[SpeedBird]

Hi teambhpians,

I am a big fan of German Sedan cars, especially Volkswagen virtus and Skoda Slavia. They are perfect for Indian road acceleration and power and an economical choice for a typical Indian car enthusiast. But I only have one issue with them which holds me back from buying them:

Indicator stalk being on the left hand side!

Being a car enthusiast, I am a big fan of manual cars. I won't goto automatic variant. Therefore, I keep left hand on the gear pretty much all the time (I am sure pretty much of us do the same out there!) and have the right hand for steering and indicator stalk. Having the muscle memory to constantly use dipper toggle/pass at traffic rule offenders and to overtake properly using pass and indicators, I need the indicator stalk+light/pass controls on the right hand stalk.

Is there anyway I can flip the stalks on these German cars as part of modification? I don't care about reversed words, unusual looks of the steering dashboard. I need the comfort of having the stalk at right side.

Has anyone tried it before and can guide me here?

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

Indicator stalk being on the left hand side!

Being a car enthusiast, I am a big fan of manual cars. I won't goto automatic variant. Therefore, I keep left hand on the gear pretty much all the time (I am sure pretty much of us do the same out there!) and have the right hand for steering and indicator stalk.

Both hands should be on the wheel

I have a Honda and an Audi. I prefer the Audi set up (maybe since I am left handed!). I merely switch between the two with no issue

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Both hands should be on the wheel

I have a Honda and an Audi. I prefer the Audi set up (maybe since I am left handed!). I merely switch between the two with no issue

You are not alone. I prefer the same as well. I don't know why the RHD cars have it swapped in the first place! Also the transition is super easy - doesn't take more than a few days.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

Being a car enthusiast, I am a big fan of manual cars. I won't goto automatic variant. Therefore, I keep left hand on the gear pretty much all the time (I am sure pretty much of us do the same out there!) and have the right hand for steering and indicator stalk. Having the muscle memory to constantly use dipper toggle/pass at traffic rule offenders and to overtake properly using pass and indicators, I need the indicator stalk+light/pass controls on the right hand stalk.

Don't let this stop you from buying a car that you like. All my cars in India had indicators on the right hand side and I was used to it, so whenever I drove European cars it took a bit of time to get used to. Now in the UK, 2 of our cars have light stalks on the left hand side and I have got used to it. So it just a matter of time before you will get used to the setup.

[SpeedBird]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

You are not alone. I prefer the same as well. I don't know why the RHD cars have it swapped in the first place.

I disagree. Its a known fact that the gear and indicator stalk should be on the opposite sides for easy and quick operation of the pass and indicators. Both hands can't be on the wheel all the time, especially in Indian traffic where constant gear changes are necessary.

I know I can get used to it, but I don't want to. My first car was a Matiz which came with left hand indicator stalk. So I got shifted from LHS indicator to RHS indicator stalk and I know that the latter is better in RHD countries.

For European countries, I know it makes sense.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Don't let this stop you from buying a car that you like.

I know I can get used to it, but it's more comfortable this way. So is there a way to swap the two stalks to achieve this?

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

For European countries, I know it makes sense.

UK is a right hand drive country, yet the cars designed in the UK have indicator stalks on the left.

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

I know I can get used to it, but it's more comfortable this way. So is there a way to swap the two stalks to achieve this?

I don't know if there is any easy way to do it, but if you really want to do it I am sure it can be done. I think everyone here opposed to this is trying to say that it is not worth the effort. End of the day it is up to you.

[adi.mariner]

I prefer the European style of stalks with the Indicator on the LHS. Makes it easier to eat or drink with my right hand.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

Being a car enthusiast, I am a big fan of manual cars.

You might be a big fan, but the way you describe your driving practices leaves a lot to be desired. As others have pointed out, you need to keep two hands on the wheel, unless you are using a hand to shift. It is an unsafe practice, you would fail every driving test in the west if you don’t. And if you ever would like to learn to race or rallye they will tell you the exact same thing. Two hands on the wheel.

