A celebration of shifter knobs
By Al Dente
If you had a choice of one modification you could make to your car, what would it be? A blower or nitrous for more pep, bigger swaybars for better cornering? neon wiper blades for those oohs and ahhhs at car shows? Maybe those little magnets that attach to your gas line to quadruple your gas mileage? They wake up and excite those lazy gas molecules that have just been hanging out in the service station’s tanks, and those magnets fire â€em up to be 4 times as active as non-magnetized gas molecules. Tough decision, to be sure, but after spending untold hours poring through auto performance and accessory catalogues and burning out two computers going through everything that’s available online for cars and trucks, one category stood out among them all…
Shifter knobs.
That’s right, those hand jobs that take you through the gears in a manual trans or into Park in an automatic. It’s the touchy-feely human interaction link between you and your drivetrain, much like your steering wheel when you want to change direction.
It’s amazing the variety and scope of knobs that are out there, and we can only touch the tip of the iceberg (so to speak) here are some standouts for your viewing pleasure. And unlike your steering wheel or gas/brake or clutch pedals, you can easily change this human/machine interface anytime the mood hits you to powershift Second in a manual or slam into Park for an automatic. No need to go through life tethered to just one shifter—boooring! Nothing like a smiling skull knob to greet you after your morning coffee. It’s one of life’s often overlooked but deeply satisfying pleasures.
So chuck that boring vanilla white Hurst ball or pistol grip or Mopar T-handle and move into the excitement lane. You’ll be glad you did!
