<P> Beyond the ease of use from a driver 's standpoint , an additional benefit of sequential manual gearboxes is that use of the clutch via foot pedal or hand control can be minimized or completely obviated , with the clutch used only for starting from a complete stop . Formula One cars of the 1990s made the most high - profile debut of this technology in motor sports , and enhanced variations on this theme are still in use in many forms of road racing and drag racing today . The simple push - pull action of the shift mechanism also lends itself to semi-automatic control using either hydraulic or pneumatic actuators -- a system often referred to as paddle - shift . Instead of a manual gear lever , the driver is provided with ( usually ) a pair of flipper paddles on the steering wheel , rally cars often utilize just a double - acting single paddle . Pulling on the right - hand paddle makes an up - shift and pulling on the left - hand paddle makes a down - shift . The paddle - shift system will use a sophisticated electronic control unit to provide the necessary logic to operate the shift mechanism . This type of paddle - shift system fitted to race and rally cars should not be confused with most of the current crop of paddle - shift systems fitted to some high - end road cars . These systems often use a dual - clutch transmission or a conventional torque converter automatic transmission which allow driver input to select the gears . </P>
<P> Beyond the ease of use from a driver 's standpoint , an additional benefit of sequential manual gearboxes is that use of the clutch via foot pedal or hand control can be minimized or completely obviated , with the clutch used only for starting from a complete stop . Formula One cars of the 1990s made the most high - profile debut of this technology in motor sports , and enhanced variations on this theme are still in use in many forms of road racing and drag racing today . The simple push - pull action of the shift mechanism also lends itself to semi-automatic control using either hydraulic or pneumatic actuators -- a system often referred to as paddle - shift . Instead of a manual gear lever , the driver is provided with ( usually ) a pair of flipper paddles on the steering wheel , rally cars often utilize just a double - acting single paddle . Pulling on the right - hand paddle makes an up - shift and pulling on the left - hand paddle makes a down - shift . The paddle - shift system will use a sophisticated electronic control unit to provide the necessary logic to operate the shift mechanism . This type of paddle - shift system fitted to race and rally cars should not be confused with most of the current crop of paddle - shift systems fitted to some high - end road cars . These systems often use a dual - clutch transmission or a conventional torque converter automatic transmission which allow driver input to select the gears . </P>
what kind of gearbox do rally cars use
what kind of gearbox do rally cars use
sequential manual gearboxes
sequential manual gearboxes