How do you prefer your control layout?

How do you prefer your control layout?

  • Semi-trailers are my ideal. Gearshifts must be 2ft apart, steering must be the size of a pitbull

    Votes: 1 2.3%

  • I like somewhat large controls, such as seen in cars up through the mid 80s.

    Votes: 4 9.3%

  • Normal works for me, just large enough to feel everything, but not so big it seems to require effort

    Votes: 21 48.8%

  • I think everything should move a minimum amount, particularly gear levers.

    Votes: 14 32.6%

  • I like my controls so tight that they might as well just be bottons and switches

    Votes: 3 7.0%
  • Total voters
    43
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Ottobon

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Location
Detriot Metro Area
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2 Rust buckets and a confused 1999 American.
To me the layout is a very crucial part of a car. It makes up in many ways how the car feels. If for example your steering rack itself is poorly designed, then having just the right layout might make up for it.

Shifters are interesting, i raely love long-gates, but most people of my generation are obsessed with having they smallest gates physically possible. Personally i like having big swinging shifters that are very easy to tell what whats. For example there is no possibility that you would accidently downshift into 2nd instead of 4th at high speeds and blow your engine when your shifter gate has the each gear knob almost a foot apart in each direction. Most important of all is that i somehow find large shifters fun, whereas i find medium and short shifters complete snooze-fests.

Foot pedals: For me i like them with large throw, and i can't see why you would ever want it any different, maybe with the exception of the clutch. With all cars having a large throw in the accelerator makes it much easier to modulate the throttle, and if you don't have ABS then the same is true for the brake. Also i think having long controls helps being naturally smooth. I particularly hate gas pedals that are seemingly 4 inches or less in throw, my Dads Vibe GT is a great example of this. There is seemingly no finesse in the pedal, its more the less a on/off switch, which really doesn't work at all in a car that has wheel-hop and a huge jolt in power at 6200RPMs.

Steering: I'm probably in the middle here, i like the room and convenience of a medium sized wheel, but large wheels can be alright if for example you have a very quick steering ratio, and if you don't then you atleast get as much precision as possible through the rack. Small wheels i hate, when i bought my old mr2 the previous owner put a 12 inch wheel on it, and without power-steering it was horrible. The amount of effort was too big, and i don't really remember anything good in way of communication, instead it just made the wheel vibrate rather then properly communicate. I also remember that when i would go into a 4 wheel drift the wheel would literally tear out of my hands as the front tires initially resisted the swinging motion of the car.

Seating:Almost forgot this! I usually end up sitting in cars like they are sofas, but with my legs to chest more upright. Basically so that the very middle of my butt is at the lowest point in the seat. Hard to describe but sort of a craddled position. This is not a leaned-back "yo-boy" position, its more the less a upright position that has been rotated completely about 15%. I do have long legs so that might be part of the reason why i prefer this setup to the usual upright position.
 
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I haven't owned a manual car yet, but of the few I've driven, the slightly longer throw is a bit more satisfying, it just feels meatier somehow.

One of the current trends which I personally find annoying is how they're fitting as many controls as possible on stalks on either side of the steering wheel. GM even puts the cruise control on one. Some controls are better off having a more distinct mechanism.
 
As little movement as possible, my Impreza's setup works perfect for me :D. Everything is just in reach, not too complicated or cluttered.
 
I also like my Impreza. The poll should address the directness of the controls, too...a wide spaced solid linkage shifter can be a lot better than a slightly tighter cable shifter, just because of it's nice mechanical feel.

As for the pedals, I don't care where the clutch is but the gas/brake should be almost touching so I can rev match on down shifts.
 
LMAO

I guess I'm not one to talk. All my manual cars were either trucks and/or from the 1980's.

I like to have some feel in the clutch. The shifter can be close and tight, but I like to have some play with the clutch.
 
