Gear shifts for electric cars

Fake gear shifts and a manual transmission for your EV.

Hear the revs climb, drop as the clutch goes in and climb again in the next gear. WattGrowl adds a gearbox to a synthesized engine and plays it through your car speakers. Six gearbox types, shifted with on-screen paddles or the media buttons on your steering wheel.

iPhone Coming soon

Six gearbox types
Steering-wheel buttons
Gearbox presets
Eco to Track

Drive and Gearbox screen: six gearbox types with dual-clutch selected, presets for a 6-speed and a 5-speed classic manual, and a gears and ratios chart with a 6,250 rpm shift line

Why a gearbox

One gear in the car, a full gearbox in your ears.

Most electric cars drive through a single fixed gear. The pull is smooth and instant, but there is no rev climb and no shift. If you learned on a stick shift, that quiet can feel like something is missing.

WattGrowl puts the gearbox back, in sound. Its synthesized engine runs through gears and ratios, so the revs rise in first, fall when you shift and pick up again in second. In Live Drive the phone's motion sensors and GPS follow how hard you accelerate, brake or coast; in the free simulator you drive with on-screen pedals.

It is only sound. Your car keeps its single-speed drive and accelerates exactly as before, with no OBD dongle and nothing wired in. The sound is for you and your passengers: it is not a pedestrian warning and does not replace your car's AVAS.

Six gearboxes

Pick how your shifts feel.

Each gearbox type on the Drive & Gearbox screen changes how the revs move from gear to gear.

Manual

"Clutch-in rpm drop — every shift is yours." You decide when each gear comes.

Dual-clutch (DCT)

"Lightning shifts with an ignition-cut brap."

Automatic

"Smooth torque-converter slip, relaxed shifts." The box shifts for you.

Sequential

"Race box: brutal shifts and straight-cut whine."

CVT

"Rubber-band drone: the revs rise, then hold." No steps, one steady pitch.

Direct drive

"One long gear, one long howl." Like the EV itself: no shifts at all.

Shifting

Wheel buttons, on-screen paddles, or let it shift.

With a manual or sequential box, every shift is yours. Parked or in Drive sim, use the on-screen paddles or the gear – and + buttons.

On the road, keep your hands on the wheel and shift with the steering-wheel media buttons. Or set the dashboard's GEARBOX quick pick to Automatic (torque converter, dual-clutch or CVT) and let it shift for you.

Parked or waiting, a passenger can rev the engine on the throttle pad; the gears come back when you move off. Set everything up before you drive, and never use the screen while driving.

Dashboard GEARBOX button set to Auto and DCT, an odd-fire V10 in third gear at 55 mph with the shift lights lit, and the gear minus and plus buttons under the start button

Presets and ratios

Gear it the way you like.

Start from a preset, check the ratios, then match it to your car.

Presets and a ratios chart

Load a 6-speed or a 5-speed classic manual and see each gear on the chart, from shift point to shift point.

Recommended gearbox

Each engine lists a recommended gearbox, a good place to start.

Eco to Track, matched to your EV

Pick a drive mode from Eco to Track, and your car from a searchable list of 92 EV models or a generic EV.

FAQ

Questions about gear shifts in an EV

Can you get a manual transmission in an electric car?

Not a real one in most EVs: they drive through a single fixed gear. WattGrowl adds the sound of a gearbox instead, with gears, ratios and shifts you hear through the car speakers. It does not change how your car accelerates.

How do I shift gears in WattGrowl?

While you drive, shift with the media buttons on your steering wheel, so you never touch the phone. The on-screen paddles are for when you are parked or in the simulator, where you can also tap the gear – and + buttons. If you would rather not shift at all, pick an automatic, dual-clutch or CVT box.

Which gearbox types does WattGrowl have?

Six: manual, dual-clutch (DCT), automatic, sequential, CVT and direct drive. There are also gearbox presets such as a 6-speed manual and a 5-speed classic manual.

Do the fake gear shifts work with any EV?

Yes. WattGrowl works with any electric car and any car stereo you can connect over Bluetooth, USB or a cable. You can pick your model from a list of 92 EVs, or a generic EV, so the simulation matches your car.

Is the gearbox feature free?

All six gearboxes work in the free simulator, so you can try a clutch-in shift or a DCT brap without paying. Shifts that follow your real driving need Live Drive (premium): a 3-day free trial on the yearly plan, then $2.99 a year, or $14.99 once for life.

Explore

Put the shifts back.

Pick a gearbox and try it for free in the simulator, then take it on the road.