H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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cmcraeslo
6
Joined: 21 Jan 2016, 09:38
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H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Hey all.

I'd like to share with you guys the project I was working on for the last 2 years. It's fully pneumatic paddle shifter system for any cable driven H pattern gearbox. This is at the moment mounted in VW GOLF 2, FIA E1 hill climb car.
The ECU that's controlling the valves can also control the clutch so one could use this on syncro gearbox also. Average shift I get is 0.08s which I'm looking to improve.

More at this video:


Ideas & suggestions are more than welcome. I've dedicated big portion of my life to these paddle shifters and would love to optimize the system. I must say that the system on the video has not been optimized yes, it's overdimensioned because it's a prototype. I didn't want to deal with the details just yet, was too much going on :)

p.s.: sorry about the video, i know it's not the best and my "shooting" road was really short.

Thanks

autogyro
53
Joined: 04 Oct 2009, 15:03

Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Nice project.
Certainly worth some attention from those with limited budgets.

Oh and testing on the road is always a trial, I could tell you some very hair raising stories.


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andylaurence
123
Joined: 19 Jul 2011, 15:35
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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What's the cost for a kit? I see you're running it on a dog box there. Is your ECU running the pneumatics and also cutting the power to the engine for the flat upshift? How do you do the downshift? Pneumatic cylinder on the throttle? Have you tried clutch control with it? I can see our being a benefit for starts as well as gear shifts.

cmcraeslo
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Joined: 21 Jan 2016, 09:38
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Hey. Thank you for kind words. My gcu is controlling pneumatics and I blip the throttle (also pneumatically actuated) on downshift. I monitor every move very closely (i also have very extensive logging). Anyway, the gcu tells the ecu when to cut the engine (well, retard the ign to be exact). My system is also capable of controlling the clutch. There are two valves available so i can get slow clutch release on downshift and fast release on upshift (if someone would run the shifter on a syncro box). I have very advanced setup software so i can set everything i want. There are more than 100 settings available. System cost is approx 3000 eur.

cmcraeslo
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Joined: 21 Jan 2016, 09:38
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Hey Andy. My GCU (Gear control unit) is controlling the valves and shifting strategies. Cutting is done by the engine ECU (I send a signal when to reduce the load). I'm actually retarding the engine instead of cutting the ignition, it gives much smoother shift. On downshift, there's a pneumatic throttle blipper (as I don't have a drive by wire system) that blips on downshift. If car has a drive-by-wire we can tell the ecu when to blip via wire or can bus.

I do have a clutch support in the gcu. Two way actually, so I can release quickly on upshift and slowly on downshift. All one needs to do is to add a pneumatic and hydr cylinder to a clutch line and it works. We did this on few cars.

Cost of this kit is approx 3500 eur.

You mention something about yours being a benefit. I assume you have such clutch control already? How do you control it?

Image

autogyro
53
Joined: 04 Oct 2009, 15:03

Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Nice to see you retard the ignition on upshifts, it took me a long time to work that out back in the day.
Where abouts are you based?
I have been asked on numerous occasions to build a replica of my clutch flite hot rod which used the AP automatic gearbox with an electrically operated shift valve block.
Perhaps you would be interested in helping develop a more up to date control system.
The car won a number of races back in 1977/8 and would be very competitive in Historic Hot Rods.
It used a very low ratio differential around 5.3 and all four gears on the quarter mile oval where the other cars only have time to use one or two at the most.

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andylaurence
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Joined: 19 Jul 2011, 15:35
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Predictive text on my phone - I don't have clutch control; I use my left leg. The car has fly by wire, so the ECU controls the throttle for cut and blip. The shift is manual, but the ECU supports pneumatics if I wish to upgrade.

cmcraeslo
6
Joined: 21 Jan 2016, 09:38
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Andy, which ECU are you using on which car?

cmcraeslo
6
Joined: 21 Jan 2016, 09:38
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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@autogyro I come from a land far far away :) Slovenia to be exact.. that's around 1800 km away from Birmingham UK (I know this because we went to Autosport international last year). That being said, I'm always looking for interesting projects. Drop me a note on what exactly is going on and what kind of help you would need and we can talk.

spacer
9
Joined: 01 Nov 2009, 20:51

Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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nice project!

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andylaurence
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Joined: 19 Jul 2011, 15:35
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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I'm using a Life F88 GDI in a Mygale M12-SJ. It's a good piece of kit and appears to do more than I need!

cmcraeslo
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Joined: 21 Jan 2016, 09:38
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Nice. Do you know what kind of shifting strategies does the F88 support? It looks like one big monster ecu :) Would love to see what it can do in term of gearbox control.

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andylaurence
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Joined: 19 Jul 2011, 15:35
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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I'm not sure. I'm only using my hands for shifting, so not investigated the pneumatic options. It's beautifully slick in its manual shifts though. The Hewland FTR helps of course.

cmcraeslo
6
Joined: 21 Jan 2016, 09:38
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Re: H pattern gearbox paddle shifter

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Just finished the re-design of valves setup and enclosure, to look it somewhat better & more compact.
Here's the preview:

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What do you guys think?