Tight gerabox, Nice perforated leather steering wheel or alcantara suede with precision steering movement and excellent feedback. And fly by wire throttle for sharper throttle response. As for the buttons, i kind of like the multi-function steering wheel, it makes life easier. Where as centre console button layout, i want it to be as simple as possible, nothing to distract me while im behind the wheel, so no flashy sterero system.. thats pretty much about it.
 
I sold my GTI awhile ago, and yeah that didn't have the best layout since it was just a hotted up golf. The gear shift could have been stiffer and more notchy (it was like stirring coffee) and the steering more communicative. I guess I've always preferred smaller, modern, and smother layouts to controls.

Out of the three cars we have now, two of which are absolutely dreadful. It literally seems like they weren't thinking when they designed the car. The third car, a Nissan Maxima, has it's quirks... but over all it's not too bad.
 
I love the layout of Dad's car. It's a 1989 944 (951) Turbo so the layouts really simple but effective. The steering wheel is nice and weighty at all speeds, it's at it's best 80km/h and above. The buttons and dials are in such a logical fashion it's not funny, so easy to tell which dial does what and what position it's in. They feel reassuringly strong, also.

The gear lever is a short throw really chunky thing, you know when you're in gear. The pedals are great. Awesome feel in the brake, clutch is a nice weight although if you're not used to it, it bites pretty hard and the accelerator is a great feeling floor-swinging job.

My car is pretty simple. The brake and clutch needs more feel but they're dead easy to use, heel/toe is a sinch. The gear lever's feel is pretty lazy but you know when you're in gear and the dials are of the simplest and easiest fashion.

I guess I like an interior that suits the car but isn't too over the top and is still easy to use.
 
The Polo isn't bad. The steering wheel is large enough to fling it around with one hand easily but isn't excessively large. The steering itself is a bit weird, it becomes heavier at speed so you can fling it around car parks with ease but is fairly precise at speed. I quite like the system actually but the steering just lacks feel in general although you can expect this from a family hatchback.
The clutch has a large "deadzone" at the lower end of it's travel. You only really need to depress it about 1/4 of the way to change gear. The shifter itself is ok, fairly short throw but is fairly well defined so you don't miss gears. The accelerator and brake pedals are too far apart to even think of heel toeing even with my fairly large feet.
The seat also needs to go further back, I am 6'4" and cannot get my legs fully extended even with the seat all the way back. This makes it a problem for driving like a pimp with one arm resting on the window sill as i am actually sat next to the B-pillar.
 
Uhm. I don't know what to vote. I'm not obsessed with super-short shifters, but I like smaller steering wheel (while the power steering is working anyway). I don't like offset pedals, and gap between throttle and brake should be small enough so my foot doesn't fit between them.

But the most important part is distance between steering wheel and pedals. Since neither is adjustable in my car, this is somewhat a problem. It's almost perfect, but steering wheel should be a bit higher and column a bit longer. So for "performance" driving I have to put the seat a lot more upright and slide it closer to the wheel, which makes the helmet touch the roof :(

P.S. Also to support what watto said about 944 turbo, weighting of controls in regular 944 is also just perfect. I wouldn't want it any other way, I especially like how steering and brakes are not over-assisted and both have great feel. Gear lever is so-so. Especially worn out over the years like mine.
 
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I must say, I was driving a mates Kenworth 404 the other day, it was alot of fun, and suprisedly, once I got the hang of it, great to drive.
 
I like the way my Hilux is setup. Its a truck and makes no apolegies for it. The gearshift is like pushing a stick through a bucket of rocks and the steering is whoolie was a sheep. Which is good because Ive never picked up the wrong gear. Lumpy but accurate and doesn't wrench my arms off when im offroading
 
Integra is pretty much spot on for where I want everything to be at, seats could have a little more bolstering and the pedals could be a bit easier to heel and toe (it's not really that much of an issue because realistically you're probably not doing it all the time)

Shifter: It's a Honda 'nuff said
Steering: Precise :D
 
I don't necessarily like particularly super-tight controls, but I drove a Mustang SVO once and each gear throw was a food apart. That is the worst gearbox I've ever used. Ever.
 
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