BlueShadow

The product discription reminds of the shifters I saw on a BTCC race once. When the BTCC racers had to shift they just had to very quickly push it up (to upshift) or push it down (to downshift). And like the BTCC shifters the shifter was also high up, but had a pretty short throw.



If you think about it that shifter is ideal for any type of racing. You only have to move your shifting hand a few inches to the side as opposed to a a foot or two with the normal whifter position. With road racing I would think you'd want to have both hands on the wheel as much as possible.

BlueShadow

Here are some sites I found with some more technical info as to how the Ikeya shifter works. I dont quite understand it, but maybe some of you guys can decipher it and tell us if the concept is a good or bad.



Clutch use is still required, but the shifter seems to allow for very fast shifting and looks to eliminate missed gears. Kinda like the Stillman shifter, but with this you can downshift and you only have to go up or down. I may consider geting one too, if the build quality is good and it works like it's supposed too.



EDIT: and for the guys wondering how you are supposed to get into reverse here is a quote from the takakaira link I posted "How to reverse this shifter?

Pull@the lock **** at the side of the body and push the gear in at the deepest place for reverse. This is carried out to avoid shifting mistakes at the time of downshifting. If you are a racing driver, this lock should be removed for quick recovery."



http://www.takakaira.co.jp/performance/ike...eya_manual.html



http://www.ikeya-f.co.jp/english/

Leetheslacker

Ever seen incam in a funny car?

Theres like a whole bunch of levers/shifters.

Yanks each one down one after the other to shift...

kkw4p

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/sequential-gearbox.htm



Pretty informative.



A true sequential gearbox doesn't use cables, and they shift much faster than humans can in a MT.



The new M3s have this option knowns as SMG, and Mercedez Benz has a similar AMG in its sports line. THe 1/4 mile times for each of these cars with their respective sequiential gearboxes was several tenths of a second faster. A good improvement when you consider that there's no difference in power, just shift time.

Srce

M3 SMG, 360 F1, 355 F1, oh and yeah, I sat in a GTR Diablo once, it had a TRUE SEQUENTIAL tranny in it. BTW, I still prefer a nice Getrag H.

WishIhadaRX7

You've driven all those?