Mazdatrix Short Shifter Review
 

Hi guys, I wanted to share my experience with the 81-83 Short Throw Shifter Mazdatrix sells for $192. I am happy with the results as it fixed my dead spot shifting issue when going from 5th to 4th gear along with making the transmission engagement great. I wasn't really impressed with the "short throw" travel being that they claim it goes from 6 to 3 1/2 inches. I feel a slight improvement but it's nothing to rant about. I was however really impressed on how crisp and solid the shifts are now. It honestly makes driving the car that much more fun since the shifter now feels like a true sports car rather than a Big Rig -lol. At a cost of $192 I was skeptical but once i received the item i can see it being worth this amount for the most part. You get high quality material hardware along with Mazda OEM shifter boot, bushing, and gaskets. After reading the forums I was going to originally go with the 90's Miata shifter swap but realized there was no guarantee of a perfect fit and also used oem Miata shifters are being sold for $50+ on ebay from what I saw. I will say that if you have a perfectly good working shifter this might not be for you. The crisp and chiseled feel of going from gear to gear might be an inconvenience for those wanting to retain a soft and cushioned factory engagement for daily driving.

Ok, I take back what I said about the throw. My uncle came over with his 85 rx7 this past weekend. We hoped on both cars and there is a noticeable difference in throw by the claimed 2+ inches. My uncle liked the crisp and chiseled engagement but also said he is happier with his stock setup as he enjoys how soft and easy the engagement he has on his car.

I drove a first gen one time that had a short shifter. I initially loved it, but when I added that same shifter to my rx-7, I had the same experience as your uncle. I'm not a fan of short shifters. they are too notchy for me.

Used one in my racecar for at least 20 years (had both 81-83 and 84-85 trannys) and loved it. Very neat and precise. I always hated driving enduros in my buddies cars with stock shifters. So much longer, sloppy throw. Maybe his shifters are always worn, but..... :-). I did drive my car on the street for a couple years (before I moved on from Spec7) like that too and didn't have any issues with the short shifter. In my opinion a significant upgrade in driving enjoyment. YMMV, I guess ;-)

Carl

I'm a fan of the short-shifter for the same reasons that Carl mentions above however, like most things with our RX7's it boils down to user preference. I installed my first short-shifter kit in my RX7 in1998, and replaced it two years ago with a new kit as one of the the bushings was gone. The temperature gets pretty toasty in the transmission tunnel and after almost twenty-five years all that was left of one of the bushings was little white pieces of melted bushing.

I experimented with short shifters back when Rotary Engineering offered one. It was well made, was shorter in overall length and like some others I imagine, used a longer throw from the pivot ball down to the receiver cup in the transmission. This longer throw on the bottom half is what gave it the notchyness previously described. Like others, I didn't mind it at first, but later grew to dislike it.

My fix was to section a stock shift lever, removing a couple inches from the mid-upper section. It reduced the stock throw somewhat, without the extreme notchy feeling. The stock shaft has a rubber core for vibration damping, so I just tacked the top threaded portion to an appropriate size washer and then welded the outside diameter of the washer on top of the lower cut section. Just take it slow and gradual so that the rubber doesn't catch fire.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...df529c011a.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...449aef49fd.jpg

Another, less invasive option is to extend the threaded portion further down the shaft of a stock lever and then trim some off the top. This shortens the throw only very slightly. The picture below also illustrates the longer fulcrum point on the lower half of the RE short shifter.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d59a8c0564.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ee45a08a1.jpeg
Here’s the finished setup. My ‘83 came with the oem mini pistol grip shift knob that I have never liked. I was trying to buy an oem 84-85 one but the people on eBay were asking a ridiculous amount for the condition they were in. I ended up finding the proper thread pattern with Torque Solutions and am very happy with it. The material does not get hot or cold which is similar to the AMS brand one I run in my rx8.