Air shifter possibility

[Alex Kalempa]

Hello,

As some of you may know, APK Developments has been developing a digital dash for some time now. This was going good until a recent analysis showed that there was little interest in the product. For now, the digital dash is being put on hold.

During earlier development of the dash, there was to be an optional air shifter which was set aside to focus on the dash itself. In the view of market research, I'm looking for input as to whether there is a need for this product.

There are numerous air shifters available and a search on Ebay turns up a number of kits at a very low cost. These are typically only up shifters, which is missing a step for racing, downshifting. The system I am proposing would feature semi-automatic UP and DOWN shifting controlled by two pushbuttons. An ECU would control the ignition kill, and allow you to set the kill time. A 7-segment led display would show you what gear you are in. The ECU would monitor shifting so a missed shift would not show the incorrect gear on the display. This would be expected to cost under $500 complete.

This is just a sketch of ideas, if you feel there is a need for such a product, please respond with your questions, comments, suggestions, etc.

Thank you,
Alex Kalempa
APK Developments
www.apk-developments.com (http://www.apk-developments.com)

[Alex Kalempa]

Hello,

As some of you may know, APK Developments has been developing a digital dash for some time now. This was going good until a recent analysis showed that there was little interest in the product. For now, the digital dash is being put on hold.

During earlier development of the dash, there was to be an optional air shifter which was set aside to focus on the dash itself. In the view of market research, I'm looking for input as to whether there is a need for this product.

There are numerous air shifters available and a search on Ebay turns up a number of kits at a very low cost. These are typically only up shifters, which is missing a step for racing, downshifting. The system I am proposing would feature semi-automatic UP and DOWN shifting controlled by two pushbuttons. An ECU would control the ignition kill, and allow you to set the kill time. A 7-segment led display would show you what gear you are in. The ECU would monitor shifting so a missed shift would not show the incorrect gear on the display. This would be expected to cost under $500 complete.

This is just a sketch of ideas, if you feel there is a need for such a product, please respond with your questions, comments, suggestions, etc.

Thank you,
Alex Kalempa
APK Developments
www.apk-developments.com (http://www.apk-developments.com)

[RiNaZ]

hey alex,
just a quick question, do you market your product around FSAE only? Or develop a product around FSAE'rs need?

RiNaZ

[Charlie]

I'm not sure what the kit includes, or how the 'semi-automatic' part works, but our car's basic system (2003) is 'manual' pushbutton (pressure is on as long as the button is pressed) for upshift and downshift, and all the parts total to about $160, including tank. Gear indicators are already on the market that work well and are around $100. Given that almost all ECUs have the capability to retard timing for something like this, I think your unit might be a little overpriced and overfeatured.

But not sure what the 'semi-automatic' really means...

-Charlie Ping

I just need enough to tide me over until I need more.