dude! truely inspirational!

 

Awesome!

 

Respect !

 

I just thought I would resurrect this thread with some new information - there IS a company that makes hand controls for manual transmission cars.. they are called rediautosport

and they are in LA - I met up with them and drove a Miata they had set up with them around the parking lot.. It takes A LOT of concentration and practice, but i could do it.. although i really don't think it's practical at all for everyday driving.. but i could do it around the track or something for sure!

 

wow, that's bitchin'! Nice to know there's even more options available now.

 

I'm glad you have a nice car and ejoy it very much.

you are unique and special in your own way.

 

I'm not joining the special olympics.. just driving around and driving around in style might I add with my new wheels

 

so - any 0-60 1/4 mile numbers ?

 

lol. indeed your wheels are bitchin.

 

I'm sure they are crap - because it's an automatic.. I just don't think there is any reason to tune it at all because of the amount of money it would take just to get it up to manual trans levels.. so i have instead spent the money i would spend tuning on car audio and wheels and it works for me!

 

You rock, there's a guy that gets serviced at our dealership that uses those on his corcette its awesome

 

Hi Wikked, and everybody else. I'm a fellow gimp-driver, but not cool enough for an RX-8, at least not yet, haha. I'm technically a quadriplegic, though my injury is incomplete and I have regained ALOT of function over the last 20-some years. (I originally had nothing from the neck down, and wasn't supposed to get any return whatsoever) I roll on a toxic green Quickie GPV Competition. (also a rigid frame, but with quick release front forks as well) I'm poking around these boards this morning, because I'm stupidly considering the purchase of a '94 FD. (somebody over there pointed me to your thread here) I currently drive a '91 beater class Miata with 189k on the clock, and a temporarily parked 2.5L swapped MX-3. (brand new rear main failed, causing massive damage)

Wikked, your routine is identical to mine, though as I said, I'm not cool enough to have a third door, haha. I simply pull my wheels across my lap the same as the frame, and set them on the shelf behind the back seats, or in the back seat area if we're talking MX-3. (though I removed the back seat because people kept complaining about it being cramped, haha, that and weight reduction reasons of course) Since I have very little trunk control, I also usually have a chest strap that buckles around the seat/me, that way I don't fall out the window if I corner hard, LOL. (a 5-point feels muuch safer, but blows for every day driving) I used to be able to lift the frame clear above the roof line of the Miata with the top down, which actually made it a little easier to get in on nice days, though I'm unable to do that currently.

As for those RediAutosport controls, I've been in contact with them as well, though don't live anywhere near an area where I could actually test them out. Also, for the record, they quoted me 10 grand to buy & install them, which is well beyond what I'll ever be able to afford. I know they're innovative & nobody else really has a setup like them, but I think they're going a little overboard with that price tag. About custom systems, here's a thought I've had, though have no means to fabricate, and would be pretty complicated as well to drive I'm sure.. there are already hand controls out there that put both the throttle and brake on the steering wheel. They're basically two rings behind the wheel. I haven't been able to find them lately, but I saw them in use on a video, when I took driver's-ed at a rehab facility ages ago. If we had this type setup, all we'd need is some sort of clutch control on the stick itself. Again, it would be complicated, but it would become possible to throttle/brake & clutch, all with two hands, and still be able to steer, haha. I'm thinking of making a ghetto setup like this for computer driving, rigged on a G25 wheel/stick setup. I also knew somebody who was working with me on a setup that would basically move the stick for you, pneumatically, allowing you to free that aspect up. The idea was to have an up/down toggle on the hand control handle, with a clutch lever as well. Unfortunately, a good ways into the design/build, he ran out of time and pretty much dissapeared. Apparently he had the stick moving through a gate via toggle at that point, which was promising.

