Today while installing my Agency Power short shift lever on my 5-speed 2005 EVO VIII, I ran into a couple problems. Everything went smoothly until the point of the final testing. When the upper pivot cup was tightened down, the car would not go into first gear, and was very rough going into second and fifth gears. It was the sort of roughness that would have been considered a gear grind if the car was in motion (I know what it feels like...)

Upon close inspection of the unit and a thorough comparison to the stock unit, I noticed several things:
1. The welds that hold the "central pivot" on the Agency power lever were quite large and protruded out compared to the stock lever, which had no external welds.
2. The stock lever had a greater range of movement fore and aft, as well as right to left than the Agency Power lever. This was caused by the larger welds of the aftermarket unit.
3. When the upper pivot cup was bolted down tightly, the loss of motion (caused by the welds [no. 2 above]) was preventing the car from going into first and causing the roughness in second and fifth.

I then proceeded to take off the upper pivot cup to do some custom work. I got a hand file and ground down a significant amount of plastic on the upper pivot cup, in order to allow for a greater range of motion of the aftermarket lever.

Test fitted it, less of a problem, but still a problem. Back to filing.

After taking some more off of both sides and the top of each side (right and left), the upper pivot cup fit like OEM, and the shifter had no sign of the aforementioned problems.

I took the car for a test drive after getting all of the interior trim back in place, and the car is shifting better than ever.

Now to my conclusion:
The common idea of "aftermarket shifters cause gear grind" is somewhat true. However, in my opinion, this can be easily remedied by doing some easy, custom modification to the upper pivot cup to make room for the sometimes (usually) bulky welds of the aftermarket lever. Therefore, I would not advise anyone not to buy a short shift lever, but rather advise them to be prepared to make it fit properly.

I will add some pictures, as well as a review of the short shifter later today, as I am running out the door right now.

Please feel free to post your opinions about the matter. I would love for this to turn into a great discussion thread regarding the matter.

-AMG

 

thanks for the info, looking forward to the pictures. i've been considering this mod for sometime. does changing gears require slighter greater force now?

 

Are you talking about having to cut this? ^^

If you're talking about having to shave away the plastic on the shifter retainer, it's been common knowledge for quite some time. That's why companies like Works includes a modified retainer, so you don't have to modify the stock one.

Maybe I'm just reading your post wrong and you're talking about something else.

 

^You are correct in the fact that I'm talking about that.

I've never seen a thread that has suggested doing such a thing... Care to direct me to one? Just thought I'd put this info out there for those who don't purchase a Works shifter that includes it.

 

Sorry to revive this thread but the AP shifter has no external welds on it in the manufacturer photos. Any pics of what these welds?