Gated shifter: Why?

is it pretty much Italian cars that have them or just Fs, Lambos, Panteras?

 

It takes a smart (MIT) person to put something simple in simple terms. But, the gated shifter looks cool, as well.

 

In a regular transmission with a direct link from the shifter they have a gate inside the trans, Ferrari just decided to put it in the interior which has other benefits as well, when upshifting or down shifting fast as in racing less chance of missing a gear or going in the wrong gear and overrevving the motor, you also can tell at a glance what gear you are in, other cars such as the Porsche 911 the shifter is vague and its easy to miss a shift or forget what gear you are in.

 

my 328 is easy as hell to get into Reverse and its a BMW and doesnt have a cupolder so that argument is out

 

The R8 comes with a gated shifter... My dad daily'ed his R8 (almost).

 

Nice necromancer post! This thread was dead for 9 years before you resurrected it... when it was last posted in, the R8 didn't exist yet.

 

Umm all this chat seems to miss the fact that the gate is pure decoration - take it off, leave the 'hole' open and you have a problem with crumbs, but your shifts happen exactly the same as always. I like the aesthetics of the gate and being able to glance quickly to confirm a gear if necessary but the gate itself has absolutely NO mechanical part in the transmission.

 

I'm sorry, but you are mistaken. The gate is integral to the proper alignment of the shift linkage. The Ferrari design is one that is external at the top of the tower. Take away the gate and soon you will not be able to find the right gear.

I seriously doubt that Ferrari put a gated shifter in the 312T for show. No, I think that it was placed there to GO!
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I just like the feel and sound. Does anyone know the first Ferrari to use a gated shifter?

 

'79 308.
That gate is there for a reason. If you don't believe me, take it off and try to find 1st/rev or 4th/5th. Other transmissions have internal stops to keep you from missing 1ST/REV and 4th/5th. These transmissions do not have the internal stops. The gate allows you to slide the shifter all the way left or right and hit the sides of the gate(the external stops). The shifter, when in neutral will sit by itself between 2nd/3rd just like other trannys.

 

The metallic sounds coming off the gate are euphoric and offer surgical precision.
Glad to see this old thread and that Bullfighter made it. I see him toiling over the gated shifter in contemporary threads and thought his fascination was a new thing. Way to go BF, I hope you have been able to try a few of the cars mentioned by now.

 

Ferrari's long gates are an anachronism.

Modern shift "gates" are defined within the gearbox, which is why the shift linkage is wide open and covered by a boot for protection. This provides by far the fastest and most accurate shifting once the user has mastered the muscle memory of each gear.

The open-gate shifter of Italian cars is an excellent visual aid to shifting, but Ferrari's shift gates are long and the Neutral space is very narrowly defined, making dog-leg shifts less efficient than in typical modern sticks which let you slide through the dog-leg without the forced right-angle zig zag. Also, Ferrari's shift effort is relatively high. You have to be deliberate in your action, and you can never rush the shifter.

At this point it's an old, inefficient tradition and I can understand why Ferrari no longer makes them. But can one look at a Ferrari shift gate and not be impressed by the beauty of it all? Can one hear the "Click-Clack" and not be impressed by the tactile feedback? That in itself is the magic.

 

Basically, it means 2 things:
1) You actually have to know HOW to drive a car
2) You can't be an idiot when you drive the car

Ferrari's used to be cars that those who really know cars, are passionate, drive them as they are intended and appreciate them would buy. You drove stick and you drove it well when you finally bought your FCar. Now unfortunately like the princess housewife that reheats Chef Boyardee ravioli on her Viking stove (and doesn't know how to turn the oven on) and that guy in the suit that doesn't take the link out of his Rolex so it can actually fit his wrist (and checks the time on his iPhone)... Ferrari has become a status symbol. More about the design, less about the engineering.. more form than function to many.

 

Wow. This thread should be given Classiche status. Wonder what it's worth now.

Thank you for reviving it. Interesting to see the cultural story in gated manuals has been going so long.

Curt is right about the target market for many contemporary Ferraris. It's a numbers game. But the amazing cars are still there, which we are grateful for, even if gated Fcars (still made at time of this post) are sadly not.

 

To me it's completely qualitative, best analogy I give is buttons vs velcro - velcro might do the trick in some instances (or may even be better) but sometimes the 'feel' of button might be superior based on individual taste. Personally, I like the 'clink-clank' tactile feel of a perfectly timed shift...

just my $0.02

 

I read that Ferrari want's to become a "Luxury" brand like Hermes' on another thread here.

I sure hope that isn't the direction it's going. Every international airport in the World and luxury shopping area seems to all have the same stores. LV should be in vending machines now its so saturated. Where's the "Luxury" in luxury when its saturated???


I have been driving my f12 around LA, I might as well be my Jetta, it just blends in. Which is nice sometimes as I don't like attention. But when a car isn't special that's not cool either. My Enzo was way over the top when I had it and I didnt like all the questions. But It was expected.


Cars=fashion accessories isn't cool.


as far as gated snifters, when i couldn't afford one I wanted one so bad I couldn't sleep. I sleep better now, they are nice.

 

Yep and in the heat of battle I never look down at mine. Never missed a shift, something possible to do in a cable shift lotus for example or even a m3.

First gear on a ferrari is also dogleg, that makes for slower 0-60. But then first is really a gear to get rolling and otherwise irrelevant on a true performance machine, unless performance means paper specs.

2 and 3 are on the same plane as is 4 and 5, it makes for real simple and quick shifting while on the fly and working a road.
Ferrari boxes have a street reputation for shifting slowly or being notchy, that is a misnomer.
If you are shifting at speed with the motor close to redline ferrari boxes shift great and fast, everythign meshes as it should at speed. Its all about the setup of the cars for high speed use mostly on big mountain roads, as opposed to cruising or accelerating from a stoplight. Yes if youa re a cruiser or live with stoplights and straight roads the ferrari setup may seem anachronistic or a compromise.

On the other hand on the right road and used as intended, the ferrari setup is superlative and the others seem a compromise.
If as stirling moass said the road is a canvass, then using a ferrari on the right road is like having the perfect brush, and thats what seperates a ferrari from other objectively "better or faster" cars..

 

I have no idea what you are talking about.
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Curt,
Well said.

btw, almost spit out my coffee when I read, "... like the princess housewife that reheats Chef Boyardee ravioli on her Viking stove..."

lol - couldn't have put it better myself

 

Quite so.

Not all Ferraris have gates but those that do need it as a function of the transmission.

 

You are talking 5 speeds. The 6's have reverse off to the side.

You are not lying! The machine tells you when you are using it with the right intent!
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When one hears the "click-clack" during the shift, and the next push into the seat, who doesn't get sexually excited?

Come on. Cut the crap and get to "brass tacks."

Enzo knew damn well what he was doing.


He wasn't "selling engines."

He was selling SEX.

And he was a Master Pimp.

 

As in "I carefully unbuttoned her blouse"?

 

Brian, could you please elaborate for me? In my earlier post, what I meant was the gate (as in the bit we see) has no mechanical connection to the transmission - do you mean the gate is needed to align the shifters correctly or something different?
Also, discussing this with another Fchatter he pointed out in the 365 series, Daytonas are gated but GTC and GT4/2+2 aren't. Confused...