Gear stick

A gear stick (rarely spelled gearstick), ^{[1] [2]} gear lever (both UK English), gearshift or shifter (both U.S. English), more formally known as a transmission lever, is a metal lever attached to the transmission of an automobile. The term gear stick mostly refers to the shift lever of a manual transmission, while in an automatic transmission, a similar lever is known as a gear selector. A gear stick will normally be used to change gear whilst depressing the clutch pedal with the left foot to disengage the engine from the drivetrain and wheels. Automatic transmission vehicles, including hydraulic (torque converter) automatic transmissions, automated manual and older semi-automatic transmissions (specifically clutchless manuals), like VW Autostick , and those with continuously variable transmissions, do not require a physical clutch pedal.

Contents

• Alternative positions
• Gear knob and switches
• Secondary gear levers
• Shift pattern
• Manual transmission
• Automatic transmission
• Electronic gear shifts
• Special knobs
• See also
• References

Alternative positions

Gear sticks are most commonly found between the front seats of the vehicle, either on the center console (sometimes even quite far up on the dashboard), the transmission tunnel (erroneously called a console shifter when the floor shifter mechanism is bolted to the transmission tunnel with the center console to cover up the shifter assembly when used with a rear or front-wheel drive vehicle), or directly on the floor. Some vehicles have a column shift where the lever is mounted on the steering column  – in vehicles with a manual four-speed gearbox such as 1950s Mercedes-Benz cars and all two-stroke Trabants, this is actually a manual gear lever connected to the gearbox with a linkage. In automatic transmission cars, the lever functions more like a gear selector, and, in modern cars, does not necessarily need to have a shifting linkage due to its shift-by-wire principle. It has the added benefit of allowing for a full width bench-type front seat (though some models with bucket seating as an option include it). It has since fallen out of favor, although it can still be found widely on North American-market pick-up trucks, vans, emergency vehicles (both law enforcement and EMS – the column shifter is retained where a floor shifter is unfeasible due to mounting the mobile data terminal and 2-way radio), and "full-size" US sedans such as the Ford Crown Victoria. A dashboard mounted shift was common on certain French models such as the Citroën 2CV and Renault 4. Both the Bentley Mark VI and the Riley Pathfinder had their gear lever to the right of the right-hand drive driver's seat, alongside the driver's door, where it was not unknown for British cars to also have their handbrake. (Left-hand drive models received a column shift.)

In some modern sports cars, the gear lever has been replaced entirely by "paddles", which are a pair of levers, usually operating electrical switches (rather than a mechanical connection to the gearbox), mounted on either side of the steering column, where one increments the gears up, and the other down. Formula 1 cars used to hide the gear stick behind the steering wheel within the nose bodywork before the modern practice of mounting the "paddles" on the (removable) steering wheel itself.

Gear knob and switches

A knob, variously called gear knob, shift knob, gear shift knob or stick shift knob, forms the handle for the gear stick. Typically the gear knob includes a diagram of the shift pattern of the gear selection system, i.e. the positions to which the gear stick should be moved when selecting a gear. In some older manual transmission vehicles, the knob may incorporate a switch to engage an overdrive; in some automatic transmission vehicles it may incorporate a switch to engage a special mode such as a sports mode or to disengage overdrive. Both of the above-mentioned switches may also be found on the console or on steering column stalks instead. Manual shifters on the steering column, if having only three forward speeds, are typically called a three on the tree, and floor shifters having four forward speeds, are called four-on-the-floor. ^{[3] [4]} The lowest of these gears, if set at a much lower ratio than a typical 1st-gear ratio, is often called a granny gear.

Starting the car in gear with the clutch engaged causes it to lurch forwards or backward since the starter motor by itself produces sufficient torque to move the whole vehicle; this can be highly dangerous, especially if the parking brake is not firmly applied and can be injurious to the starter and drivetrain. Therefore, novice drivers are taught to rock the knob of a manual gearbox from side to side before starting the engine to confirm that the gearbox is in neutral. For the same reason, modern cars require the clutch pedal to be depressed before the starter will engage (though some modern vehicles have a button that disables the clutch start requirement if held down when starting, for rare situations when starting the car in gear is necessary). The latter practice is also useful in extremely cold conditions or with a weak battery, as it avoids the starter motor also having to turn over a gearbox full of cold and highly viscous oil.

