controlling a manual transmission electricly?

[MA717MGTE]

I have a friend that a few years ago had a injury to his left knee, since then he has been subject to driving only automatics but he wants to drive a standard car again.

Now we discused it and knew it could be done. but how? and for how much $$$

Well i was just watching tv, had it on speed channel and caught Nopi Tv, and there was a paraplegic who had a new Jeep that was a manual transmission and it had an electronic button on the shifter to controll the clutch.. i have searched but can't find any sites or products that give me any information..

any help guys? thoughts?

 

[zurud]

Try using solenoid to pull the clutch in. 100 lb pull solenoid should do it. Mount the switch on steering column.

 

[3p141592654]

Just buy a BMW with Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG). It will be a lot less money than trying to engineer your own.

 

[zurud]

Solenoid is a lot cheaper. Build a bracket to mount the solenoid on the firewall. Drill a hole on the firewall close to clutch pedal. Drill hole on clutch pedal stem. Connect cable between clutch pedal stem and solenoid. Wire the relay, push button switch and solenoid. Bam you're done. I think I can pull this off. Its probably not streetable because the clutch is on/off, you can't slip it. If you use different switch other than push button you might make it streetable. Like resistance base switch.

 

[annoyingrob]

I was thinking about this randomly a few months ago. I thought that you could put a lever on the shifter, sort of like a bicycle brake, and rig it up the the master cylinder so all you had to do was squeese the shifter to push in the clutch. It would give you the same amount of control over the clutch as a pedal would, and you don't need a third hand.

 

[Nick M]

If it is controlled elctrically, then it is not a manual transmission.

Being automatic does not make it a planetary gearset, such as the A340E.

 

[theKnifeArtist]

Try using solenoid to pull the clutch in. 100 lb pull solenoid should do it. Mount the switch on steering column.

Solenoid is a lot cheaper. Build a bracket to mount the solenoid on the firewall. Drill a hole on the firewall close to clutch pedal. Drill hole on clutch pedal stem. Connect cable between clutch pedal stem and solenoid. Wire the relay, push button switch and solenoid. Bam you're done. I think I can pull this off. Its probably not streetable because the clutch is on/off, you can't slip it. If you use different switch other than push button you might make it streetable. Like resistance base switch.

don't you mean actuators?

 

[Blackfin]

You and your friend may want to consider the Suprastick Automatic Transmission Controller.

http://www.latentsolutions.com/suprastickuv.html

 

[SevenMKIII]

I was thinking about this randomly a few months ago. I thought that you could put a lever on the shifter, sort of like a bicycle brake, and rig it up the the master cylinder so all you had to do was squeese the shifter to push in the clutch. It would give you the same amount of control over the clutch as a pedal would, and you don't need a third hand.

*Keep in mind I have never tried* I don't know about you but my left leg is a whole lot stronger than my fist squeezing, would that even physically work?

 

[figgie]

manual electronically controlled?

sequentia basically.

looking at a 10k price tag minimum!

 

[WhtMa71]

Yeap you could always get a dog box..but like he^ said..prolly close to 10g's.

 

[mkIIIman089]

LOL, and then the other couple thousand a week replacing everything in it. Plus, engineering something to cut power for a few milliseconds on shifts.

*Keep in mind I have never tried* I don't know about you but my left leg is a whole lot stronger than my fist squeezing, would that even physically work?

Plus how much leverage and hydraulic advantage you would lose like that.

Why not just get a slush box built to be not as slushy and get a stand alone controller for it?

 

[Poodles]

damnit, I forgot who does it, but there is a company that does the conversions to miatas

yes, it's a push button on the shifter, throttle was a ring around the steering wheel, and I forgot what the brake was...

 

[MA717MGTE]

damnit, I forgot who does it, but there is a company that does the conversions to miatas

yes, it's a push button on the shifter, throttle was a ring around the steering wheel, and I forgot what the brake was...

yes you are describing it perfectly.. brake was on a lever i belive!

 

[mkIIIman089]

It can be done, but its a lot more then just using like a hydraulic motorcycle lever or something.

There is a CORR truck racer who I believe is a paraplegic.

 

[Reaper Man]

it sounds like basically a series of hand controls, and I would venture to say huge expense- enough that I think I'd just accept the fact I'm more or less stuck driving an auto. Which sucks

 

[Wiisass]

So if just this guys left knee is busted, then all you need to control electronically is the clutch. That's easy. Just do that what the first guy said. Make an electrically actuated slave cylinder, it wouldn't be hard to do. You would just need mounts and a solenoid that could put out enough force. It would be almost on/off though, so you could try and find a way of controlling the release of the solenoid, but I'm not sure how you would do that electically. Capacitors maybe.

Or you could always use air. Then you could set up a bleed so it wouldn't release the clutch so quickly.

Either way it would just take some getting used to.

Or like other people said, something like a bike brake handle. That could also work. It would probably be a lot mroe work and a bigger pain in the ass to get right. But if you set it up right, it wouldn't be hard to operate, but packaging might also make that hard.

But if you're just doing the clutch, it wouldn't be that expensive. It would be a solenoid, some way to mount the thing, a relay, a switch and some wires.

 

[Poodles]

that was easy...
http://www.rediautosport.com/

 

[MA717MGTE]

that was easy...
http://www.rediautosport.com/

BAM there it is!

thx Poodles!

 

[CRE]

Looks like a great option.... for an automatic. But shifting, while simultaneously trying to control the clutch with another shifter of sorts... I don't think it would work out very well.

Personally, I'd go for a pedal he could still control using his foot, with the movement of his ankle. I'd probably go with a variable pressure hydraulic with a small pedal connected to a potentiometer. More like what he'd like to be able to do and not a compete departure from the experience he wants. Then if the pedal doesn't pan out you could just as easily mount a small control on the shifter.