A
gear stick (also
gearstick,
gear lever,
selection lever,
shift stick and
gear shifter) is the lever used to change
gearA gear is a component within a transmission device that transmits rotational torque by applying a force to the teeth of another gear or device. A gear is different from a pulley in that a gear is a round wheel that has linkages that mesh with other gear teeth, allowing force to be fully...
in a
vehicleA vehicle is a mechanical means of conveyance, a carriage or transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks.Vehicles may be propelled or pulled by...
, such as an
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, with
manual transmissionA manual transmission, or manual gearbox is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
or several common forms of
automatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
it interfaces with the drivers hand using a
shift knobA shift knob also known as a gear knob, gear shift knob and stick shift knob is the the physical interface between the manual transmission stick shift and the drivers hand. Made of many materials from simple plastics through to platinum it comes in many shapes sizes and weights...
.
The device is used to change gear; in a manual transmission vehicle this will normally be done whilst depressing the
clutchA clutch is a mechanism for transmitting rotation, which can be engaged and disengaged. Clutches are useful in devices that have two rotating shafts. In these devices, one shaft is typically driven by a motor or pulley, and the other shaft drives another device. In a drill, for instance, one shaft...
pedal with the left foot to disengage the
engineAn engine is a machine that produces mechanical force and motion from another form of energy . It is also referred to as a prime mover. An automobile makes use of several motors to start the car and drive the car's various pumps – but the power plant that propels the car is called an engine...
from the drivetrain and
wheelA wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load , or performing labour in machines. Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle overcomes friction by facilitating motion by...
s.
A
gear stick (also
gearstick,
gear lever,
selection lever,
shift stick and
gear shifter) is the lever used to change
gearA gear is a component within a transmission device that transmits rotational torque by applying a force to the teeth of another gear or device. A gear is different from a pulley in that a gear is a round wheel that has linkages that mesh with other gear teeth, allowing force to be fully...
in a
vehicleA vehicle is a mechanical means of conveyance, a carriage or transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks.Vehicles may be propelled or pulled by...
, such as an
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, with
manual transmissionA manual transmission, or manual gearbox is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
or several common forms of
automatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
it interfaces with the drivers hand using a
shift knobA shift knob also known as a gear knob, gear shift knob and stick shift knob is the the physical interface between the manual transmission stick shift and the drivers hand. Made of many materials from simple plastics through to platinum it comes in many shapes sizes and weights...
.
The device is used to change gear; in a manual transmission vehicle this will normally be done whilst depressing the
clutchA clutch is a mechanism for transmitting rotation, which can be engaged and disengaged. Clutches are useful in devices that have two rotating shafts. In these devices, one shaft is typically driven by a motor or pulley, and the other shaft drives another device. In a drill, for instance, one shaft...
pedal with the left foot to disengage the
engineAn engine is a machine that produces mechanical force and motion from another form of energy . It is also referred to as a prime mover. An automobile makes use of several motors to start the car and drive the car's various pumps – but the power plant that propels the car is called an engine...
from the drivetrain and
wheelA wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load , or performing labour in machines. Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle overcomes friction by facilitating motion by...
s. Automatic transmission vehicles, robotised manuals, and those with
continuously variable transmissionA continuously variable transmission is a transmission which can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that only allow a few different distinct gear ratios to be selected...
gearboxes, do not require a clutch pedal.
An optimized version of the gear stick for manual transmissions available to racers and performance enthusiasts is known as a
short shifterA short shifter also known as a short throw shifter is the result of an automotive aftermarket modification of the manual transmissions' stick shift either by modification of the existing stick shift or, alternately, by the replacement of the entire part.The replacement of the stock shift knob with...
.
Alternative positions
Gear sticks are most commonly found between the front seats of the vehicle, either on the
center consoleThe center console in an automobile refers to the control-bearing surfaces in the center of the front of the vehicle interior...
(sometimes even quite far up on the
dashboardA dashboard, dash, "dial and switch housing" or fascia, is a control panel located under the windshield of an automobile. It contains the instrumentation and controls pertaining to the operation of the vehicle...
), the transmission tunnel, or directly on the floor. Some vehicles have a column shift where the lever is mounted on the
steering columnThe automotive steering column is a device intended primarily for connecting the steering wheel to the steering mechanism by transferring the driver's input torque from the steering wheel.A steering column may perform the following secondary functions:...
- this arrangement was once almost standard practice in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until relatively recently, which had the added benefit of allowing for a full width bench-type front seat. It has since fallen out of favor, although it can still be found widely on US-market pick-up trucks, vans, and "full-size" US sedans such as the
Ford Crown VictoriaThe Ford Crown Victoria is a rear-wheel drive full-size car first produced by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market in the mid-1950s. Its current incarnation has been in production since 1992 at Ford's St. Thomas Assembly plant....
