The temperatures of the coals/ash and the shift knob are less important than the properties of the materials. Coals and ash are usually wood, and wood is a good insulator and not a good conductor of heat. Metal, on the other hand, is a good conductor. There's a reason cooking ware is metal and not wood.

It's simple thermodynamics. A metal knob transfers its heat to your skin a lot more quickly and efficiently than wood coals and ash. So contacting a knob to shift for half a second will tend to hurt while stepping light on coals and ash for half a second won't.

 

SP00LIN learned the fine art of cone killing that day

And FJF, if you turn your stove to ~180 degrees, how long can you keep your hand on there before you take it off?

 

It won't burn at all if you are using Betty Crocker's proper technique to touching stove burners.

 

ROFLMAO

Oh and Big 10: As far as cones, you are the Angel of Death!

 

Something like this?


or more like this?

 

I truly hope that when the pubescent vitriol dies down and you're finished patting each other on the back in the name of ignorance, you'll consider the safety of other drivers and adjust your techniques accordingly. Good luck to you all.

 

Do you seriously think that gripping a shift knob "incorrectly" is dangerous driving?

I was just now was watching BMI's "American Togue 2" where two top Japanese racing drivers were driving the wheels off some tuned Evos. And believe it or not they weren't using ol' dirty Bondurant's style of shifting! They were driving pretty well though, must have been a fluke

 

You sound like you haven't grasped a thing I've said. Not being able to hold on to one's shift knob is a dangerous thing. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you left your respective cars in neutral while paused in traffic. I've said my peace, provided pics to illustrate what's involved and the rest is in your hands (no pun intended).

Were they complaining about their knobs being too hot to use? Try it for yourself. If you still feel like you can't shift, implement whichever measures help you to navigate the streets safely. I wish you well.

Edit: I wanted to add that this isn't about "winning" some silly Internet debate.

There at least a dozen of you here who apparently do not have as much control over your vehicles in the heat as you do during colder times, be they Evos or not. By remaining willfully blind to the available options, and by refusing to make an effort to learn how to drive more effectively, you guys are not only furthering the potential of hurting yourselves, but others, too.

 

My point is that I'm calling BS on the fact that using "proper shifting technique" will prevent you from hurting your hand on a hot shift knob. Regardless of how you touch it, you're still touching the knob to move it and if it's hot it's going to hurt. I'm shocked you won't admit this, are you using telepathy to shift or something?

As opposed to holding the clutch in? That causes unnecessary wear on the clutch. I can't wait to hear your explanation of why having the car in neutral when sitting in traffic is dangerous.

Of course it's not. You come across as an intelligent person, but I'm just surprised by the things you're saying that to me seem like either hyperbole or a crusade against something completely arbitrary.

I'm in no less control of my car when it's hot to the touch than when it's cool. The only difference is I'll usually just exclaim "Ow! God damn it." whenever I shift. It's like a vulgar blow off valve.

 

Yenno... 90% of Evo owners that I've ever seen around are ******. After reading 4 pages of this thread, I can stongly say that it's now 91%. However, I wont point any fingers as to who tilted the scale.

 

OMG. Really, this is very sad.

The whole point here is that a metal shiftknob feels hotter and some people would rather not feel that extra heat. It doesn't matter if you're holding on to it like it's your trust fund or just 0.3 seconds. It's just hotter. Is that a crime?

As for the whole "how you should shift" thing, it would all be great if all of us can drive like we're on the track all the time. That way, I wouldn't have to drive in start-stop traffic and yo-yo up and down gears for miles at a time. And no, you shouldn't hold on to the shift knob, but seriously, does it matter a whole lot if someone has his hand on the knob - out of habit or whatever - when he is driving leisurely? It doesn't mean that he can't shift quickly/properly or whatever when he wants to, it's just his preferrence not to do it all the bloody time. There's a whole load of driving techniques that don't/can't really apply or don't mean a lot to everyday driving in traffic or in cities. And sincerely to all here, it might just be possible that it hurts some people more than others or that it bothers some people more than others.

I have a friend who can pick up burning pieces of that blue gel stuff you burn (can't remember name of stuff) but I have problems with coffee cups. So, I'll definitely feel less comfortable with the metal (Al, Ti or any other metal) knob regardless of how long I hold it for. So if I were to choose a new shift knob, I'd get a leather/polymer one. It's really that simple. It's not whether or not it is possible to drive with it, it's just preferrrence. Besides, if you wear a ring, there's a chance that the ring will scratch the metal one and that sort of sucks. It's preferrence and little (if any) to do with technique.

Most shift knobs in the market are Al and I suspect that this is because they are extremely simple to make. Anyway, here are some pics of the Ralliart shiftknobs. They're made from some type of rubbery stuff (i think).

and

Yes, they make metal ones also of the same shape.

vairs also do a CF one and Blitz also have ones in plastic.

If you don't want to pay extortionate amounts for it, find a workshop/guy with lathe near by and ask him to make one for you. I'd say you can use Nylon6 or Ertalon or similar. If there's a worry about the thread not holding, just industrial loctite in a threaded metal female bit.

Seriously it is tiresome when someone comes along and says that everyone (or nearly everyone) is doing it wrong specially on such a minor matter. FJF, the information in that book I am sure is very good and valuable, but it's hardly the point here. And there will probably be a reply to this post about how I am so wrong and that if you can shift properly you can cope with a metal shift knob - missing the point of the thread, once again, by a mile.

 

Oh, and I put my car in neutral and pull the handbrake when I stop at the lights if that's what you mean. In traffic - as in stop/go traffic, it depends how long I pause for. If it's a long time for some reason yes and the handbrake too. Why wear the clutch bearings and a myriad of other components? And when I get going again, some times I short-shift into 2nd cos I don't want to do 5000rpm at 25mph and so on, so shifting then comes frequently and the discomfort from a hot gearknob would be more annoying.

 

Hey FJF maybe you can correct me and teach me how to shift.

This is what I do.
1. Obtain a clove of garlic
2. Clutch in
3. If I am shifting into 1-3-5 then I hit the brakes abs style and pray to Allah it shifts.
4. If I need 2 or 4 well lets just say I have a good ol bucket of Jelly.

Shoot I never even touch my knob, if you can find a world class driver that shifts like me shoot me a pm of his name because its probably me. Oh and that guy you posted pics of shifting with the gloves, thats my dad Vader.

 

Oh also do this put your shift knob in the oven until it glows red then with an oven mitt screw it onto your shifter. Then go drive! Record it and show us howdun dun dun "Master Shifter" does it.

 

It's rather obvious where things stand, and the depth of understanding and desire involved. This was my favorite part of your post, which (BTW) I enjoyed beyond my expectations:

Besides, if you wear a ring, there's a chance that the ring will scratch the metal one and that sort of sucks.

Edit: I really liked this, too:

Oh, and I put my car in neutral and pull the handbrake when I stop at the lights if that's what you mean.

There isn't much left to say.