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Sequential manual tranmissions

NorCalAthlete

NorCalAthlete

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Apr 27, 2010
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Moto(s)
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Random curiosity just struck me while browsing the cars that make your jaw drop thread - any of you old fogies have any idea why they never caught on much for the everyday car? Seems like one piece of race technology that's been steadily improved on / kept around in the F1 and motorcycle world, but the cars still sold with a manual just have the H pattern gearboxes. I can remember a few muscle cars from back in the 60s / 70s or so era that had the 3 and 4 speed manual sequential shifter, but nothing at all today.
 
Probably the inability to select a specific gear by skipping other gears. Also nostalgia for the H pattern probably has something to do with it.

I’m not sure if there is any difference in cost of manufacture.
 
It's not like you're ever going to skip gears by that many unless you're one of those people who puts it in neutral and just brakes from 60-0.
 
NorCalAthlete said:
It's not like you're ever going to skip gears by that many unless you're one of those people who puts it in neutral and just brakes from 60-0.
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I would skip 1-3-5 or 6 often and coast in neutral if I was predicting a spot when I drove a manual car. convenient to be able to do and lost nothing for it.

prefer being able to do that to having to row through all the gears all the time any day, plus it's easy to tell by feel what gear you are in, harder to do that with a sequential.
 
I agree with Nick that the inability to directly select any gear or neutral, is likely the reason. Sequential shifting is one of the most confusing factors for novices to grasp in beginner rider courses.

I'm unaware of any street car that came with a sequential manual. What cars are you thinking of Pete?

I frequently skip gears when driving cars with high torque figures. Mostly by choice, sometimes by design (1st to 4th with GM's skip-shift feature).
 
I would skip on downshifts all the time. Sure you can just hit the selector twice like a motorcycle, but it's an extra step, and probably easier to make a mistake. When you rev over 10k rpm, the chances of an overrev are less than when your redline is 6k...
 
Mostly the noise factor. People want quiet. Ever hear a sequential box? Very noisy.
 
The auto industry terms it as "NVH". Noise Vibration and Harshness, They are typically straight cut gears, noise, and the shifts tends to create a lot of vibration and harshness.
 
NorCalAthlete said:
.... I can remember a few muscle cars from back in the 60s / 70s or so era that had the 3 and 4 speed manual sequential shifter, but nothing at all today.
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That is news to me. About the only trans that goes back a few decades is the aftermarket Lenco planetary. There are some straight cut sequentials for racing sports cars but I'm not that familiar with them.
 
A few times I have seen moto riders kick down two gears thinking they were in 4th when they were in 3rd and get 1st resulting in a skid. I may have even done that myself... ;)

Might be a liability issue for cage manufacturers.

As manual transmission fans (we haven't owned a slushbox vehicle since 1989) the H-pattern works just fine. Easy to navigate, easy to train the kids on. Mrs. insists on having a mix-it-yourself and loves her six-speed 2012 Sonata. She can tear up the pavement when the mood hits her. She once attacked Highway 58 between I-5 and Hwy 1 at a pace that made me close my eyes.
 
Id skip gears all the time when downshifting but if that option went away I'm sure I'd get over it.
Anyhow Id take todays 6-10 automatic transmissions over a manual. I'll probably never own a manual again.
 
NorCalAthlete said:
It's not like you're ever going to skip gears by that many unless you're one of those people who puts it in neutral and just brakes from 60-0.
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I used to routinely skip gears fifth to 2 coming back home into San Francisco. (Manual H , not a sequential )

Blame the fact that a formerly planned highway (San Jose ) was going into a right turn exit in a 25 mph zone..

Enchanter: aren't all DSG/PSK transmissions a sequential manual?? If you leave them in manual mode that is.

One thing I agree is I surely miss Neutral in those.
 
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I would expect cost to be a driving factor in the selection of the transmission type.
 
noise, longevity and shift quality.

lou gelotti made his seq boxes available for C6 corvettes. about 12k. I forgot the exact numbers but they only last 10-20k miles before rebuilt.

dual clutch is similar that you have to shift in sequential order up or down. dual clutch also last a long time. hydraulic pump being the most delicate part.
 
Am I confusing transmission types here? I'm thinking sequential like a motorcycle has or like the old muscle cars with the 3 and 4 speed up/down rather than H pattern shifters.
 
NorCalAthlete said:
Am I confusing transmission types here? I'm thinking sequential like a motorcycle has or like the old muscle cars with the 3 and 4 speed up/down rather than H pattern shifters.
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I've never heard of any cars with an OEM sequential transmission let alone a old muscle car.
 
Yakoo752 said:
Isn’t that BMWs SMG (I guess it would be a hybrid transmission, since there was no clutch)
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IIRC that transmission is not sequential in the same way that a motorcycle gearbox is. It's a sequential shifter, but a regular manual transmission and clutch that are operated by the car electro-hydraulically. It has a clutch, just not a pedal.
 
My AMG has a sequential box that also has a automatic mode.
 
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