GR Yaris: Insights from Quick Shifter(Part7)

This time is the seventh installment of things I,Rikutsu-Kone-Taro have learned from introducing a quick shifter.

The content of part 6 was about being able to know the current gear position at the location of the red knob within the driver’s field of view.

This time, going a step further, it’s a discussion about how it would be even better if you could know the position at the moment you grip the knob…

In other words, rather than visually confirming the gear position, it might be better if the body could judge the gear position based on the position of the knob held by hand… and I’ve started to think about it.

The above photo shows a red shift knob taken with an OM-1 and a Voigtlander Super Nokton 29mm F0.8 lens at full aperture.

Due to the very shallow depth of field and manual focus, the focus may not be accurate, but please forgive that.

As mentioned in previous articles (related articles, click “here“), thanks to the long shift lever, the red knob protrudes slightly into the lower left of the driver’s field of view while facing forward.

If you can know the current gear position from the position of this red shift knob, you can mentally assemble how to move the lever whether shifting up or down.

However, if at the moment you grip the knob, your body can judge both the gear position and how to move the lever, then that would be a very useful skill… something I’ve realized for the first time in my 42 years of driving.

Since the red shift knob is in the field of view, there is no need for extra time for the left hand to search for the knob.

If the relationship between the knob’s position and the gear position is ingrained in the body, there is no need to visually confirm the gear position by the knob’s position before shifting, let alone use a shift indicator.

Until now, “Rikutsu-Kone-Taro” has been driving enthusiastically on winding roads without much thought.

I have never practiced knowing the shift position from the position of the gripped shift knob, nor did it ever occur to me in the first place.

I am ashamed.

For a while from now on, rather than just driving enthusiastically, let’s practice so that we can seamlessly transition to the next operation by familiarizing the body with the position of the knob and knowing the position, and aim for the body to react automatically, like this for upshifting, like this for downshifting…

Let’s practice such that we can grasp the shift knob, know the position, and seamlessly transition to the next operation in the blink of an eye.

I feel stupid for not realizing such an important thing until now.

Please understand that “Rikutsu-Kone-Taro” is such a clumsy driver.

That’s all for this time.