Im wondering if this will actually do anything. Lately Ive been missing 3rd gear when Im tired and The frist time I did it was like 2 Weeks after having my car and i did it 3 times that day. I wanna know where the best price is and how easy/hard installation is. Also, will it make my shifter stand a little lower?
Thanks for the input guys.

 

This is as per the Evo, i'm not sure if the US lancer is identical, I assume it's pretty close.


yes it will sit slightly lower, and shift shorter, but however it will not improve your shifting... shifting is solely on the driver. I have yet to miss a gear in my car, it's all on learning the feel of when and where the shifter is when the car is in gear. In most cases people tend to miss gears more with short throw shifters and you tend to "bang" gears harder do to the shorter throw. My thoughts are learn to shift the stock shifter better and spend the mony on sometihng else. The stock shifter is awsome, i'm comming from a GSX with a B&M shifter installed so it must be half way decent to even compair to a short throw.

If you do choose to install it, you will have to either cut your stock shifter or have the bushing pressed off in order to remove a small plastic piece which is needed to mount the new bushing. You can also try to purchase this piece from Mitsu by it's self. See vivid racing's site for install pics.

 

If you're missing gears with the stock shifter, then it's not gonna get easier with the short shifter - that's not what it's for. It makes the shift locations closer and so then easier to miss. I mean, it's not hard to get it in the right gear still, but if you're already missing, I wouldn't expect this to be a magic fix. The shfiter will stand a little lower though.

I bought mine at RRM and got the Energy Suspension Bushings too. Without those, it would have been much easier to install, but it still wasn't too bad. 2 hours tops it'll take you, but it's pretty aggravating of an install, especially if you've got big hands.

Overall, very worth it though.
-N

 

alright thanks, i think i might get it just because it will lower the shifter a little and I guess shorter shifts are a plus. Thats totally opposite of the real purpose but whatever.

 

A lot of what you said is Evo-specific. The install is easier on a Lancer - no modification required. Also, the Evo comes with a much shorter throw to begin with than the Lancer.
-N

 

cool, I'm not the only one who missed 3rd often. I usually didn't miss it on the streets, but on the road course I kept miss aiming it and bumping in between 1st and 3rd. After I put the B&M shifter, it felt better just because of the new location of where the stick went. I think it also helped that with the shorter stick, I started using a shift knob that facilitated placing your hand on top of the shifter, instead of around the knob in the "euro" style. But that's just my opinion and what I'm comfortable with, others might prefer a different feel.

And yes, the stick itself is shorter. And installing the shifter itself is quite painless, but removing all the center console stuff is time consuming. I think I did mine in 45 minutes (having installed 2 shifters before), and 30 of them were removing and replacing the center console parts.

 

the short throw is worth the lil cash you spend for it. i had no problem with the install. if rrm sells it it is probably worth the money (performance). i have several things from them about to aquire quite a bit more. further more how in the hell are you guys missing third??? i mean damn i might understand 5th but third.

 

As for myself, I missed it by miss judging the location of the gate, hitting a spot somewhere in between 1st and 3rd (maybe 3rd and 5th, I don't know for sure). The motion going from 2nd to 3rd is the most awkward for the human body. In a 5spd it has to fit in between 1st and 5th, and going from 2nd you have to move the stick at an angle to get there. It is actually the most commonly missed gear for racers because you are shifting fast and trying to move it into a gate that you can't even see. What I found with the B&M shifter is that its new location allows my elbow to be bent at more of a 90 degree angle, allowing the movement to be more natural in direction. Whew, that was a long winded opinion

 

It's a very crisp (and in my opinion very short) shift with the B&M. Driving a car without a short shifter will feel very strange afterwards however. I can sympathise to an extent in that I've hit the gate between first and third a few times in my sister's MX-6, but the throw on that thing quite literally borders on a THROW. I never had that problem in the Lancer, though I did upshift from 4th to 3rd a few times when I was still getting used to the car (and relatively inexperienced with a manual transmission).

 

The B&M is a good deal, and I would reccommend it. You might also want to get the poly bushings that RRM sells as well. If you do get them, they will increase the difficulty of the install, and take more time, since they are VERY stiff and difficult to get into position.

After driving the car with and without the new bushings though, it was worth the headache.

 

It's very mushy throw without the bushings. With the bushings it's a tight, crisp shift. I'm inclined to agree.

 

Although I don't have the bushings in my car, I installed them in Joe's car while doing his shifter. Since you're already inside the center console and there are only 4 bolts for the bushings, this added maybe 5 minutes. Our experience was that it was not all that difficult to get into position since they're 2 piece, just need a little pushing to get the rubber in. In my opinion, the shifting is still pretty good without them, but indeed much crisper with the bushings.

 

Just buy it already!!

 

i agree. buy the damn thing already. and how much do you sell the rear conversion for??????

 

B&Ms short shifter is awesome. Way quicker shifts. Alot better when you've been driving a long time too, and are tired of shifting. I highly recommend.