Hey, Ive just had an idea because of the past posts ive been reading about MISS-SHIFTING. I dont really know much about cars, but if any engineer or designer would like to take up a project dealing with electrical shift knobs, that would be great.

*IDEA*
Wouldnt it be pretty neat if there was a shift knob that "lights up" the little stick of a certain gear when you are in? As we know, the shift knob standard engraving is "1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and R". If there was some way to make a shift knob that lights up a certain area of the picture, I think it would be SOMEWHAT helpful and a pretty cool effect

1 3 5
| | | <-------------For example are shifting from 4th to 5th, the 4th gear "Stick that connects it
----------R to the middle area AND the number would light up, and when fully engaged
| | | in 5th gear, the 5th gear area would light up.
2 4 6


an extra check for which gear youre in, and also a neat effect!

 

It's a great idea but I think the majority of mis-shifts come from spirited driving, under these conditions, taking your eyes off the road to look at your knob (the shift knob for the perverted clarification) could be dangerous.

 

I've seen a device that checks your speed and rpm signals to work out what gear you're in and displays it on an LED display (can't remember where though). That would be a much better idea than an indicator on the knob as you really shouldn't be looking there and your hand would be covering it anyway.

That said, most misshifts are not due to not knowing what gear you're in but just changing too fast and without due care.

 

yes, definitely agree. I'd say most mis-shifts occur when attempting to downshift quickly from 5th to 4th... driver pulls the stick over too far, crams it into 2nd and voila!

a better device would be a "gate-lock" that does not allow the stick into the section where 1st and 2nd gears reside when the car is over a particular speed. but this wouldn't be popular because the day the damn thing breaks and doesn't let you put your car in 1st gear at a stoplight is the day it hits the trashcan.

 

As with all things in the S the part that needs the most improvement is the nut that holds the wheel.

 

Thad be me. I'm working on it.

 

sounds nice. but i dont even know what my shift knob looks like,
by that i mean i never look at it while i drive

 

You could make it really interesting. Rather than have the knob light up, you could put contacts on the top of the knob, like those plastic baby chicks that chirp when you put them in your hand, when you palm the knob, a HUD displays the number of the gear you're in on the windshield. Or you could make it voice prompted.

 

MacGyver is working on a device to show your RPM in the next two lower gears.

I usually have my hand over the top of the shifter when I am driving.

 

hehe okay okay so it wasnt such a good idea :-p

hey, maybe some people hold it on the sides rather than the top. I definetly like the idea of it displaying a HUD of which gear, would be quiet nice really, but that would take a long time to design I suppose, AND the cost of it