What are Paddle Shifters: Design Peculiarities and Principle of Operation

What are Paddle Shifters: Design Peculiarities and Principle of Operation

While cars equipped with manual transmissions gradually become outdated, many car manufacturer still integrate the feature allowing drivers to shift their own gears. How it can be implemented in automatic cars? The answer is simple – easy-to-use and efficient paddle shifters.



It is not just some sophisticated technology that looks awesome in sports cars, as today it is more and more frequently used as the method of controlling the engine power in a car. The paddle shift system is the main element in a semi-automatic vehicle control system. This mechanism can be one of the most enjoyable ways to drive a car. In this article, we will take a closer look at this remarkable technology, its design peculiarities, principle of operation, and benefits that allowed this remarkable system to gain popularity among auto enthusiasts.


Origins

The idea of using this handy gear shifting mechanism was firstly implemented in motorsports, namely in F-1. In the late 1980s, Ferrari became the 1st team to enjoy benefits of this technology in practice. After proving its efficiency and ease-of-use, this technology was adopted by other F-1 teams, and after a while paddle shifters appeared in conventional road cars.