paddle vs stick in terms of competitiveness? Can a stick car compete? Anyone see any major difference in lap times?
This is one of those things that really comes down to taste. Are you planning to use the car for wheel to wheel racing? Or for track days? I would consider the difference between the two shifting types more of an experiential difference than a speed difference.
Here is a video that Robert Burgess from Radical Canada made showing what it is like to use "Snicker" shifter. As you can see in the video they are a true sequential shifter, which is much nicer than a standard manual transmission, and provides an excellent driving experience. With that said the paddle shifted cars are in a different league (in my personal opinion). It is so nice to be able to keep your hands on the steering wheel all of the time and flick the paddles to effortlessly make gear changes. The paddle systems evolved over time and the Geartronics systems used near the end of the Generation 1 cars and the beginning of the RS cars are excellent. The cars after chassis 464 that were ordered from the factory with the Life paddle system have the paddle shifting system fully integrated into the ECU which has safety features built in that prevent the car from making shifts that would damage the engine.
So in summary, the Snicker shift cars are fantastic cars that provide a great driving experience....But, the paddle shifted cars are are in a league of their own and are definitely worth having (in my opinion). When I work with people to help find them cars, I always recommend getting a car with the Life Paddle shifting integrated with the ECU. Cars with the Geartronics system that would be a close second...
What do others think?
Charley
My SR1 is a manual car, I like it. a paddle shift car will be a little faster, and better on the gearbox. With the manual you have to heel/toe the downshift. Not too difficult, and it keeps you engaged with action of "driving". I posted here a race video of myself and my car, you can see for your self. the only part that I think i need would be a blipper system for the downshifts so I could left foot brake. Otherwise, I can buy a lot of transmission gears for the price of the paddle shift system.
For me it would be to race. Ive spent my life racing manual cars. I like the driver involvement. That being said I don't want to race against paddle cars and give up seconds per lap
I've just had one weekend with my paddle-shifted SR8 after years and years of a manual transmission track car. Paddle shifting lets you concentrate on other things -- your driver involvement just changes to different problems about going fast, and I'm happy to just use my heel-toe skills for driving on the street. As far as lap times go, that's a hard thing to measure. I doubt you'll ever find a controlled experiment that can isolate the shifter as the only variable. Radical's paddle shifting systems have to be faster, but I doubt we'll ever really know much.
I know that truly gifted driver can drive just about anything fast. But, I can tell you that all of the cars (~30) used in he Radical Cup race at Laguna Seca this year were paddle shifed. If you haven’t driven a Radical with paddle shifting, I would highly recommend trying one before you buy a car. Paddle shifting is faster and more consistent and allows you to focus on other aspects of driving faster. I have nothing against the snicker shirt cars, they are a big improvement over a standard manual transmission for racing..... but, after experiencing paddle shifting on the track I don’t ever plan to go back.
They are both good.... Try them both and go with the one you like the best.
Charley
So I'm guessing a gifted driver is going to be faster in a paddle. In the Radical Cup at Laguna was anything older then 2014? The nice part about the stick is more driver involvement.
So I'm guessing a gifted driver is going to be faster in a paddle. In the Radical Cup at Laguna was anything older then 2014? The nice part about the stick is more driver involvement.
Yes, a gifted driver will be faster and more consistent with a paddle shifted car. I guess, that is why there aren't any manually shifted cars in F1 anymore. But that doesn't mean that the snicker shift cars aren't good. A gifted driver in a snicker shift car could be faster than a slightly less gifted driver in a paddle shifted car. And believe me you will be very involved with one of these cars regardless of what type of shifter it has. I don't know if you have tried one yet, but a purpose built, high downforce race car with slicks (and no power steering and a small steering wheel) has your attention at all times. The less you take your hands off of the wheel the better. ?
Regarding the Cars at Laguna Seca, the earliest car was chassis number 580 which was built in 2010.
Charley