Many automatic transmission vehicles have extra controls on the gear stick, or very close by, which modify the choices made by the transmission system depending on engine and road speed, e.g. "sports" or "economy" modes which will broadly speaking allow, respectively, for higher and lower revolutions per minute, before shifting up.

Some specialist vehicles have controls for other functions on the gear stick. The Land Rover Freelander introduced a button for that company's Hill Descent Control system feature, which uses the brakes to simulate the function of a low-ratio gearbox in steep descents.

Secondary gear levers

Traditional four-wheel drive vehicles have one or more additional "shift levers" to engage a low-ratio gearbox (used on tough terrain), a transfer case (which switches between two- and four-wheel drive), or differential locks. Some more modern traditional vehicles combine the low-ratio gearbox and transfer case into one lever, with 3 positions: 2H (for 2-wheel drive in the standard high-ratio gearbox); 4H (for 4-wheel drive in the standard high-ratio gearbox); and 4L (for 4-wheel drive in the low-ratio gearbox).

Shift pattern

The shift pattern refers to the layout of the gears. In a typical manual transmission car, first gear is located to the left, and forwards. In many trucks and some sports cars it is instead in a "dog leg" position, to the left and rearwards. There is usually a spring-loading to return the stick to the central position. Reverse gear is commonly positioned in the best choice of location to avoid accidental engagement.

Manual transmission

A typical manual transmission vehicle, with (for example) five forward gears, will thus have seven possible positions: the five forwards gears, reverse gear, and a central "neutral" position. Some vehicles have a special button to prevent accidental engagement of reverse. Others require that the lever be lifted (e.g. Nissan), pressed down (e.g. Volkswagen), or moved with extra force (e.g. BMW) to engage reverse. In transmissions with reverse directly below fifth, there may be a mechanical lock-out preventing selection of reverse other than from neutral, thus preventing a driver used to a six-speed transmission from engaging reverse while trying to select sixth. Some transmissions also have an electronically controlled error-prevention safeguard that blocks the first and sometimes the second gear from being selected if the vehicle is moving fast enough to exceed the engine's maximum RPM.

Common manual transmission shift patterns

Layout	Description
	This shift pattern is the most common five-speed shift pattern. This layout is reasonably intuitive because it starts at the upper left and works left to right, top to bottom, with reverse at the end of the sequence and toward the rear of the car.
	This shift pattern is another five-speed shift pattern which can be found in Saabs, BMWs, some Audis, Eagles, Volvos, Volkswagens, Škodas, Opels, Hyundais, most Renaults, some diesel Fords, most Holden/Vauxhalls and more. The selection of the reverse gear is to prevent the reverse gear from being selected accidentally while the vehicle is in motion, causing catastrophic damage to the transmission.
	This shift pattern, sometimes called a dog-leg shift pattern is used on many race cars and on older road vehicles with three-speed transmissions. The name derives from the up-and-over path between first and second gears. Its use is common in race cars and sports cars, but is diminishing as six-speed and sequential gearboxes are becoming more common. Having first gear across the dogleg is beneficial as first gear is traditionally only used for getting the car moving and hence it allows second and third gears to be aligned fore and aft of each other, which facilitates shifting between the two. As most racing gearboxes are non-synchromesh there is no appreciable delay when upshifting from first through the dogleg into second. This gear pattern can also be found on some heavy vehicles – such as lorries and tractors – in which first gear is an extra-low ratio for use in extreme standing-start conditions, and would see little use in normal driving.
	This shift pattern is a typical pattern for a six-speed transmission. Six speeds is the maximum usually seen in single range transmissions, however many semi-trucks and other large commercial vehicles have manual transmissions with 8, 16 or even 20 speeds, which is made possible due to multi-range gearboxes. In such a case, Reverse is placed outside of the "H," with a canted shift path, to prevent the shift lever from intruding too far into the driver's space (in left-hand drive cars) when reverse is selected. Higher number of speeds in automobiles are rare occurrences, although examples do exist, such as the Porsche 911, which is equipped with a seven-speed manual transmission (since the 2019 model an 8-speed PDK transmission is also available; the classic Porsche 911 has only 5-speed available as manual).
	Shift pattern for a 4-speed car. Also found in column shift (Citroën DS/ID and Peugeot 404 from September 1967 onwards). In some British vehicles, namely the Triumph Herald, reverse is on the opposite side (left-left-up not right-down).
	Shift pattern for a 3-speed car.
	Shift pattern for a 4-speed column shifter. Found like this in Peugeot 403 and 404 until September 1967.