My personal hand controls are a tad different than yours in the fact that throttle isn't twist. I rotate my handle down on the steering column's axis, which moves sort of a slider mechanism, translating that motion into direct input on the gas pedal arm via a rod. (rather than cable setup) I also have them mounted backwards, on the right side, due to my right shoulder liking to go out of socket at about the 10:00 position. (which I found out the hard way, LOL) They also had to be chopped down a pretty good bit to fit in a Miata, haha. They take a bit more room to operate than yours though, since I actually pull the whole handle downward for throttle, instead of twisting the grip. Also, I know all too well about tearing up interiors, especially since I picked up the Miata! If I have a passenger I usually let them deal with my chair, though my fiancee is disabled as well & I do the bruntwork if she's along. It's not pretty, but I can actually cram the frame up under the back window, with the roof up, (or set it in the same posistion, going topless, though it's a little harder to get it perched atop the folded roof), and she puts the wheels in the trunk. That one's really hard on the interior. Since my Miata's not the prettiest thing on the road anyways, I'm thinking of having my mechanic try & cut the floor of the trunk out, welding it in a few inches deeper in one area, that way my frame can fit in the trunk while closed. If it was a success, we'd already know for my next Miata, and he could probably do a nicer job at it. (which I'll likely end up getting instead of an FD )

 

Nice to hear from you Mason - there was some pretty good stuff in there.

Yeah I still have yet to find a better car than the RX8 for wheelchairs.. the third door just makes **** soooooo much easier..

My girlfriend is in a chair too and we have it down so we can both get in the car and put our chairs into the back seats with the wheels on top with no trouble whatso ever.. I love it.. Sometimes I wish there was a little more room - like if i'm taking her somewhere that's really about all I can fit in my car.. which means she can't shop as much as she would like

so if you are thinking about getting one I say you should do it 100%

and if you have any questions feel free to PM me..

 

Hey man, how goes it? I'm still shopping for a Miata replacement, and am still foolishly looking at FD's, haha. That took me to my FD thread, which reminded me about this one. (I've got a link to here because somebody asked where I put my chair, and I've got no pics ) As much as I hate to admit it, I've also been looking into 5th gen. Preludes. It really looks like I'm gonna be sticking with Miata's though, and I've got my eye on a certain '96 M-edition. RX-8's with the 6spd paddle option are still out of my price range, as well as a touch bigger than what I'm after. I definitely see myself in one somewhere down the road though!

Regarding hand controls on a manual, in another forum, somebody pointed me to this: http://www.beneficialdesigns.com/rec...nd.html#manual That looks complicated too, and I really don't know how you could twist enough to engage an automobile clutch, but it got me thinking just the same!! I've emailed them, though don't really expect a response. As far as those Rediautosport controls you tested, did they give you an estimated price, after install? There're places over here in the east that sell & install them, though no demo vehicles available to test them on first, heh. Also, like I said, I was quoted 10 grand - which is just flat out criminal. Any thoughts on the design I just linked to? Also, how's your RX-8's transmission holding up and what's your mileage these days?

PS-I've got the I'm Just Lazy.. shirt, though it didn't come from T-Shirt Hell. I have 3 killer, similiar shirts that came from some site. A guy in a wheelchair is the designer. If I can find it/remember, I'll post the link, hehe

 

Man, you rock. I have respect for you not letting this slow you down. At the shop I used to work at, I completely restored a '69 Pontiac Firebird with hand controls. The guy loved it, and even did a burnout when he left! It really is good to see the positive attitude.

 

respect.

 

Thanks man. You should see the looks I get pulling my flouescent green wheelchair outta the Miata & assembling it. Sounds like I'm a little slower than WikkedOne here, but I get'r done!

 

That sounds AWESOME! Lets see some pics!

