Describing the 'feel' of sequential shift sticks

[Niels_at_home]

Hi guys,

As I'm sure some people here have actually driven real racing cars which I can only do virtually, I'd like to gather some thoughts how the sequential stick in say a touring / rally / gt car may feel.

First I'm sure it can be quite different from car to car, perhaps even to the point of there not really being a rule of thumb, but in that case I guess we'll find that out!

I can imagine drivetrain load is a big factor. So in cars with a well developed throttle cut and auto blip, the force and movement you apply on the stick are probably pretty consistent. If you have to manually lift the throttle and blip on the downshifts, I can imagine the shift forces depend greatly on how well you manage to unload the drivetrain and match revs etc. The operating forces probably also range from light to 'holy crap!'

What I think it may feel like:
- As you start pulling / pushing the stick, you get not much initial movement but a pretty big buildup of force
- After force reaches a critical point, the shift is made
- A bit like going over a 'bump' in resistance
- The stick goes pretty light as you 'clunk' it on the end stops
- the release stroke doesn't have this force 'bump'

A bit like www.h-engineering.nl/pics/seqshift.png

If you can comment on this 'feel' based on what you've experienced, perhaps it helps my understanding of how the shift movement / force feels!

Cheers
Niels

[mjkh]

I have a bike engined race car (sequential box) and single seater with h-pattern dog box. Neither car have ign cuts nor auto blips.
I've also raced online and used to be involved in car modding for rFactor and other games as well... so I have experince from both sides.

The sequential box takes very little effort at all to shift gears. The h-pattern box is a bit more agricultural and you have to know what you are doing. But in both cases is it's just one very quick motion to shift gears.

[MoMedic9019]

Not much effort at all in most cars, I think it just looks like more, as most drivers tend to load the dogs just a bit before the actual shift.

[EfiOz]

The fore diagram you have is about right, although most full sized cars don't drop off in force as much as you have there. It's maybe half the rate after the "shift point" as you're still pushing against the barrel spring.

Also, I'd start the first 3-4mm off with only spring pressure, then ramp in the pressure of the barrel turning. This is based around a typical Touring car/GT seq box.

[Niels_at_home]

Thanks for the replies guys, it helps