Paddle shifters?

Here is an interesting video on that topic ... :D

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-iNbHhbfcE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-iNbHhbfcE[/ame]



Cross-posted from another forum. I _had_ to!!!

EDIT: changed to new video URL.
 
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StephenB said:
Chris... seriously? I think that this may be true for the US and our roundy round culture like Nascar but I bet any F1, ALMS, WRC, ect, ect, ect, ect, drivers have not driven a racecar with a third pedal in a several years! I think paddle shifters have proven to be faster and more reliable in most of those high level racing series.

If you are talking about a normal everyday automatic then we are on the same page, personally I think you loose lots of car control with your regular old fashioned Automatic 3 speed!

Stephen
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I agree that the top foreigners have not seen the clutch pedal in a while, but they probably had to drive machinery with traditional transmission/drivetrain layouts back in their formative years.

No doubt that the more sophisticated systems are way better in terms of performance and reliability. My whole point was that the traditional systems require a bit more driver involvement, that's all.

Call me a purist, but I will always prefer dancing with the pedals. I do accept that SCCA club racing is going to have to include paddle-shifters on a wholesale basis, because in the future, that's all that car manufacturers are going to be making.
 
RedMisted said:
I agree that the top foreigners have not seen the clutch pedal in a while, but they probably had to drive machinery with traditional transmission/drivetrain layouts back in their formative years.

No doubt that the more sophisticated systems are way better in terms of performance and reliability. My whole point was that the traditional systems require a bit more driver involvement, that's all.

Call me a purist, but I will always prefer dancing with the pedals. I do accept that SCCA club racing is going to have to include paddle-shifters on a wholesale basis, because in the future, that's all that car manufacturers are going to be making.
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Chris....IMHO, so much safer with the new paddle shifters. faster to shift and one never has to take one's hands or eyes off the road. I recently drove a new 2010 Subaru Outback with a 6spd manual and a new CVT autotransmission with paddle shifters. The auto gave great,crisp shifts, nice downshifts and very quick!
 
I think all the advancements of technologies with transmissions is great. With that said i think some of those advancements should'nt be allowed in the IT racing world. We have to remember that this is entry level racing. Theres already alot of argument about where cars belong in the classes, and what they should be allowed as far as weight is concerned, etc etc. Just imagine what will happen if we allow these different transmissions into the mix.

take it easy on me, its just an opinion and one way to look at it.......

Marc
 
vr6guy said:
I think all the advancements of technologies with transmissions is great. With that said i think some of those advancements should'nt be allowed in the IT racing world. We have to remember that this is entry level racing. Theres already alot of argument about where cars belong in the classes, and what they should be allowed as far as weight is concerned, etc etc. Just imagine what will happen if we allow these different transmissions into the mix.

take it easy on me, its just an opinion and one way to look at it.......

Marc
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MArc...I respect your opinion but wouldn't you like to race a Golf with VW's sequential auto box in it? Leave your hands free for steering and wave at the crowd on your victory lap.....LOL. Seriously, thought we shouldn't let any of our classes get to the point of technical stagnation that Formula VEE is at right now.
 
BruceG said:
MArc...I respect your opinion but wouldn't you like to race a Golf with VW's sequential auto box in it? Leave your hands free for steering and wave at the crowd on your victory lap.....LOL. Seriously, thought we shouldn't let any of our classes get to the point of technical stagnation that Formula VEE is at right now.
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While I agree about technical stagnation, at this point none of the cvt's i'm aware of would be wise choices to allow into IT, possibly any place in club racing. They are fragile at best, and many of them won't even provide 100k mile service in hands of the avg. driver on the street. Add in super sticky tires, power modifications, and reprogramed computer control of the transmission to try and take advantage of the shiftless always in the peak power range nature that cvt's have and they have no place in club racing as they sit. Certainly not IT, do you wanna have cars that need 5k dollar trannies replaced everyweekend? Oh, nevermind the fact that in a place like IT you could add to that the cost of a diff and installing it, Plus flushing the multiple coolers everytime you broke one of these transmissions. Allowing things like BMW's smg, Toyota's hydraulically controlled manual transmission that was used in atleast the mr-s, and others is one thing. CVT's are an entirely different creature. Honestly i'm not sure either has a place in IT yet. I don't know if they still do but 6-8 years ago wrc teams had to replace the hydraulically controled transmissions at almost ever service stop. They had to be specially built and the computer programmed for the expected temperatures. While obviously the street systems are better, I still feel that in a racing setting where you would be looking to speed up shifts, slip clutches more on launches, etc. Problems and very much accelerated wear likely make them a few years off from making sense. As long as most cars are still available with a standard manual transmission that makes a lot of sense for classes like IT to leave that part of the rulebook alone.