I do hope you are not one of those “big fan of manual cars” that keep one hand on the gear shifter all the time. Again, not just bad practice, but it will also wear out the shift fork. I have shown images on my “fiddling with car” threads of totally worn shift forks.

Keep your hands where they belong from a safety and a mechanical/engineering perspective. On the steering wheel, unless shifting.

Now back to your original question. Unless this car comes in a variant that has the function of the stalks the opposite way, I think it will be difficult to get the right parts. Given the different features and functions of the stalks they have a very different physical appearance and they will be mounted differently on the main casing carrying the switch gear. Wiring will be different and usually it is incredibly tight around the steering wheel, so no slack to route them differently.

Also, check how the mechanism for returning the indicator stalk works. You can’t just flip that over 180 degrees. Of course, with ingenuity anything is possible. But unless you can acquire a complete unit with the stalks mounted opposite, it is going to difficult. And even than I would double check if the indicator stalk return would work, or whether that requires modification to the steering column.

Good luck

Jeroen

[SpeedBird]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

You might be a big fan, but the way you describe your driving practices leaves a lot to be desired. As others have pointed out, you need to keep two hands on the wheel, unless you are using a hand to shift. It is an unsafe practice, you would fail every driving test in the west if you don’t. And if you ever would like to learn to race or rallye they will tell you the exact same thing. Two hands on the wheel.

I know that best practices tell to keep both hands on wheels. But that works well in less crowded countries like US and I agree to the practice. But in countries like India, you can see pretty much everyone driving with single hand cause of the frequent bumper to bumper traffic that requires constant gear changes. And most of the cars now a days come with hand rest, so you would technically be resting hand on the hand rest and not on the gear. Its just easier to drive that way and it won't impact on the mechanics atleast on the modern cars. I have driven my car for 2+ years and 32k km and haven't faced a single issue with the mechanics anywhere.

Also, I am quite shocked by the responses I am getting. Maybe many are based from outside India, so don't know the pain of driving in India. Anyway, I would further wait for some positive responses.

Coming to the issue in hand, I was looking for the 180 turn solution. I surfed for sometime and couldn't find any promising tutorials on how to literally turn things around (180 deg). Hence reached out here.

If anyone has done this before, I would appreciate their guidance here.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

And if you ever would like to learn to race or rallye they will tell you the exact same thing. Two hands on the wheel.

Rallying and racing is far from dreams here in India. Although I have a Logitech simulator for that with LHD setup. So I am familiar with LHD.
Racing and driving are two different things. And driving in bumper to bumper traffic is a whole different thing. Just talking here in a practical way which forces to deviate from traditional theoretical practices.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

I.
Also, I am quite shocked by the responses I am getting. Maybe many are based from outside India, so don't know the pain of driving in India. Anyway, I would further wait for some positive responses.

Well, I hope it gives you pause for thought, because I am pretty sure just about everybody on the forum is pretty much familiar with driving in India. I will go as far, that the members with extensive driving experience outside India are most likely a minority.

So you might want to reconsider what you believe are proper driving practices, if you get this much push backs from us folks. Most of whom drive daily in India and apparently don’t feel the need to drive the way you describe.

As I mentioned I think it will be tricky at best to swap the stalks. Unless there is ready made solution it will need a lot of thinking through and a lot of tinkering. You might not consider it a positive answer. But it is an answer, which is based on a lot of tinkering with cars.

I have taken the stalks assemblies of all my cars, at some point in time. For a variety of reasons. See my thread “fiddling with cars”. So I have some idea on how these things look like.

But who knows, anything is possible if you have the time, the money, the patience and resources and some luck. Maybe somebody has a tailor fit solution. As I mentioned, check if this car is/has ever been produced with the stalks the different way around. Perhaps other countries? Because the. You can buy the needed parts. Do check that indicator stalk return, before committing to anything.

Jeroen

[SpeedBird]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

But who knows, anything is possible if you have the time, the money, the patience and resources and some luck. Maybe somebody has a tailor fit solution. As I mentioned, check if this car is/has ever been produced with the stalks the different way around. Perhaps other countries? Because the. You can buy the needed parts. Do check that indicator stalk return, before committing to anything.

