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What Is A Shift Knob?
This is a question that we at TWM Performance hear from curious customers every day.
Rather, most customers ask what is a TWM weighted shift knob and what are the benefits?
Shift knobs have been around since the first car was made, however until recently
a shift knob was regarded as only an aesthetic modification to spruce up a cars drab
interior.
TWM Performance has taken the shift knob to the next level. Instead of just producing a
shift knob which looks flashy, we decided that there must be a way for a shift knob to
improve a car's performance. Wouldn't it be great if your shift knob could make you feel
like your car actually performed better, and allowed you to shift faster and more smoothly
than ever before?
TWM Performance has the answer. Enter TWM's stainless steel weighted performance shift knob.
A TWM shift knob is not only designed to be extremely smooth in styling with an extremely
durable finish, but to actually perform better than any other shift knob on the market
as well.
A TWM shift knob is made of the most dense material readily available, stainless
steel. More dense materials exist on earth, however for this application stainless steel is
ideal since it is very hard, unlike lead, and not absurdly expensive like platinum, gold, or depleted
Uranium. A material's
density is a measure of it's mass per unit volume, the more dense, the more a given volume
of the material weighs. This allows a TWM shift knob to retain stock, comfortable dimensions
but weigh a great deal more than a stock shift knob. Many other aftermarket companies produce
shift knobs as well, however they are often made of very light plastic or aluminum which
offer no benefit of added weight.
Why is a heavier shift knob better you may ask yourself? The answer is simple and relates
to basic physics. A heavy shift knob carries with it more kinetic energy and has greater
momentum than a less massive (lighter) shift knob travelling at the same speed.
Kinetic energy is defined as the energy possessed
by a body because of its motion, equal to one half the mass of the body times the square of
its speed. Momentum is defined as the product of the mass times the velocity of an object.
Since kinetic energy and momentum are directly proportional to an objects mass, the more
massive (heavy) an object is the more kinetic energy it carries with it through it's movement,
and it has a greater momentum than a less massive object travelling at the same speed.
This theory applies to a shift knob in the following manner. While shifting, the shift knob is set in
motion by the driver. While the shift knob is travelling between gears, it has a certain velocity and carries with it
kinetic energy. The additional kinetic energy the heavy shift knob carries with it helps it to engage
in to the next gear. Essentially, the shifter with a heavier shift knob is more "difficult"
to stop because of the added kinetic energy, which actually helps it engage in to the next
gear with less direct effort from the driver. The net result is a smoother engagement in to
the next gear with less effort put in from the driver on the shift knob to get it in to gear. It is for this
reason that a heavier shift knob feels much smoother to shift than a shifter with a stock shift knob.
Once you try driving with a weighted TWM shift knob, you will never want to go back to stock.
The difference is quite simply amazing.
Does TWM Make A Shift Knob For My Car?
The answer to "Does TWM make a shift knob for my car" is probably "yes". In addition to a TWM
shift knob being a great performance enhancing modification for your car, they are also universally
adaptable to virtually any vehicle. The secret to this amazing adaptablity lies in what we call "NTIS".
NTIS stands for Nylon Threaded Insert System. The system allows a TWM shift knob to be threaded for
virtually any thread diameter and pitch simply by replacing the threaded insert within the shift knob.
NTIS also allows OEM like fitment of a TWM shift knob to difficult to shop for cars such as the Corvette
and Camaro, who have very large shaft diameters which virtually no universal shift knob will fit.
In addition to fitting virtually any car or truck, a TWM shift knob equipped with NTIS is height adjustable
by approximately 1.5 inches. The height adjustment screw in the shift knob as shown in the below illustration can be set to
virtually any level to accomodate any driving style or position. The height adjustment screw can also be
completely removed in order for the shift knob to sit at its lowest possible position for a sportier look and feel.
The concept of a TWM NTIS shift knob may be more clearly illustrated in the diagram below:
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