| A grand technique to pick up a few precious fractions | | | | Shift knobs or handles are another method of |
| of a second while racing your ride is by dropping the | | | | improving the speed and accuracy of a shift in a race |
| amount of time it takes you to shift gears. Whether | | | | car. A shift knob needs to be large enough to grip |
| you are doing autocross, drag racing or track racing, | | | | comfortably with the hand, but not so large that it feels |
| the quantity of time it takes you to make a gear | | | | awkward or gets in the way. The knob should also be |
| change is directly related to the numbers you will see | | | | made of a material which provides enough friction so |
| when you pass through the timing lights. | | | | that it wont slip out of your hand during fast shifts. This |
| One of the best ways to cut down on shift time is to | | | | is why you might see shift knobs which are in the |
| put in what is called a short shifter. You might have | | | | shape of a T, or which have a pistol grip, these |
| seen a shifter in one of the cars at the track that | | | | modifications all help drivers keep their hands locked to |
| looked a little stubby, or shorter than normal. It might | | | | the shifter at all times. The weight of the shift knob is |
| seem as though these types of shifters would be | | | | also important. If the knob is too light, it wont act as an |
| more difficult to use, but the reality is that they provide | | | | effective counterweight to the linkage underneath, and |
| the quickest shifts that you can get in a car equipped | | | | it will be harder to make smooth shifts. You might feel |
| with a manual transmission. | | | | as though you are fighting against the linkage. A shift |
| A short shifter works by reducing the amount of | | | | knob that weighs more than 500 grams is usually |
| movement that your hand has to make in order to | | | | heavy enough to help you to shift effectively. |
| shift gears. While it might look as though all that was | | | | When it comes to automatic transmissions, some |
| done was to shave down the height of the shifter, a | | | | people prefer to shift with paddles on the steering |
| short shifter actually represents a fairly multifaceted | | | | wheel instead of using the manual control feature of |
| piece of engineering. This is because the manufacturer | | | | the floor shifter. Paddles let you keep both of your |
| has to keep the relationship between the shorter hand | | | | hands on the wheel while performing a gear change, |
| movement and the actual shift linkage the same as it | | | | and while they might take a bit of getting used to at |
| was with the stock shifter height. Some cars can have | | | | first, they can really improve the smoothness and |
| the amount of shift travel reduced by as much as 60 | | | | speed with which you are able to control a |
| percent. That can really speed you up both on the | | | | semi-automatic transmission. |
| track and on the street. | | | | |