ACT LABS' RS Shifter (along with its sister product, the GPL USB Shifter) is, in my opinion, the single most realism-enhancing peripheral available for racing sims. It provides an authentic H-pattern shifter for sims which support for it, and can also be used as a standard sequential shifter. Since the product's introduction, legacy utilities have become available (see below) to make the shifter compatible with nearly all racing sims in H-pattern mode ... a development which, quite frankly, was for me and for many others a dream come true. You haven't truly experienced all the thrills of a racing sim until you've experienced it with the RS Shifter.

ACT LABS have also released the Clutch Performance Pedal System, a new pedal set which significantly improves upon their original RS pedals and, on top of that, adds a clutch pedal. Variable pedal resistance (including very realistic brake damping), accelerator/brake stagger for heel/toeing, long pedal throws, ultra-smooth mechanics, and a high-quality, stable base make it an absolutely superb pedal set. On a personal note, my F1RC lap times improved almost immediately upon first use of these pedals!

Not all sims provide native support for the RS Shifter, but this is no longer an issue with the arrival of a couple of wonderful legacy utilities, both based on a concept originally proposed in early September 2000 by Julien Lardy in a utility which allowed shifting in Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed. Of the two current-generation utilities, the primary one, the brainchild of Tom Grandgent, is the ACT LABS Shifter/Clutch Utility, which, as the name implies, also provides clutch support for these sims. Free shifting, with or without the clutch (with such bonuses as a user-defined clutch engagement point and gear-grinding sounds which scold you when you try shifting without the clutch) is now possible for just about any sim thanks to this utility.

But that's not all. Another RS Shifter utility specifically for GPL, GPLshift, was released at the beginning of October 2000 by a Danish gentleman (*JSJ*), and I still consider it the best alternative for shifting in GPL. The ACT LABS Shifter/Clutch Utility now provides the same instantaneous gear changes as GPLShift did from the beginning, but GPLShift (now with clutch support as well) incorporates itself into the GPL.EXE, removing the need to run a separate program, and has some nice additional features.

Incidentally, if you own an RS Shifter, you may wish to periodically visit the RS Shifter Resource for the latest news.