Shifter/Clutch Options

[Michael Cimba]

I am on the formula team at Cedarville University. This is our 3rd year building a car. We are considering different options for our shifter and clutch. Last year we had a clutch pedal on the floor and a short throw hand shifter both attached to the transmission with cables. They worked okay but we want to see if there is a better method. What are some of the other types of shifter clutch assemblies teams are using and how do they compare?

[Michael Cimba]

I am on the formula team at Cedarville University. This is our 3rd year building a car. We are considering different options for our shifter and clutch. Last year we had a clutch pedal on the floor and a short throw hand shifter both attached to the transmission with cables. They worked okay but we want to see if there is a better method. What are some of the other types of shifter clutch assemblies teams are using and how do they compare?

[olsen5]

Just do a search of the forum and you will find plenty of threads about pneumatic shifting, hydraulic shifting and electronic shifting. All of these can be actuated through push button or paddle type assemblies. There's plenty to read on all of these set ups, hope it helps,

[Kenny T Cornett]

I know TN Tech tried a mechanically actuated clutch through paddles before... to down shift you hit these two levers that were connected, to upshift it was a single lever (I'm really not sure of the success of this because to me it didn't offer you enough leverage to upshift).

I really don't think many of them are on the board, if at all anymore.

It was certainly an interesting setup... definitely lighter than a pedal and shifter assembly, and lighter than any pnuematic or electrical replacement system too...

[olsen5]

I designed a similar mechanical system that ran on the Windsor car in Michigan and Germany this year. It had a calibrated ignition cut for upshifts which we were able to tune to be pretty damn fast. It was a very light and driver friendly system. Definitely lighter than pneumatic systems. So Micheal feel free to ask any questions about mechanical systems from me, but I won't pretend to know a lot about electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic systems.

[AK UT]

hand clutch = hot setup

[Tony K]

No clutch pedal = hotter setup.

Revloc (http://www.revloc.com/)

As for shifting... that's something we're still working on. Last year worked ok with a twin pull-cable setup and a floor mounted lever, but this year we're trying to directly drive the sequential shift drum with a servo motor. Seems like a good idea to me, but it'll be interesting to see if it works or not.

[JHarshbarger]

Has anyone ran the revloc clutchs at competition? It has come up before in clutch/shifter discussions, but we dismissed it as awfully expensive for just giving you a stall free car. Anyone who drives an FSAE car for more than a few minutes wont stall the car anymore. It is nice to not have to worry about a clutch whatsoever, but you'll need an additional clutching mechanism for downshifting.

Just a thought.

[Bill Kunst]

I remember a team running it back in 2004 and having trouble with clutch disengagement. As they would stage, they had to use lots of brake to stop the vehicle. It was a little scary,
Bill

[LU-Hetrick]

You guys might also want to look into Rekluse Z-Start Clutches (http://www.rekluse.com/z-Start.html) Similar to the Revloc, but about half the price (and no core charge), and they have a manual override for high RPM launches. I know RMIT used one this year, and we all know how they did.

Ryan Hetrick
Lehigh University
Brakes, Suspension, Chassis