Brian
 
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Not understanding how you could shift a CVT, I looked it up on Subaru's page, where they describe it as "virtual" shifting:

"The Subaru Lineartronic CVT features a manual mode system that simulates a six-speed manual transmission. When in this “virtual” manual mode, the driver can use paddle levers on the steering wheel to select one of six programmed “speeds.” These six speeds are ratios intended for various driving conditions.Shifting to a lower ratio is accomplished by tapping the downshift when the vehicle is in “Drive.” The manual downshift holds the chosen ratio until the engine’s rev limit is reached."


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frnkhous said:
...none of the cvt's i'm aware of would be wise choices to allow into IT, possibly any place in club racing. .../QUOTE]



food for thought from F500.org:

"Formula 500 (F500) is a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) open wheel road racing class.

Formula 500 was originally introduced in the early 1980s as Formula 440 (F440). Formula 500 is a spec class in the sense that the engine, drivetrain, and shock absorbers are all tightly regulated, but the chassis, bodywork and other car parts are free for designers to experiment with within dimensional and structural limits. These regulations allow for very competitive racing at a relatively low cost which rewards driver and car set-up skill.

What kind of transmission is in a F500?

F500 uses an advanced Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), similar to that used in F1 racing snowmobiles. These advanced belt driven automatic transmissions are tuned to optimize the power curve of a two stroke engine, constantly keeping the engine at its peak power. One of the key benefits of the CVT is that it is a stepless transmission. This allows all of the engine's power to be transmitted to the drive wheels at all times."

.
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frnkhous said:
As long as most cars are still available with a standard manual transmission that makes a lot of sense for classes like IT to leave that part of the rulebook alone.

Brian
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Yup this was my dilema... I would like to build a TT but they didn't come out with a manual until last year :( Way out of my budget for now! Figured I would throw out the question and let if flow from their. After more research and speaking to a few knowledgeable people you cannot do any large HP gains with the CVT system because it messes up the information leading to the transmission as far as peak HP, REv limit, and other concerns and supposedly the transmission, as it is, is at max capacity and would cost more to upgrade than the donor car...

Stephen
 
lawtonglenn said:
.

Not understanding how you could shift a CVT, I looked it up on Subaru's page, where they describe it as "virtual" shifting:

"The Subaru Lineartronic CVT features a manual mode system that simulates a six-speed manual transmission. When in this “virtual” manual mode, the driver can use paddle levers on the steering wheel to select one of six programmed “speeds.” These six speeds are ratios intended for various driving conditions.Shifting to a lower ratio is accomplished by tapping the downshift when the vehicle is in “Drive.” The manual downshift holds the chosen ratio until the engine’s rev limit is reached."
Click to expand...

My wife's 2002 Audi A4 has a CVT (Audi calls it "multitronic") with the same sort of manual mode -- just 6 pre-chosen fixed ratios that you can shift like any other auto-manual box.

The CVT works great. I wish it had a "race mode" though where it would just get the engine to the peak HP point and just stay there.

BTW, it also has a conventional dry clutch just like a manual transmission -- no torque converter. The clutch is actuated hydraulically by the transmission's computer instead of a clutch pedal.
 
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