Project ForkenSwift electric car: shifting gears

Submitted by: ForkenSwiftDotCom
Submitted on: April 29, 2009

http://www.ForkenSwift.com - Since the car has no clutch, people often ask how I change gears. The purpose of this video is to show just that.

EV’s with more power than the ForkenSwift don’t need to shift much - some just leave the transmission in one gear for city driving, and only upshift for highway speeds.

The ForkenSwift needs to be shifted because it’s a low voltage car with a low power controller.

So how is it done? With a firm hand and a little patience for upshifts, and by rev-matching the motor speed to the transmission speed when downshifting.

There’s no need to use a clutch in an EV when stopping or starting out. An electric motor doesn’t idle like a gas engine - it stops when the accelerator is released and the car stops.

At about 3:40 you see one potential “problem” of driving an quiet vehicle - a pedestrian steps off a curb - backwards! - into my path as I am slowly approaching. I don’t think he would have backed up right into the car, but I tapped the horn to let him know I was there anyway. Disaster averted! (This has only happened to me once in 6 months.)