Just had the full cage, short shifter, all bushings, and shift knob replaced at Boostin Performance yesterday. I have not been happy with the stock shifter assembly since the day I purchased the car. It felt cheap and toy-like, had a ton of play, and would often not engage smoothly. The last straw was driving a friend's Focus ST that had a much better overall shifter feel than my X. (Side note - I was very impressed with the ST overall).

I ordered the new shifter assembly through DSG and had it shipped directly to Boostin last week for installation yesterday. The difference is night and day. The oveall throw is shorter, but not too short. There is very little play from left to right, back or forth, when in gear. Engagement has a lot more precise with a certain 'signifigance' to it. Part of this is linked to the much heavier knob and the metal bushings. It's hard to describe.

This is not a cheap mod by any means between the hardware and labor costs. However, given this is one of the critical driver interfaces you have with your car that is used near constantly while driving, not being happy with it's performance really detracts from the overall driving experience. This kit takes it far ahead of the stock unit.

Thanks to Boostin Performance, DSG, and TWM for the great products and service provided!

Now just need to get that MHI turbo installed!

 

Did you get the bushings too? If so, did the shop have to grind the control arm bushings to fit? Mine just arrived today, I'll be picking it up from the post office tomorrow.

 

Yes, I purchased everything they offer, including the bushings. The shop didn't indicate that they needed to grind them to fit. They did say it was more time consuming than expected - but I get the impression this may have been their first TWM full cage replacement. I doubt many shops see a ton of these given how few X's there are and how many of that subset would spend the $$$ on this product.

 

. . . . . damnit

Looks like everyone bought one. I did the entire replacement and bushings. Got ****ed on the tranny arm bushing. I pressed mine in, attached the arm, and it was locked up from then on out. Literally multiple threads now I see in regards to this that I never saw prior dangit .

I love everything else. I did the cage last week along with sold base bushings. I thought that made my car drive 100x better.

 

Notchiness is gone? The grinding from 1st to 2nd, 3rd?

 

Yes, gone. Since my first day with the car my first to second shift would hang up a bit and I would have to baby it in at times. Not every time, but it ruined my confidence that I could make a quick shift during full throttle acceleration as I was concerned it would grind or not go in altogether and over rev.

That is now gone entirely. There is an engagement feeling, so it's not like there is air between first and second gear - you can feel the mechanics of the gear change, but you it doesn't feel as though something is wrong.

I'm not a mechanic by any stretch - so can't say what component is driving the improvement, but I like drivng the car A LOT more now. Don't get me wrong, I loved it before, it's just a much better driving experience.

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying your full replacement sir!

Renato
Team TWM Performance

 

So...how screwed am I?

 

Went ahead with the remainder of the install, save for the other bushings, the broken cup for the bottom of the shift lever doesn't seem to be a problem yet, though I'll likely try to replace it in the future. Another thing I noticed was the collar or lack thereof, that's supposed to go underneath the shift boot, below the shift knob. Was that supposed to be something that came with the car or was TWM supposed to supply it?

As for the setup itself, it meets my expectations; a good shifter is a must for me and while the stock wasn't as bad as I was lead to believe, I still wanted better and I got it.

Here's the stock lever in neutral:


TWM in neutral:


Stock in first:


TWM in first:


Stock in second:


TWM in second:

 

Quick question, does a short shifter such as this reduce the life of the synchros?

 

No, bad driving does.

 

Thinking about getting this thing this summer. I hate the notchy shifts.

 

Amen! We get this question wayyyy too often. The life of the synchros is solely dependant on the driver.

Renato
Team TWM Performance

 

I'd recommend the weighted shift knob from TWM as well. It adds a lot to the overall feel.

 

It does indeed! The fastening of the shift knob is now metal to metal without any cheap, uncommunicative plastic threads and dampening as OEM shift knob has.

Renato
Team TWM Performance