Electronic gear shifts

With the advent of drive by wire (or more properly, shift by wire) computer-controlled transmissions (particularly in the case of automatics), the gear stick no longer needs to be mechanically connected to the transmission unit itself, and can, therefore, be made much smaller since there is no need to package either remote mechanisms or complex interlocking arrangements. This has allowed designers to replace the gear stick completely with either button, rotary knobs (current Jaguar, Land Rover and Ford models are good examples of this), or a miniaturized gear stick on the center console. This can be seen in some Audis, BMWs and the Lincoln Continental. Japanese finger shift is another example. It is a revival of an approach used in the 1950s by the Chrysler push-button PowerFlite and the Packard Touchbutton Ultramatic.

Special knobs

A shift knob also known as a gear knob, gear shift knob and stick shift knob is the physical interface between the gear stick and the driver's hand. Made of many materials from simple plastics through to platinum, it comes in many shapes sizes and weights. OEM shift knobs are generally spherical in shape, often resembling a chess pawn when attached to the gear stick.

The shift knob's principal function is the ergonomical interface between driver and the manu. The gear stick, as the name implies, is often just a machined or cast aluminium or steel rod with or without threading the shift knob is fitted on its end. ^[5]

In recent years, manufacturers have increased the variety of shifts knobs available to the consumer from inexpensive plastics to diamond-studded white gold. ^[6]

• 
  'Big Daddy' Ed Roth 'bloodshot eyeball' shift knob, a 1960s craze
• 
  Stylized shift knobs can be found on many types of vehicles. This aluminum, hand made, skull shift knob is mounted on a vintage Harley Davidson Knucklehead's "jockey shifter".

See also

• List of auto parts

Related Research Articles

An automatic transmission is a multi-speed transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. Vehicles with internal combustion engines, unlike electric vehicles, require the engine to operate in a narrow range of rates of rotation, requiring a gearbox, operated manually or automatically, to drive the wheels over a wide range of speeds.

Overdrive is the operation of an automobile cruising at sustained speed with reduced engine speed (rpm), leading to better fuel consumption, lower noise, and lower wear. The term is ambiguous. The most fundamental meaning is that of an overall gear ratio between engine and wheels, such that the car is over-geared, and cannot reach its potential top speed, i.e. the car could travel faster if it were in a lower gear, with the engine turning at higher RPM.

A transmission is a mechanical device which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/reduction in a machine.

A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission, or stick shift, is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system where gear changes require the driver to manually select the gears by operating a gear stick and clutch.

A transfer case is an intermediate gearbox that transfers power from the transmission of a motor vehicle to the driven axles of four-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, and other multi-axled on- and off-road machines. A part of the vehicle's drivetrain, it employs drive shafts to mechanically deliver motive power. The transfer case also synchronizes the difference between the rotation of the front and rear wheels, and may contain one or more sets of low range gears for off-road use.

A semi-automatic transmission is a multiple-speed transmission where part of its operation is automated, but the driver's input is still required to launch the vehicle from a standstill and to manually change gears. Semi-automatic transmissions were almost exclusively used in motorcycles and are based on conventional manual transmissions or sequential manual transmissions, but use an automatic clutch system. But some semi-automatic transmissions have also been based on standard hydraulic automatic transmissions with torque converters and planetary gearsets.

TorqueFlite is the trademarked name of Chrysler Corporation's automatic transmissions, starting with the three-speed unit introduced late in the 1956 model year as a successor to Chrysler's two-speed PowerFlite. In the 1990s, the TorqueFlite name was dropped in favor of alphanumeric designations, although the latest Chrysler eight-speed automatic transmission has revived the name.

