Alright guys. In my long tradition of doing my best to convince the powers that be here at CorkSport that the FC the baddest car around, I am working on getting a short shifter done.

If I were to get a short shifter produced it would retail at $150, and would take two months to get them done. I just need to convince the guys writing the checks that this is a worthwhile investment.

This is for real, this is a business getting these made so I'm not some guy in his garage who wants to get this done, will ask about it, and then disappear forever.

What do you guys think? Worthwhile? Is there enough interest in an affordable, but high-quality short shifter from your favorite Mazda Performance shop CorkSport?

 

I might be interested.

 

$42 less than mazda trix, if you can do it. I might be interested.

 

If its guaranteed not to rattle then I'm in! I believe Aaron Cake or someone else was working on one but I dunno what ever happened to that. They were claiming it would be rattle free.

After driving my new Solstice GXP a bit I love the feel of a short shifter even if its a stock one. My 7 definitely needs that feel to it.

 

I'd definately be interested.

-Brocke

 

We are doing everything we can in terms of manufacturing clearances, design changes, nylon bushings, etc. etc. I can't guarantee that it won't rattle though. The rattling seems to be a car to car fluke sort of thing. We had a 3 FCs. One with a short shifter that rattled, and two with stock shifters. We took the shifter out of the one that did rattle, tried it in the other two and it didn't. It seems to be a fluke car to car problem. But believe me, I'm doing everything I can do avoid it.

 

I've done some "testing" as well that confirms its a tranny problem more then a shifter one. I've been through 3 on my car (not breaking them, just changing ) and 1 rattled, one didn't, one did. Same shifter, same bushings, new oil in all trannies.

I'd say I was interested, but unless I break this one - I'm already taken care of

 

I'm interested, but I'm also seeing that people are liking the Miata short shifter kit which fits with a little work, and those're on eBay for $50-75 cheaper than what you're looking at. I'm just wondering what the difference would be?

 

yeah sorry thats way too expensive when i can either just chop my current one down, or pick up a miata shoft shifter.

 

I'd be interested for sure, to Juiceh with the Solstice, I know exactly what you mean, it's a blast to drive eh

 

i dont know. C's shifters are for sale now on RHDJapan for only 180 shipped, and they are supposed to be the best shifters in the world.

 

My shifter is rattle free and I love to hate it. I love the fact that it gives the transmission a beautiful mechanical feel such that you can feel the gears engage through the handle, and that shifts are lightning quick with a solidness that I've not felt in any other car. I hate the fact that I have no idea when it will be on the market.

 

What the hell are you waiting for Aaron? I've wanted it since you started to talk about it.

 

I don't think you quite understand the concept of how a short shifter works... The point isn't to physically shorten the height of the shifter, this raises the pivot point of the shifter itself in order to shorten the throw distance needed to change gears. "Chopping" a shifter doesn't do anything except wreck your shifter and actually requires more work to shift.

The difference would be that this one is made for your car, and requires no modification to fit. Plus this one is made by a well-known company that supports their products and isn't some faceless ebay vendor.

They will be less than that shipped unless you live somewhere far away. Shipping on something as small as a shifter isn't much.

 

Will we be able to return it if it rattles?


Man, I have been waiting for your short shifter!! I remember like a year ago you said it would be ready in a month... I was so psyched! Then it never happened.



It sure is!

 

I'm in

 

If it rattles you need a new tranny, not a new shifter

 

Perhaps if you used the same equipment to mass-produce a quality unit for both the FC and Miata (since the only difference, IIRC, is the size of the ball that goes into the shift linkage, and it's a difference of a MM or so), that way you could make and sell enough to lower the price to under $100. I'd rather have a cheap mass-produced item than something that is an expensive hand-machined piece...


Personally, I can feel the gears engage with the stock shifter, but either way... the only reason I feel a short shifter would be necessary is because 5th gear would be hard to reach when using a racing harness.

 

Not to put words in Evileagle's mouth......

But you want a Miata short shifter? Buy one. Its not a direct fit.

The FC one that would be produced would be a direct fit, quality unit thats comparable to the $200+ units that are for sale now. His will be cheaper and of the same quality. Don't expect them to match a Chinese knock-off ebay company just because you're too cheap to pony up.

 

if you want something rattle-free, get c's two piece design (same like stock design)
you can get those for ~$200 shipped from japan new.....

 

If I had room in my signature that would be in it. Pwnt.

 

would it be just the shifter or come with bushings as well? i currently have miata short shifter and although cheap not too crazy about it.

 

If its an easy install and the price listed includes bushings count me in.

 

i been waiting...because ill be ordering a C's in and its double that....

 

I didn't say anything about the 40-dollar eBay Miata shifters. I'm simply saying they should build a Miata shifter first and foremost, because that's about the only way it would be feasible to mass produce them (otherwise it's basically a glorified one-off piece... since there are only so many FCs, and only so many people willing to buy expensive, yet relatively simple parts... this is basically a 50-dollar part, if you mass produce it, not a 150-dollar part). After that, they could modify a few lots worth of Miata shifters to fit the FC (making it a direct fit).

It's all about economies of scale... there are like 15 times the number Miata's out there than there are FCs (random guess, it might be much higher). Economically, making RX-7 parts makes no business sense (which is why most rotary tuning companies in Japan are just barely surviving, and none of their parts stay in production for very long), unless you're making parts that everyone is going to buy eventually (like oil cooler hoses, for example...), or unless they're also usable on Miatas.

Otherwise, only hardcore FC owners are going to pay 150 dollars for a part that could be made for 1/3rd of that, easily, IF it was mass produced. The Mazdaspeed shifter is like 300 dollars, which is really just laughable... but that's only because it was designed for Japanese tuners, who usually have more money than brains.

Heck, if they made the shifter blanks out of heat-treated cast aluminum, instead of the billet they're probably going to use, it could probably be even cheaper... it's just that, there are minimum order sizes you have to make with your supplier.