Lesson plan
Shift light
shift lights. A shift light is a warning lamp fitted to vehicles in order to indicate to the driver that maximum revolutions per minute (r/min) has almost been reached. Ideally a shift lamp will illuminate at the engine speed beyond that which delivers the maximum power, measured in for example kilowatt (kW) or brake horsepower (bhp), such that the power before and after shifting is the same. Accelerating the engine beyond this point is not conducive to ideal acceleration. In use a shift light allows the driver to judge the exact point that a gear change should be carried out without having to glance down at the tachometer. This also increases safety for the driver by keeping their focus near the track at all times. Beginning in the early 1980s, many United States-market vehicles equipped with a manual transmission began to have shift lights as standard equipment; these would usually signal for an upshift at an engine speed that provided maximum fuel efficiency, lower than the ideal engine speed for maximum power. When EPA fuel economy testing rules stipulated that shift lights would be followed when available, fuel economy appeared better if a shift light was installed. Some in the 1980s had buzzers to alert the driver when a certain r/min was reached.…
Article summary
shift lights. A shift light is a warning lamp fitted to vehicles in order to indicate to the driver that maximum revolutions per minute (r/min) has almost been reached. Ideally a shift lamp will illuminate at the engine speed beyond that which delivers the maximum power, measured in for example kilowatt (kW) or brake horsepower (bhp), such that the power before and after shifting is the same. Accelerating the engine beyond this point is not conducive to ideal acceleration. In use a shift light allows the driver to judge the exact point that a gear change should be carried out without having to glance down at the tachometer. This also increases safety for the driver by keeping their focus near the track at all times. Beginning in the early 1980s, many United States-market vehicles equipped with a manual transmission began to have shift lights as standard equipment; these would usually signal for an upshift at an engine speed that provided maximum fuel efficiency, lower than the ideal engine speed for maximum power. When EPA fuel economy testing rules stipulated that shift lights would be followed when available, fuel economy appeared better if a shift light was installed. Some in the 1980s had buzzers to alert the driver when a certain r/min was reached.…
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.