OK, I know the idea has been kicked around, and I know there are a few interesting efforts, but has anyone just straight-out shortened their shifter?

I'm referring to the full "cut off the top of the shifter, grab the trusty tap and die set, and just thread the shifter further down" method? A friend of mine recommended it, and I'm giving it some serious thought. Anyone have any thoughts?

PS - yes, my aftermarket shift knob is shorter, so I won't have to worry about the ring that holds the shift boot. I'd aim to lower the knob to that level.

 

I'm considering that idea as well. I already have the Ebay short shifter, but would like it lower than that so...

 

A short throw shifter is not just a shorter shift lever, the length between shifts ie. the distance from first to second, 2nd to 3rd... is the thing that is shortened...

Just cutting the stock shift lever of would be pointless...

 

i did, worked ok, but like mcbrown said, its not a true short shifter....basically i cut part of the lever off, used a thread die to cut threads into the lever. make sure you find the right size though if you do plan on doing this.

 

WTF? The longer the lever is, the longer it travels, so the longer it takes to make the same shift at the same movement speed.

The shorter the lever, the travel distance is shorter,...

Right?


What's a true short shifter then?

 

I guess it has to do with the bottom, where all the mechanical ish is. I dunno.

My friend said it felt exactly the same as the B&M he had in his previous car, that's why I was considering it.

 

You're forgetting about the mechanical advantage that the longer shifter affords the stumpy bottom piece. The aftermarket shifters have longer ends below the ball and that's what really gives you the shorter throws... think of it as the lower end "stretches out" the shift linkage. So what happens is the top part can then be shorter.

Look at the pics of OEM and aftermarket in the install tutorials and you'll see the difference in length between the stock and aftermarket above and below the fulcrum (ball).

 

like i said, the DIY works great, just lube the bushings while your down there

 

^^^what engineerboy said.....

 

So... the part circled in red has to be longer in order to give a shorter throw? Sounds like the opposite, but it makes "mechanical sens"

 

Yes. Hold a pen, pencil, stick or whatever in its middle, straight up and down, between your index and forefinger.

With your other hand, gently push the top and look how far the bottom moves in response. Now shift it so you're holding onto the pen at a lower point and repeat. You have to move the top much more to move the bottom the same amount. Finally hold it closer to the top and look how short a distance the top travels to make the bottom move the same distance. Viola.

 

and bingo was his name-o.....

 

I thought about shortening my stock stick, but it has a bend in it. So you'd only be able to knock an inch off at most. I never paid much attention to the bottom length of the B&M shifter, but how does it still fit between the socket and the bottom cup if it's longer down there? Just curious.

 

I believe it's only slightly longer. Since it's pulling a wire it can't go too low anyway or it might cause problems. All I know is mine is a signficantly shorter throw than stock. The difference is like night and day. I think there's a total of 2-3" of travel between gears in my shifter. It takes some getting used to at first or if you've been driving a manual transmission with a regular shifter, but the difference is certainly noticable.

 

www.vfaq.com

look around on there..they got an awesome writeup on shortshifters and stock shifters etc...i donthave the link onhandor id give it but they got it there somewhere lol