An LCD — In The Palm Of Your Hand
By Calvin Lewis
Here’s a shift knob sure to improve your manual-shift experience time and impress your friends, too: the German company Gaslock’s Indy-Cator. It adds an LCD screen to the boring old shift knob, displaying what gear you’re in, all the way up to the magic number six.
The manufacturer claims the Indy-Cator will fit in any car with any gear pattern — except cars with gear levers that feature a reverse locking mechanism. Of course, the manufacturer also claims that drivers might use up to 15% less fuel by adapting their driving styles based on information from the LCD, but we find that somewhat dubious.
The real good news is that installing this trick piece doesn’t require modification to the transmission, ECU, or anything else. Two sensors in the knob measure motion, and after you “train” the knob on your vehicle’s specific shift pattern, it figures out what gear you’re in all on its own. A sensor in the shift knob also adapts the level of brightness to make it easier to see, and you can choose from red, blue, and green displays to custom fit your ride.
Street pricing runs about $170.
Shift Indicator Knob [Gaslock]
December 10th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
You have to look at your gearlever to know what gear you’re in? COME ON! If you regularly drive a manual, you’ll know what gear you’re in because you put it in that gear… and since you have a speedometer and a tachometer in most manual cars, you can work out the gear based a quick look at the gauges in front of you.
Look at the shift knob… just what we need, more people taking their eyes off of the road!
December 11th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
I totally agree, if you have to look down to see what gear your in you shouldn’t be driving a car with a manual transmission.
December 11th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
LOL…I almost fell out of my chair. Not only do I wholeheartedly agree with the previous 2 posts but also I don’t know how Germans drive but when I shift, my hand’s covering the shift knob.
December 12th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
You’ll get a kick out of knowing that a) this same discussion took place in the FOC offices, and b) though everyone here agreed that it’s pointless from a technical standpoint, c) almost everyone wanted one.
Why? It’s not for the driver. It’s for the passenger — just like rear-facing headrest monitors.
December 15th, 2007 at 2:14 am
Useless bling.
Then again, that’s what a lot of this kind of customizing is about. Otherwise you wouldn’t have stuff like carbon fiber shifters anyway.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Um… can I get one to fit my 94runner in tan leather….