Thread: resting hand on shifter

so i read a couple articles saying that leaving your hand on the shifter while you drive will destroy your trans. is this true?

5th gear pop-out has been attributed to this as well. I've always heard the warnings...

Here's the deal. If you rest your hand on the shifter and do not put any pressure on it in any lateral direction (left, right, forward, or backward) you should be fine. If you're just using it to rest the weight of your hand and make sure you're not pushing the lever in any way, then you're okay.

If you're even slightly forcing the shifter in any one direction you can be ever so slowly reforming bushings. If you're constantly putting a good deal of force on things, you may also be causing the aluminum shift forks to reform. If you're putting a ton of pressure in the wrong direction then you can even harm the dog teeth by causing gears to pop out.

More than likely you're in the bushing reforming range if I had to guess.

since my b13 has no arm rest, i just always rest my hand on the shifter. i just dont want to cause my trans to go out faster than normal

The stuff inside the transmission will be fine as long as you're not forcing the lever in any direction with any real effort.

cool, does that go for every car?

I wouldn't say it'd go for EVERY car, but with the older cars; cars having older transmission designs, sure.

I don't rest my hand on my shifter, as the WRX 5 speed transmission is moreso glass than a B chassis transmission. Put the hand on the wheel, because racecar

Agreed! I've been saying that for years!

Cable actuated shifters will be less picky. You still don't want to get into a situation where you're pulling the dog teeth away from engagement.

I wouldn't say you're agreeing with me. I don't think the claims have much basis in reality.
Well they might, but it's all a matter of time with that shitty 5th gear design. Not resting your hand on it might get you another couple thousand miles out of it. It's the engine mounts that matter most IMO. And even then you're still working with a ticking time bomb.

Just get yourself an armrest.

I rest my hand on the parking brake handle or on the passenger's side left [bucket] seat bolster.