Quick ?... in your guy's opinion is a race short-shifter like good to have?? My buddy has a tiburon and it seems like he can shift twice as fast as he could with the stock setup. But fd's tend to have small shifters stock. How much shorter can you go. So if anyone has one, let me know how they like it compared to the stock setup.

 

I have yet to drive one that feels as good as stock. (flame away). My buddy has a B&M short shifter and I can shift twice as fast in my car with the stock shifter. His is really notchy and if I'm shifting quick, I almost always grind second and miss third in his car.

 

I had that problem in the Mazda RX-8, which had a short-throw in it. I never had a problem with missing gears, but sometimes it was hard to shift into first without grinding. But then again, this was a "brand new" RX-8 with 2500 miles on it... maybe it had just been dogged too much.

 

IMHO, short-shifters are only for personal preference when considered in street usage. I use the B&M shifter and love how it feels when I am driving. The shifter does not become noticeably shorter, the throws are what become shorter.

Btw, don't forget that there are always people out there who want to 'shift mad quick y0.'

 

i also have a B&M SS. its cheap and i love it. when i first had it, i missed 3rd like crazy. but when u get use to it, ur shifts are so much faster i think. from a stock shifter its about half of that. rx7 are pretty short already but u can always get shorter.

 

I love my B & M short shifter. Never really had an issue with missing 3rd gear with the stock shifter, and don't have any issues with the B & M shifter either. The B & M is somewhat "notchy," and a little bit harder to put in X gear, but the throw is quite a bit less. It all depends on the driver though. I'd try and find a local car with a SS, and see how you like it.

-Alex

 

I completely agree. The short shifter won't make the shifts any faster and they don't feel near as nice as the stock shifter does; they're all notchy and much too stiff.

 

I have a B&M now and I had a stock shifter in my old 7. Personally, I like the B&M, not only for shifting quickly, but it's also nice when I'm cruising around town relaxing and down have to move my arm at all to shift. I think the key, however, is simply practice. If you drive a stock shifter for a long time and then switch to a short throw, don't expect to immediately be able to shift faster. As far as missing gears, I did a little experiment. I had never missed a gear until I took my engine torque brace off. Afterwards, I missed third about a third of the time when I was trying to push the car hard. I put it back on and the problem disappeared. Maybe something to think about...

 

Don't expect to ever shift faster no matter what shifter you have; it just fools you into thinking you're shifting faster. The synchros in the tranny are only capable of moving so fast without grinding and that speed can easily be accomplished with the stock shifter. Forcing the tranny to shift faster than it wants to does nothing but cause additional wear and stress. And the short shifters feel like crap.

If you are missing third gear it isn't the shifter's fault. Check the motor mounts, diff mounts, the shifter bushings and the driver's right hand.

 

I disagree with everything
I think the stock shifter feels sloppy and has long throws
The short shifter notchy feel is a cool feeling
and I believe you can shift faster with a ss shifter. you can shift very very fast
you can shift fast with the stock one too believe me I agree there but it doesnt make sense to say you cant shift faster with a ss shifter since the throws are much shorter that just doesnt make sense

the only thing I did have a problem with was grinding when shifting into 2nd and 4th like damon said because the shifts were too fast. not because the clutch wasnt engaged all the way or anything I did many tests to make sure it wasnt that.

 

I fully agree with Damon.

Unless you are powershifting, I think the limiting factor becomes how quickly you can depress the clutch and release it again. I've never felt limited by the stroke of the stock shifter....

 

Exactly. Using the stock shifter, I can jam from gear to gear fast enough to overpower the synchros (of course, I don't). So the limiting factor in the gearbox itself is the synchros, and of course anyone who can drive a m/t well knows then the real limiting factor is clutch operation and accurate RPM matching - both driver issues. Yet again, we find the "nut behind the wheel" holding everything together.

Plus, new bushings and boots for the stock shifter are cheaper than a short shift. Before buying a short shifter, IMO it's wise to make sure the stock one was working correctly in the first place.

Dave

 

I drove my roommates FD a very short distance and already dont like the feel of the short shifter. I think it was a C's? Way too notchy feeling for me, the shifter is something I dont mind a bit of a vague feeling through.

 

I bought my car with a B&M short shifter already installed and in the begining it drove me crazy due to the effort required to shift. But after driving it for a few weeks it wasn't a big deal anymore. Since I bought my car with the shirt shifter I can't comment on the throw difference between the stock and the short shifter although I would imagine it is quite a bit shorter. I haven't had any problems with grinding or missing gears thankfully. At the end of the day it all just comes down to personal preference. I for one like the short shifter, but I can easily understand why someone would hate it.

 

Okay...

But you already said you've never tried the stock one. I used to think well done steak was good until I tried it medium

 

Sorry if I was being a bit vague, I was referring to how much effort is required to shift. Apparently the stock shifter isn't as much as an arm workout as the short shifter. I mean't to say that I understand if people hated how much effort was require to shift.

 

Just put some synthetic in the trans and keep it stock.If you really want to feel what its like to row a boat, drive a c5.My vette felt like it was about 8 inches from 1st to 2nd.

 

Try it medium rare

 

Maybe I'm just slow but after I had my tranny rebuilt I can't grind 2nd unless I miss the shift. So I don't buy the that good sycros slow you down in the RX-7. The stock shifter is pretty slow with long throws though by no mean the worst but poor when compared with the MX-5 stock shifter which near perfect from the factory. Now I would pay a pretty price to get something that would make shifts like it's little sister.

 

I like my B&M. Fun little toy. That's all it is. An extra bell or whistle. My brother was suprised when he drove it for the first time.

 

Just hold the stock shifter from the bottom and you have a short shifter. You dont have to hold it form the top. Other day was doing 120 in 4th gear on my way to 5th i put it in 3rd started to skid and thought o no I better put it in back in 4th, right? Ya well it went in 2nd and redline 9000rpm almost lost controll. I just learn to drive stick a week ago hehehehehe.

 

i like my short shifter alot. im lazy so i like to shift with my wrist instead of my whole arm. the short shifter really makes that passible for me.

 

I've got the C's and I like it. It is almost like driving one with a stock shifter. I drove one with a B&M and hated it...

 

so short shifters like the C's and the RE are really not much different than stock? throw wise? i mean i heard they are smooth but do they really shorten the throw? some people say yes, some people say barely and it feels like stock..

i had a B&M before and the throws were shorten alot but it rattled and made noise when clicking into the next gear and at idle..

i want to go back to a short shifter but i want something that actually shortens the throw and is smooth..

 

Just be sure to take out a tree when you die, and not a person.

Dave