Opinions on Short Shifters

[jeremiahnz]

I was thinking of getting one of these for my car at some stage but have heard some bad things about them. Maybe a couple of people with a bit of experience with them would comment to dispell or reinforce the rumours.

Basically I have heard that they can put extra load on the syncro's and substantially shorten the life of your gearbox. A friend of mine installed one in his integra and pretty soon afterwards wore down his syncro's then a couple of gears. Possibly the short shifter wasn't the right one for his car and he was just a little rough with the car.

I assume a good quality product like a TRD kit could be quite different to a cheaper option to.

[Stu-]

They're great. A mate of mine made one for me, been driving with it for at least 6 months. No problems at all.

[thaphatty]

dont know about the "proper" ones but, <--

the cut down ones feel shit, reduces throw alright, but makes it significantly harder to change gears because of the less leverage, did it to a K50, given the oppertunity i wouldnt do it again. if it had a been a FWD box it would have been even more rugged to push, cuz the linkages can cause a fair bit of friction

[Mr Revhead]

cutting the lever isnt a short shift kit.

theres no way a gear lever can affect the synchros.... its all driver.
synchros will wear faster out if you try and racing change every gear shift

[Stu-]

cutting the lever is a short shift kit.

Don't you mean cutting the lever down "isn't" a short shifter? Probably a typo As by doing that all you do is reduce your leverage on the gearsets in the box and making it hard and notchy. To do it properly you need to extend the length of the shiter from the pivot ball down to the bottom of the shifter arm then space the pivot mounting point higher up. This reduces the distance you have to throw the shifer between gears.

[TygerTung]

If you cut the lever down it will reduce the throw. It's just the same thing as changing the pivot point, in fact it is changing the pivot point. I do it all the time.

[CozmoNz]

If you cut the lever down it will reduce the throw. It's just the same thing as changing the pivot point, in fact it is changing the pivot point. I do it all the time.

change the ball joint AND the length of the shifter, and you have a real short shifter.

i love the things, havnt got one in my car, got a cut shfiter in the misses car, needs to be cut more though, fking easy to push into gear though, feels like a truck from factory .

i love the idea. if you cant push it into gear, try drive a car without syncro's no double clutching now .

[Mr Revhead]

Mr Revhead wrote:
cutting the lever is a short shift kit.


Don't you mean cutting the lever down "isn't" a short shifter? Probably a typo Smile

haha yup typo! my bad


tiger.... that does decrease throw, but increases effort, a true short shift decreases throw and doesnt increse effort. the other thing is is you chop it, it makes it harder to reach. not what you want, in fact i want mine higher up and closer to the wheel

[spencer]

i love the things, havnt got one in my car, got a cut shfiter in the misses car, needs to be cut more though, fking easy to push into gear though, feels like a truck from factory .

i love the idea. if you cant push it into gear, try drive a car without syncro's no double clutching now .

Dunno what truck you drive but ours aint easy to shift

[DVLRCR]

mine is cut and is still easy to reach. it isn't that much of an effort to change gear but then again it is just a starly

[Stu-]

Ive got a picture of my shifter vs a stock one somewhere. Shows where bits have been added and subtracted. I'll post it up if I can find it.

[FLAWLES]

i run a TRD short shifter in my gtz 101 "cheers mr rev head "it cuts at least 30 to 40 mm off the throw of the factory one "plus it has a bling TRD knob ""

all they are is a bigger ball with a diff base plate and spacers between the base plate and mounting, were the dif is in were the stick meats the linkages

in my opinon well worth the $$$
as for were on the gearbox na dont think so i would say linkages are done way to tite with no slack or maybe its the fact that ur mate drives a honda?

[Santa'sBoostinSleigh]

i cut my stick in my *cringe* integra, was about 80mm i cut off,
made it so much better to drive, no more feeling like i was driving a bus.
mind you the gearbox is now fuct. prob just my driving tho.

[RS13]

Yeah, but most 85-onwards Hondas have quite a small throw anyway, compared to Toyotas.

[Disco]

I'm in two minds about them.

I can change gear faster than jesus on p so don't really need one, but the reason I can change gear fast is because the linkage bush/es are worn and in my ae82 this is perfect for me...

HOWEVER man I love that big font...

Have driven a mates integra with a b&m shortshifter kit and worn linkages and it's ARSE changing gear, honda boxes are notchy at the best of times and when you get it right it's sooo good but my philosophy on them is

If you can already change gears fast, don't bother, if you can't and have mint linkage then worth every penny...

and they look good...

[Ebola_One]

HOWEVER man I love that big font...

Have driven a mates integra with a b&m shortshifter kit and worn linkages and it's ARSE changing gear, honda boxes are notchy at the best of times and when you get it right it's sooo good but my philosophy on them is

90% of the time it changes gear right, you just gotta know how to do it. :p
And yeah the linkages are pooh, so there's a bit of movement.

I've had my short shifter installed for almost 2 years now, yes, the synchros have had a hard time. Not coz of the shifter though.
Flat shifting (@8,200rpm) + a couple of months "toying" with clutchless shifting (I got it down to a fairly smooth art!) were the culprets for that.

Take your time re-learning how to shift with the shorter shifter, otherwise you will poke your synchros. Sit at lights with the clucth in throwing the stick though the gears, this is how I re-learnt how to change. If you don't take this time, you'll fux your box quicker than a B16A whups a 4age

I'm also assuming the the Integra that ate a couple of gears was a DA integra? if it is, chances are it was knocking on 130km+ You'd be very lucky to find a Bseries gearbox that's not crunchy in any gear at that age. Unless it was rebuilt at ~110kms

If you get one, any other gearchange in someone elses car will feel sloppy, you won't look back.

[Xylotrope]

I have used a TRD short shift lever on K50 and T50 ..

the ball isnt bigger as i put the lever in to a standard mount to stop it rattling so much .. the standard one has a rubber bush under the gear lever ball ...

also have used cut down ones on the same gear boxes .. they were ok but not as good as the real thing ..

for the T50/K50 one can make their own by extending the lever below the ball by 15 mm and find a spacer plate the same and of course 4 longer bolts ...

So at pres i have a mix of this .. TRD lever in standard lever bracket with 15 mm high density plastic spacer .... seems to be a great cheap mod

changes gear sweet ...

If i was gonna buy one i think i would get ......

http://www.technotoytuning.com/t3_site_ ... shift.html

[spencer]

hey xylotrope I have made a few t-50 ones now and I usually make the spacer out of ally can make you one if you want sounds better than plastic

[LEV_101]

do you guys know where i can get a short shift for a ae101

[TRD Man]

do you guys know where i can get a short shift for a ae101

http://www.trdsales.com/shop/product.asp?catcode=274

Right here. Of course you'll need to talk to us about the price.