 

Once I find a worthy replacement, I will. I'm a little embarrassed at my current Miata's state, haha. (that and it's cold out there!) I picked it up as a total freebie though and racked 60k in the last 3 years, so I'm happy! (drove it 350 miles home a week after revival) Oh, since you asked for pics & I don't have any, here's a miata.net buddy. He's also a quad, with a white '91, and a green chair. How ironic is that? He runs at the top of his AutoX class as well. http://www.miata.net/motm/2007/thomson.html (food for thought, ATX '91's were only rated @ 98hp, though he's still competitive)

About putting an automatic on the strip, if that's not what you're into, that's cool, but don't count out the fun factor, ATX or not. IMO there's alot more to a run than just the 1/4 mile time. Being a newer, "manual shif" ATX, I bet you'd do decent too. I took my MX-3 back when it was nearly stock/had the 1.8 V6, bad knock sensor, and an exhaust leak. Suure, the only time I beat was a riced out Civic, but who cares. I had a blast, wound up with the fastest reaction time of both nights, (.0015 - launching an auto isn't quite as easy as most think, especially with hand controls), and got a best time of 17.1. That may sound pathetic, but think that the average older ATX knocks a full second off, then figure in that a 5spd MX-3 runs about a 16.4, and my having screwy timing from the bad knock sensor. (and nearly full tank of gas, cause I was braindead on the way to the track, lol) For the record, some of my interior was stripped for that time. The pic of my hatch/number is from after we put everything back in. (though the back seat later came out & stayed out) I think performance mods are a blast too, even if they don't show up as well on the strip. (which I've only been to twice, I prefer the twisties, and would autocross if they did it closer to home)

 

sweet deal.

 

Thanks for resurrecting this thread (again apparently) for us somewhat newbies.

I have a couple ideas, none of which are economical though. A mouthpiece might prove useful here for any number of the controls. You've also got the potential for integration with your car's computer and the steering wheel controls but the more complex a solution the greater the chance of entropy.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences. A very good friend of mine passed away a couple years back who lost 90+ % of everything from the neck down in a motorcycle accident.

Your story brought back some lost memories.

 

Sorry to hear about your friend, that's a real shame. I'm extremely lucky, as I was nothing from the neck down for a long time. Was pronounced a vegetable for life, they tried to institutionalize me & the whole nine yards. I'm doing well enough to wear out Mazda's though.

About manual control, did you check out the link in my post a couple up, with the motorcycle twist for clutch? http://www.beneficialdesigns.com/rec...nd.html#manual Any thoughts on that? Seems it'd be extremely hard to twist a clutch. (at least with my sub-par hand strength) If there were some type of assist that'd be killer, though I don't have the knowledge to figure that part out..

 

hey man - I just don't understand how you can do a clockwise twist to do the clutch and a counterclockwise twist to do the throttle at the same time?

i drove a manual miata over at rediautosport in cali - http://www.rediautosport.com it had a gas ring around the steering wheel - a clutch button on the shifter and a combination of a clutch lock and brake lock... the details of how it works is on their site

it looks like it would be great for the track, but probably waaaaay to much work for everyday driving.. and it's reallllllly expensive $10,000+

 

Yeah, I questioned the same thing over in another forum, where I got the link from. I guess the idea is you won't be doing throttle/clutch at the exact same time, which I know isn't really ideal. I've talked with Rediautosport as well, though not had the privilege to test their equipment. I'd love to, and wish they weren't so outreagously priced. They're screwing theirselves there because I'm sure more people would buy them if they were cheaper. There's no way in hell they should cost that much. There's a way around the throttle/brake thing though.. put both a throttle & brake ring behind the wheel. Long long ago I saw a setup like this, which would only leave the clutch to be worked out. Put a clutch lever on the stick, like Readi, and you're set. I don't have the knowledge to understand how they're getting precise clutch control from a small lever though? If that were known, I imagine it could be used for the brake ring as well, or vica versa.. if we could find hand controls that are dual rings behind the wheel, if it's got an assist portion for the brake ring.. (since I'd think unassisted would be near impossible to get any real braking force) Anybody have any ideas??? I dunno when, but I hope to contact some hand control installers, regarding ring controls on the wheel.

 

Hey, I have actually seen a simple manual hand controlled car. It had one handle that pushed in for the brake, twisted counter clockwise for the clutch, and the gripper twisted for gas. The whole thing was bolted to the floor between the clutch and brake. I don't know if that was a custom job or what but it was cool to see. Hope this helps and gives you some ideas.