oh, and forgot to mention that the threads on the new shifter do not match the stock shift **** so either you need to get an adapter or make one or buy a new shift **** with adapters to fit it.

i bought a B+M tall leather shifter and threaded it onto the short short shifter, it feels very positive in engagement but it does take some muscle to get into second gear since it is such a short throw at that position, it would feel much easier with the extension piece in place, of which i will experiment with later on.

 

well i'm glad to here that it works how so how is the throw and all , does it engage right ? did you notice a difference at all.so besides that extension piece having be saved it fits good?i'm going to save that ebay seller in my account and get it from him . how long did it take for it to get to you was it a smooth sell

 

the throw with the extension piece is almost nil, it is the shortest throw i have ever felt, if you have ever felt a miata short throw shifter with the low mount it is the same.

when i drove down to the auto parts store to grab a new shift **** it felt a bit closer together like it should and took up a bit of the slack from the stock shifter. with the extension piece removed (about 4 inches shorter in shifter length) it feels very notchy and hard to shift but much like a racecar the shifts are very close together.

took me about 2 days to get it but i live in the same state as the seller so the shipping was quite fast.

overall install time including modifications was about 1.5 hours and i have never taken a shifter out of an FC before.

 

well i'm glad it works i had a feeling it would .alot of the cars makers make aparts you can carry parts over from 1 car to another and i saw the bolt pattern and stuff and though that may work well again this right here will save alot of people money so i thank you for spending the flow to do this as will many others that may do this also

 

$200 vs $65, i was willing to gamble.

 

Thanks for being the guienie pig.



gil

 

So what parts did you use and which exact shifter did you get. Links would be awesome and a quick write up as well.

 

i posted a link for the shifter kit i used on page 2, i guess i can do a writeup when i get a new top bushing.

i didn't take any pictures when doing it because i wasn't sure it would work, and we all know writeups are worthless without pics...

 

thanks for the test, gona save alot of cash for people.

what exactly did you buy to make this whole short throw shifter change complete?

which bushings did you go with ?

 

you will need one of these also if yours is worn or missing:

http://mazdatrix.com/getprice.asp?partnum=17-4810-8AF1

 

so the miata short shifter and that upper bushing and its good to go?

 

and 1 piece of sandpaper. yep

 

i orderd the shifter and the bushings, ill let you know how it comes along on mine.. what exactly did you have to sand down though and how much did you take off, do you think that would hinder the effiancy of the bushings?

where you getting your shift **** from? i want one that screws in like the stock shift **** but maybe aluminum

 

the bushing i circled is the one i had to modify slightly, as it was too large. if yours comes too large also then simply take a piece of medium grit sandpaper and sand the barrel portion of the plastic bushing down until it fits in the cylindrical shifter slot in the shifter assembly. this should not affect the longevity of the shifters lifespan, i only had to remove maybe 1mm of material.

i bought my shifter **** from Kragen but just about ant universal one will fit as the have adapters with the ***** to fit many applications.

 

the next person to try this out please take pictures and do a writeup as it would be very helpful to people trying to save money...also get it archived.

 

I installed the miata short throw shifter i orderd from ebay and it came out nice. I dont think you really need a write up since there is one and a video at mazdatrix.com

It definatly shifts with little throw but to get that throw you're using alot of muscle.. it shifts hard real hard. I didnt use the bushing circled above, do you think that could cause a problem?

anyway thanks for pointing me in the right direction 60-70 bucks and you get a killer short throw shift.

 

How hard we talking? Hopefully not slamming it into gear like im racing it ...that would be annoying for daily driving and look silly to a passenger.

 

I bought this shifter just a few minutes ago..

So i need to get a new bushing for it?

-Justin

 

hey,did you guys reuse your inner boots or did you buy new ones?

 

i would use the nylon sleeve i circled, metal/metal contact in the shifter bore will wear out the ball on the shifter and cause it to get sloppy again.(this really does depend on the kit you bought though)

i got the new top bushing in from mazda so i think i will do a writeup on this a little later today.

 

Does anyone know if the Mazdatrix kit eliminates the common sloppy-shifter syndrom? Or is it just as prone to wearing out after about 10K miles?

I HATE short shifters, but I hate sloppy shifters even more. If it eliminates that problem, I'll buy it and make it slightly longer.

 

I don't beleive the mazdatrix shift will be the end all solution to shifter sloppiness, simply because the bushings is what usually tend to cause it. I never really cared for the short throw's until i drove an 87TII with a mazdatrix shifter.. It's a little notchy but it shifts great!
-Justin

 

That's what I figured. I'm really not willing to pay $192 US for something that suffers from the same (easily correctable) problem as the stocker...

Well, I guess I'll just have to build my own then. I've been thinking about it for some time now. Totally eliminates the stock bushings...

 

i thought that was the whole point of this thread?


total it cost me $72 for the short throw shifter with brand new bushings..

 

well thats bad ***. looks like some thing else to do before i go to japan...thanks for being the guinea karack!