Jeroen

I don't think any German cars come with RHS indicator stalk. So its highly impossible to get the stock parts for RHS indicator stalk. Although, Volkswagen has patented the steering wheel mounted indicator stalk and according to their documents, the indicators are on the 2 o clock position of the steering, which would favour the RHD population. So I hope that soon enough, Volkswagen manufactures the Sedan with this patent implemented with a manual variant (again which seems unlikely, but who knows!) so that it would be a perfect option for me.

Regarding the driving practices, I have had enough driving experience with enough cars and have seen good enough drivers driving in the way I described. Maybe this community follows rules extensively, but I am not a person who deviated from the rules. In a situation where you change gears like 100 times in 10 minutes, you will be needing constant hand movements between gear and steering wheel. That's the reason why indicator stalk and gear should be on the opposite sides. If American and Europeans have had their indicator stalk on the RHS for their LHD country, then that would have caused a significant change across because of their popularity. But unfortunately, its the other way around.

[IshaanIan]

Unless you can find a steering wheel from the company designed with the stalks in the position you want them to be in, I think it is impossible. That said, I drive a Kizashi daily and it has the light stalk on the left and wiper controls on the right. Sure it is not ideal but it is so easy to get used to that it does not bother me one bit at all. So perhaps your mind is subconsciously creating an excuse to not go for the Slavia/Virtus perhaps the quality and the number of niggles that have been reported aren’t sitting well with you? I’m not sure just a hunch.

[abaliga]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

Hi teambhpians,

Is there anyway I can flip the stalks on these German cars as part of modification? I don't care about reversed words, unusual looks of the steering dashboard. I need the comfort of having the stalk at right side.

Has anyone tried it before and can guide me here?

There is no way this is an easy swap, will require complex wiring changes and the stalks themselves need to be re-engineered, I feel it is not worth considering, it is a relatively simple learning curve to get used to indicator stalks on the left hand side, not much of an inconvenience on manual vehicles too, we have an i10 (manual) and an Octavia at home and by now it is almost natural to use either cars, 9 out of 10 times I do not mistake one for the other when using the stalks.

[GTO]

You'll get used to it with time, don't spend time & money on unnecessary stuff. In fact, you will need to keep adapting all through life as you change cars. In my erstwhile C-Class, a single stalk on the left controlled the wipers, indicator, highbeam flash etc. and I really loved it. If you buy a Tesla, you'll have to live with touchscreen controls. Mercedes since a while have had a column-mounted gearshifter. And of course, EV brands follow their own, different philosophies.

Bottomline = Don't worry. In 100 km of driving that car, you'll get used to it. In fact, many of us own cars with different kinds of controls & have no real issue shuffling them on a daily basis.

[Aluminium]

Light stalk on the left hand side is a handicap for our driving system. Majority of team bhp agrees that it should be on the right side.

Headlamp & Indicator Switch - Right or Left side of steering?

I would like to see Honda or some japanese doing this stunt in America and still selling cars.

For automatics, it frees up your right hand to play with your phone or drink water or eat. Sure. But with manuals, you will have a hard time juggling gearshifts with indicating. Or flashing beams. As you are approaching a corner, you will be downshifting and flashing lights. People driving on the ghats daily can relate. If you skip the former, you're going to stall going uphill or have no engine braking downhill. Skip the latter and you'll be coming face to face with a red and yellow rust-bucket that didn't know you were there. While I can understand the goodwill emanating from the previous posts, and would advice the OP to follow the proper race car ettiquette, they don't help OP with his problem.

Dear OP, like Jeroen said, unless the car has that layout somewhere else, it will be difficult to switch. And also, like Jeroen said, jugaad could maybe make it work. It will be a project in itself. Not one you would want to undertake on a brand new car. So, your best bet would be to buy another car with the proper layout or settle with getting used to the wrong layout. A third option will be to follow the jugaad route anyways and post about it here.

OT, I remember when I test drove the Taigun, a nincompoop on three wheels darted into my lane and I squirted a load of water instead of flashing at him. Had a good laugh and decided that I will postpone this embarrasment till I can own one from the big three. Untill then, it ain't worth for me.