Hey, I have a s4 t2 and I was wondering if anyone has short shifter recommendations. Price isn't as much of an issue as finding a nice quality built product that fits.

 

for NON quality just get a Miata short throw from Ebay.
Cheap,and easy to get.
Mazdatrix or a C's Shifter get costly.I got the C's and I find it great.I don't know what people are talking about with "rattle" as mine is pretty good and does not rattle.
It is more car specific..some cars do,some don't.

BUT short shifters have been known to do that.

 

I had an eBay Miata shifter in for years and it does not rattle (which I also hear is more car specific than part specific) and shifts beautifully.

I think the most important thing is to pay attention to the shifter bushings and shim them to get a good fit.

 

I have a C's and mine rattles. It's a tossup but the odds of one rattling are pretty high. The factory shifter is supported by urethane bushings on both sides. With a short shifter the bottom bushing is metal. It is this metal to metal contact that may rattle. I'm probably going to remove mine. It's annoying. The throw is almost too short anyways. I may use it in our race car.

 

Maybe we should say it's transmission specific, just to be clear, lol.

I took a stock shifter along with its bushings (stock both lower and upper with the washers and springs) and put it in a different tranny. Went from quiet to rattling.

I think the rattle is between the small ball at the bottom of the shifter and the end of the selector shaft block, where they interact.

 

My corksport shifter does not rattle but I had it on my s5 trans and it was perfect but in my s4 trans it's really notchy.
so it is more trans specific I think.

 

Which Miata shifters work for my s4 t2 tranny?

 

I just bought a short shifter for miata from eBay. And it's too stiff for my feel. If you are using your car for daily driving than just stick to oem. If you are drifting or autocross than go with miata. By the way, I can sell you my short shifter that I took off. Had it on for only couple hours. 40 bucks with shipping. P.M. me

 

cool, pm sent, interested. Which brand is it?

 

I have a Mazdatrix Short Shifter in my 87 N/A. Here's the text of a thread on shifter rattle I posted years ago when I first installed it.

Curing Short Throw Shifter Rattle

According to the guys at Mazdatrix, shifter rattle is a problem related to the car and not the shifter. From my experience, I think they're right. It's just aggravating that no one (including the guys at Mazdatrix) has figured out a way to fix it.

I'm no different...I didn't figure out a way to fix it, but by doing several things in it's installation, I did manage to cut out nearly alll of the rattle. Before I did this, the rattle was unbearable, and I was planning on putting the stock shifter mechanism back in. Here goes:

1) Pull out all of the shifter mechanism parts and completely remove all of the oil in the shifter tower. I went to the drug store and bought one of those rubber bulb suckers that parents use to clear out baby's stuffy nose. Works great!

2) Clear out any debris that may have fallen down in the shifter tower over the years, like broken parts of bushings and boots. Clean out any remaining oil with a rag or absorbent paper towels.

3) Get a 5/8" rubber washer, 1/8" thick and seat it down at the bottom of the shift tower. Make sure its as level as you can get it and press it fully down on the bottom

4) Cover this washer with wheel bearing grease. It's OK to be liberal with the grease here.

5) Install the inner spacer of the short throw shifter and verify that there is no lateral play in its fit. I used some Inner tube patch pieces of rubber to shim it up and make a snug fit.

6) Pour synthetic gear lube in the shift tower until the hole is completely covered

7) Complete the installation of the rest of the short throw shifter mechanism, being sure to use brand new upper and lower plastic bushings and leaf springs.

This is what I did and pretty much cured the shifter rattle. For what its worth you might want to give it a try if you're having the same problem. Couldn't hurt.

 

Rotary shack! They sell through eBay and their own site. You can make them an offer through eBay. Went in easy with zero rattle

 

Wow, it looks like quality stuff. Have you bought a shifter from them? How stiff/hard is it compared to oem?

 

Mazdatrix +1. I've used, installed on many S4, S5, N/A, TII variants. The rattle to me hasn't been much of an issue unless the transmission itself had a problem to prior to the new shifter. I've heard good things about the Corksport one.

 

Oh my goodness the mazdatrix one is awesome. Throw is super short and precise, and the bushings they include make the throw really tight and crisp. Good shiet.

 

Rotary shack?

 

^Never mind, just googled it. Looks like a fairly colourful history. Was wondering whether my post magically dissapeared or if i just thought i posted but didnt.

 

I have a C's as well, love it, and no rattle at all.

 

I actually love the feel of a stock S5 shifter. Not notchy, but feels great with new shifter bushings.

Maybe it's the ****?

 

Notchyness is caused by the internals of the transmission and not the shifter. If a short shifter feels like **** compared to the factory shifter, your syncros are worn. Since the factory shifter has a longer throw, it gives more time for the syncros to do their job.

Also, it is very easy to test to make sure your clutch isn't dragging. If it is harder to shift at very high rpm, either your syncros are worn or your clutch is dragging....or of course both.

Park on a level surface and release the parking brake with the clutch pedal pushed to the floor. Rev the engine to 8,000 rpm (quickly, don't **** your engine up!). If the car moved even just slightly, your clutch is dragging.

 

Stiffer than stock because of the leverage change. But pretty high quality stuff from those guys. I would suggest new tranny fluid if you haven't done it un a while.

 

To improve short shifter feel there are two things you can do.

First, make sure the pivot ball is seating fully on the lower cup bearing.
Using Mazda bushings (provided w/ the eBay kit), upon first install mine did not and when the upper bush and cover are installed, all the force went directly to the end of the lever and the link rod.
I used thin fiber washers from the plumbing section of Ace (two, I think) to shim up the lower bush so the pivot ball was seated fully. With the top bush and cover fully tightened it was a bit stiff but not ginchy at all. I backed off the three top cover bolts a bit and it smoothed right out. Over the course of the next few weeks, as the bushes/rod normalized and got friendly, I retightened the three bolts.

Any shifter- but a short throw in particular- benefits from a heavy ****.
You don't want carbon fiber, you want lead.
My undisputed favorite is the Nismo competition ****, it's very weighty and has a great shape.
It's a direct fit for a S5/Miata shifter.

I machined my eBay shifter to make it shorter- took off @ 3"- throw at the top of the **** is about 2" from 1st to 2nd. With the shimmed bushes and Nismo ****, it can be shifted with the fingertips.

 

I agree with the heavy ****. I did a heavy blox ****. Just burns my hand in the summer.

 

+1 for the Mazdatrix on my S5 and a 1/4" ball bearing on top of the shaft to space the stock **** up just a bit. Short, crisp, precise shifts and its rattle free.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I haven't decided just yet, but these suggestions will guide my choice as well as installation

 

I have a heavy metal T-shifter ****. Gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I use a heavy white gym sock as a shifter cover and that solves the problem.