Ford-O-Matic was the first automatic transmission widely used by Ford Motor Company. It was designed by the Warner Gear division of Borg Warner Corporation and introduced in 1951 model year cars, and was called the Merc-O-Matic when installed in Mercury branded cars and Turbo-Drive when installed in Lincoln branded cars. In contrast to Detroit Gear Division's three band automatic originally designed for Studebaker which became superseded by this unit, a variation of Warner Gear's three-speed unit named Ford-O-Matic continued to evolve later into Cruise-O-Matic named transmissions in 1958 and finally the FMX named transmissions in 1968. This line continued in production until 1980, when the AOD was introduced. Like Ford, variations of this same Borg Warner design were used by other automobile manufacturers as well, such as AMC, International Harvester, Studebaker, Volvo and Jaguar, each of them having the necessary unique adaptations required for the individual applications.

A direct-shift gearbox is an electronically controlled, dual-clutch, multiple-shaft, automatic gearbox, in either a transaxle or traditional transmission layout, with automated clutch operation, and with fully-automatic or semi-manual gear selection. The first dual-clutch transmissions were derived from Porsche in-house development for the Porsche 962 in the 1980s.

A preselector gearbox is a type of manual transmission mostly used on passenger cars and racing cars in the 1930s, in buses from 1940–1960 and in armoured vehicles from the 1930s to the 1970s. The defining characteristic of a preselector gearbox is that the gear shift lever allowed the driver to "pre-select" the next gear, usually with the transmission remaining in the current gear until the driver pressed the "gear change pedal" at the desired time.

The automated manual transmission (AMT) is a type of transmission for motor vehicles. It is essentially a conventional manual transmission equipped with automatic actuation to operate the clutch and/or shift gears.

The M6 Presto-Matic was a Chrysler Corporation semi-automatic transmission produced from 1946 to 1953. It was a special manual transmission with a fluid coupling. Although it had just two forward gears, an electric overdrive unit was attached and useful in either gear for a total of four forward speeds.

Teletouch is the trade name for the transmission controls found on many Edsel brand automobiles manufactured by the Edsel and Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln (M-E-L) Divisions of the Ford Motor Company. The significance of the Teletouch systems lies in its conception, design and symbolism for American automobiles produced in the 1950s, and the gadgets designed into them. The main distinguishing feature of the system was its use of push buttons on the steering wheel to shift gears as opposed to a gear stick.

The name Autostick has been used for a Volkswagen semi-automatic transmission, which is a vacuum-operated automatic clutch system, coupled with a conventional 3-speed manual transmission. The "AutoStick" system designed by Chrysler allows for manual selection of gears with a standard hydraulic automatic transmission, also known as a manumatic.

A sequential manual transmission, also known as a sequential gearbox or sequential transmission, is a type of non-synchronous manual transmission used mostly in motorcycles and racing cars. It produces faster shift times than traditional synchronized manual transmissions, and restricts the driver to selecting either the next or previous gear, in a successive order.

Chevrolet Corvair Powerglide is a two-speed automatic transmission designed specially for the then all-new 1960 Chevrolet Corvair compact car that emerged in the fall of 1959 as Chevrolet's competitor in the then booming small car market. The Corvair was powered by a rear-mounted Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine that necessitated a specially designed transaxle. Corvair Powerglide took the principles of the standard Chevrolet Powerglide and modified them to suit the rear-mounted powertrain location of the new Corvair. The Corvair used the Powerglide for all 10 years it was produced; from 1961 to 1963, Pontiac used a modified version of Corvair Powerglide it called 'TempesTorque' for its front-engine, rear-transaxle Tempest, LeMans and Tempest LeMans cars.

The Super Shift transmission, also marketed as Twin-Stick, was a manual transaxle transmission developed by Mitsubishi Motors in the late 1970s and used in a limited number of the company's road cars, most of which were manufactured in the 1980s. It was unusual in that it had 8 forward speeds in a 4x2 arrangement. It essentially installed a "married" overdrive unit to its manual transmission, something rare in a production vehicle of this type.

A motorcycle transmission is a transmission created specifically for motorcycle applications. They may also be found in use on other light vehicles such as motor tricycles and quadbikes, go-karts, offroad buggies, auto rickshaws, mowers, and other utility vehicles, microcars, and even some superlight racing cars.

Car controls are the components in automobiles and other powered road vehicles, such as trucks and buses, used for driving and parking.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to gear sticks .