. A
dashboardA dashboard, dash, "dial and switch housing" or fascia, is a control panel located under the windshield of an automobile. It contains the instrumentation and controls pertaining to the operation of the vehicle...
mounted shift was common on certain French models such as the
Citroen 2CVThe Citroën 2CV was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1949 to 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with extremely utilitarian and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer quality of its underlying engineering...
and
Renault 4The Renault 4, also known as the 4L , is a hatchback economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1994. It was the first front-wheel drive family car produced by Renault....
. The
Bentley Mark VIThe Bentley Mark VI was the first post-war luxury car from Bentley. Produced from 1946 to 1952, it was also the first car from Rolls-Royce with factory coachwork but chassis were still also supplied to independent coachbuilders...
had its gear lever to the right of the right-hand drive driver's seat, alongside the driver's door, where it was not unknown for
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
cars to also have their
handbrakeIn cars, the hand brake is a latching brake usually used to keep the car stationary. Automobile e-brakes usually consist of a cable directly connected to the brake mechanism on one end and to some type of lever that can be actuated by the driver on the other end...
. (Left-hand drive models received a column shift.)
In some modern
sports carThe term sports car has been defined as "an open, low-built, fast motor car." The term describes a class of automobile with two seats, two doors, precise handling, brisk acceleration, and sharp braking — trading practical considerations such as passenger space, comfort, and cargo capacity...
s, 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 typically 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.
The gear knob and switches
The gear knob or
shift knobA shift knob also known as a gear knob, gear shift knob and stick shift knob is the the physical interface between the manual transmission stick shift and the drivers hand. Made of many materials from simple plastics through to platinum it comes in many shapes sizes and weights...
or gear shift knob or stick shift knob is at the end of the gear stick; it forms the handle of 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 it may incorporate a switch to engage an
overdriveOverdrive can refer to two different things.An overdrive is a device which was commonly used in automobiles to allow the choice of an extra-high overall gear ratio for high speed cruising, thus saving fuel, at the cost of less torque. Usually the final or top gear is called overdrive...
; in some automatic transmission vehicles it may incorporate a switch to engage a special mode such as a sports mode. Both of the above-mentioned switches may also be found on the console or on steering column stalks instead.
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; for example, "sports" or "economy" modes which will broadly speaking allow, respectively, for higher and lower revolutions per gear, before changing up.
Some specialist vehicles have controls for other functions on the gear stick. The
Land Rover FreelanderThe Land Rover Freelander is a compact crossover SUV or "lifestyle 4WD" made by the British company Land Rover; a subsidiary of Tata Motors. The current generation is sold as the LR2 in North America, as opposed to Freelander 2 in Europe...
introduced a button for that company's
Hill Descent Control systemFour-wheel-drive and All Wheel Drive vehicles such as the Australian made Ford Territory may have a Hill Descent Control system installed, using the ABS braking to control the car's motion downhill, initially developed by Robert_Bosch_GmbH for Land Rover...
feature, which uses the brakes to simulate the function of a low-ratio gearbox in steep descents.
Secondary gear levers
In some traditional
four-wheel driveFour-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 , or AWD is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
"off-road" vehicles there can be a second gear lever which engages a low-ratio gearbox, used on tough
terrainTerrain, or relief, is the third or vertical dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
. Further, similar-looking levers may switch between two- and four-wheel drive, or engage differential locks; these are not "gear levers," however.
Shift pattern
The "shift pattern" refers to the layout of the gears. In a typical manual transmission car, first gear is located forwards, and to the left. In many trucks and some sports cars it is instead in a "dog leg" position, back and to the left. 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.
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, pressed down, or moved with extra force 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.
Automatic transmissions traditionally have had a straight pattern beginning at the most forward position with "park" (which locks up the transmission), and running through reverse, neutral, drive (all gears available), and then the lower gears (often three or two more positions, each locking out a successive upper gear), with the rear-most position allowing first gear only. More modern automatic transmissions have employed a "J-gate" (pioneered by
JaguarJaguar Cars Ltd., better known simply as Jaguar is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Coventry, England. It has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors Ltd...
) where some gears are on the left-hand "arm", some on the right, and there is a sideways movement at the rear of the pattern.
Some modern gearboxes such as the
Alfa RomeoAlfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automaker founded on June 24, 1910 in Milan. Alfa Romeo has been a part of the Fiat Group since 1986, and since February 2007 a part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. The company was owned by Italian state holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione...
Sportronic have a traditional automatic shift pattern to the right, with a special position to the left in which movement of the stick forwards and backwards increments the gears up and down respectively.