hello all,
first off i would like to state that i dont know if this has been done yet or not but here goes...

as i was taking out my short shifter today ( i own a mazdaspeed shortshifter and i believe most are manufactured the same) i noticed a few things and tried this:

all my pics are on imagestation if you need to login to see them use this
username:ewind
password:ewind
first pic: http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...7.jpg.orig.jpg

as seen in this pic the blue arrow shows that in 1 of the spacers provided there the a nipple that acts as a lock, and on 1 side of this there is a larger gap between the ends then the other.....the larger gap goes onto the shifter side and the smaller gap towards the tranny

second pic:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...3.jpg.orig.jpg

in the second pic bottom left the second spacer provided with the kit is installed that there is a gap between the spacer and shifter attachment area. after seeing these spaces and thinking that if there was something smooth to fill out the space it might be a little more driveable i tried using a factory rubber bushing as shown in the bottom right the yellow arrow shows how it would fit on....

third pic:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...d.jpg.orig.jpg

in this picture it shows the rubber bushing installed onto the shifter. not completely on but its on there.

after that i put it back on like it was before.. i didnt have any trouble with the bushing being there instead of a gap. by doing this it resulted in a smoother shift ... to me haha...and 100% reduction in rattling at high rpm.

i went for a drive on the highway working it, and came home took it out and it was exactly as i put it in.
long term effects on the rubber bushing i dont know but i hope this might help some of you ...
thanks for taking the time to raed this... and sorry for the crappy explanation haha ive gotta sleep cause i have much to do tomorrow. any questions just ask and ill tell u what i can
again if you need to log into imagestation my
username:ewind
password:ewind

 

http://www.imagestation.com/mypictures/inbox/
the pics dont seem to be working ... just login (top right ) with my username and pass and the pics will be on the right side... click on 1 and it will open a new screen pics #1 -3 is right to left
sorry
edwin