Sim. Racing Shifter Rebuild/Redesign

After using the first design of my shifter for a good while in my race frame, I found that the shifter rod and the tines (the parts that outlined the H pattern) were wearing out faster than I wanted to replace them. As they wore, shifts became more "iffy" and I'd put off making the repairs. When it came time to replace the worn parts, too much of the unit has to be taken a part to fix things, so I decided to redesign some of the pieces. I decided to modify what I had rather than start from scratch.

Main Goal:
Reduce the wear and tear between the shift rod and the tines that outline the H pattern.

As long as I was changing things ...:
Reduce the "clankiness" caused by metal hitting metal
Make repairs easier by making part removal and adjustment easier
Switch the electronics from the CH emulator to the Plasma-Lite board.

Mechanical

The design is basically the same as before. I decided to use a rod for the shift lever instead of the bar (all pictures show the wood rod I used during the design/build. I plan to swap it out with a metal one.) A rod doesn't have the sharp edges of the bar so that should feel and wear better. Since the rod is thicker than the bar, more things had to change than I originally expected such as the spacing of the switches.

I also wanted to soften up the tines that defined the H pattern. The gold looks goofy but that's all the store had. These are coat/hat hooks cut and bent for their new role in life. They are round and strong, but give just a little on the sides.

To stop the rod (front to back and side to side) I used polyethylene (the white stuff.) Sounds fancy hu? It's just a cutting board I cut up :). I used the same material for the new "bump". Hopefully this stuff lasts.


Upside down. The switch mounting was simplified. It is now easy to move them forward, backward and side to side as needed.	The switch on the far right changes the gear 6 position between 6 and reverse. The bolts that hold the switches together are longer than need be, but I wanted to use the parts I had.

Since I am using a rod now, I can finally use a real (but cheap) shift knob.	Hope these tines hold out. They feel really smooth as the lever is moved.

Shifter in middle position, held in place. The "bump" feel is controlled by the spring tension (adjustable) and the shape of the center point.. I started with a circle but may change that. What I have now means that it is a bit harder to get into gear and easy to get out.	Shifter in froward position. Since it is on the flat part, it will easily move out of gear when it is move towards neutral.

Electrical

I put the Plasma-Lite in a case and used 2 DB9 connectors. One for the shifter and one for my pedals. There is room on the face plate of the case to add more DB9s to break out the other inputs of the Plasma Light.

Finishing Touches

To dress things up, I may put a flat plastic panel over the top plate and add a shift boot. I don't mind the sides being open as I can't see them from the driver seat, and besides, I don't even look at the shifter when driving. For now I'll leave it as is so I can keep an eye on things and make needed adjustments.
Now that that's done ... its time to go racing ...

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