis. I put up with it as the grip far exceeds the normal "no season" tyres that adorn too many cars in the US.
 
You're right, LVSteve. She didn't like the ride with the short sidewall tire, and I think the car came with some type sport suspension. It sure did handle well. We sold the Volvo within a year cuz she kept taking my Tundra everywhere...
 
When we were in the market for a newish vehicle, we narrowed the choices down to either a Toyota Rav4 or a Nissan Rogue. The Rogue has a CVS tranny with paddle shifters and that was enough for us to go with the Rav...
 
When we were in the market for a newish vehicle, we narrowed the choices down to either a Toyota Rav4 or a Nissan Rogue. The Rogue has a CVS tranny with paddle shifters and that was enough for us to go with the Rav...

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.
 
I've loaned this picture from the internet. I got a similar car and
the paddleshifters are good for driving in the mountains, where
it is necessary to change the gears more often than the automatic
will do. It's better to "break" with the engine while driving downhill,
than standing on the breaks almost all the time before every curve....
and you can keep your hands on the wheel

PB230017.jpg


Swissman
 
I've loaned this picture from the internet. I got a similar car and
the paddleshifters are good for driving in the mountains, where
it is necessary to change the gears more often than the automatic
will do. It's better to "break" with the engine while driving downhill,
than standing on the breaks almost all the time before every curve....
and you can keep your hands on the wheel

PB230017.jpg


Swissman

Ah, the picture IS worth a thousand words!

I'm sure it seems cool on a test drive..... but it's still an auto transmission, in the end.

I still like my 1988 Toyota Celica. It's not a 'real' sports car, but I bought it new, and it only has 64K miles on it.

And it has a REAL 5 speed manual transmission:D

The older I get, the less I drive it, though. Traffic during rush hour gets worse every year, it seems.:mad:

But, it's fun to take out on weekends, and wind up the engine to the red line...until I hit the speed limit:D

There is a freeway entrance near me that is very long, and it goes downhill, giving the old 2000cc 3F-SE engine a little help.

It's STILL fun, after all these years.

Toyota only put the 3F-SE engine in the Celica for 3 years.

In 1990, they put the COROLLA 1600cc engine in the Celica ST, and the Camry 2400cc in the GT.

BOTH cars got worse mileage than the 2000cc 3F-SE engine did, from '87 to '89.

The '90 to '94 Celica ST's were real dogs, with a 1600cc engine. What the H were they THINKING?
 
I drove standard shift in my trucks for 45 years. I like the additional control it gives in the winter. My last truck had a 5 speed and with the traffic around here I could barely get out of 3rd much less into 5th. Last new truck purchase in 08 I bought auto. I know the front wheel drive transverse engine is here to stay but I hate it. Along with all the advantages of front wheel drive comes the nightmare of servicing them. The thought of an electric functioning clutch chills my blood. Funny comment Dick. To those unfamiliar, Model T shifted with Pedals.
 
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