$10 short shifter?

[AI_Eclipse]

I dont have the cash right now for a B&M shifter for my car so i was thinking of converting my stock shifter for the time being. Is cutting it down and rewealding the best solution or should i just wait and get a B&M.

And what is a safe length to cut out? 2in? 3in?

 

[madoc05]

Just go to ebay and get a B&M Short throw knock off for like $40 it's pretty much the same thing

 

[BigRand]

In my personal opinion, the shifters do the same thing, reduce the throw. However you have to ask yourslef which one is going to last the longest and not give u any trouble. Thats why I went B&M, I've heard way too many good things about it, If B&M is what you wanted, you might as well wait to save for it. I'd just leave the stock shifter alone, in case you need it one day, but thats my opinon.

Also, by cutting it down, I hope you don't mean the height of the shifter? Cause that won't really reduce your throw at all, just shortens the stick. Like the B&M short throw shifter is only like 1/2" to an inch shorter in height.

 

[SnoopySLR]

A short shifter works by raising the pivot of the shifter higher, making you move the end of the shifter less, and moving the bottom more. I have a Apex Short Throw and I want the B&M(its much more solid). Save up. You won't regret it.

Oh yeah, and don't cut it

 

[SBstar]

YES!!! B&M short throw was the best thing I ever did to my 95 talon esi. Made driving more fun. I can't say anything about any other brand cause I've never tried them, but I'm just another happy B&M customer. my vote save up for it. Oh yeah and set it to reduce throw at 50% right off the bat. You won't have to change to that setting later that way.

 

[dr1665]

You can cut that thing if you want to.

As long as your welding skills (either yours or whomever you have reweld it) are average, you're not going to have any issues with it breaking. If you shift gears that hard, well, quit spanking it with your right hand all the damn time. Just don't think that shortening the stick is going to shorten the throw like a B&M. It won't. It will lower the height of your shift knob and maybe look a bit cooler than stock, but not much more. If you have a way to get right to the welder and back after you pull it, it shouldn't take you more than an hour to pull it, cut it, weld it, and reinstall the thing.

B&M is ideal, but aside from being all cool and making driving more fun, it's not going to do anything for you. I'd suggest you save up for the B&M and a Symborski kit, but drop $10 this weekend on getting an inch or so cut out of the middle of your stocker for fun. Just remember, you're not cutting the top off. You're going to have a section cut out of the middle and the threaded part welded back on top for the knob. I wouldn't take out more than 1.0-1.5" imo.

It's a shifter, people. It's not the ultimate mod.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one, but I think I'll take a home made "short shifter" over a B&M and spend my money on things like headwork or internals. Oh wait. I already did. I guess next I'll turn my attention to building some turbo this winter after the shootout. Maybe, after the engine is boosted and I've given her the bumper to bumper makeover for her tenth birthday, I will think about getting a brand name shifter and knob.

 

[JRichter]

It's a shifter, people. It's not the ultimate mod.

It's not gonna make your car run 12's, but I can easily say that this is one of the biggest improvements made to my car. You use it ALL the time if you drive your car at all. When ordering the B&M I wasn't that excited about getting it and putting it in but once I did, wow, what a difference. And that satisfying click when it goes into gear. It always gets noticed and mentioned by different people riding with me. The cheaper ones might be just as good, I don't know, but I know B&M has a good rep.

 

[speedy13]

I bought the RS type(b&M knockoff) on ebay when i had my 2g and it worked great.It makes shifting THAT much better.I wouldn't cut it either,since that won't reduce throw.Great mod,not the ultimate mod,but it'll get rid of that school bus shifter feel that you got right now.

 

[NAeclipse]

Noooo! Don't buy aluminum shifters. Two friends of mine, one with a civic hatch, and the other with an RS eclipse bought aluminum Ebay knock-off short shifters. Within two weeks they had snapped the tops right off them.

Just spend the little bit of extra money on the B&M w/ the Symborski. That's what I did and I love it!

 

[SnoopySLR]

First and foremost... you have to realize that pulling your shifter into second hard enough to pull you out of the seat.... is not necessary. I don't care how crappy the weld on the shifter is... you shouldn't be able to break it off.

 

[speedy13]

for real,our cars are not ford rangers,they practicly change gears themselves!Hondas?same thing if not easier,how the hell did they rip off the whole shifter! the one i bought was a one piece machined,and then the bottom part went bolted and secured by a cotter pin,well it was just like the b&m only cheaper!I don't see how you could break it like that unless the material was already fatigued or something.I don't dought B&M quality whatsoever,but damm 150 bucks for a shifter?

 

[EclipseSH21]

I bought the B&M for my car. It's one of those things, how embarrassing would it be if u broke your shifter in half at the track or when everyones watching you for whatever reason. Buy the B&M, and forget about it.

 

[dsmrunnah95]

To answer the question, you can cut about 2" out of the stock shifter. You can lose about an inch in the middle part of it, and then another inch right above the pivot point. When I did mine I put a small metal dowel rod in the middle (since it's hollow) then re-welded it to ensure strength. I did mine for free.

 

[suicidal2af]

Blah blah blah won't reduce throw blah blah

Stop saying cutting a shifter won't reduce throw. That's exactly what it will do. It just does this with a different method than a B&M(albeit a bit less efficiently).

A shifter moves in an arc pattern. Let's say you need to move your shifter 45 degrees to complete a 1-2 shift. The B&M moves the pivot point up but retains apprx the same shifter height. The result is requiring less motion to achieve the same arc.

Cutting the shifter will do the same thing. Here's a great example: go find a cd.

Back yet? Good. Now take the cd and turn it 180 degrees. The outer portion(shift knob) of the disc moved the same number of degrees as the inner portion(the pivot), however the total distance is travelled is much, much farther than the inner portion. Now look at the center of the disc(shift knob on cut shifter), between the inside and outside. That point also moved more than the inner portion(the pivot), but has LESS TRAVEL than the outer portion(shift knob on uncut shifter).

Result? Less throw.

Moving the pivot point and lowering the height of the shifter has a greater effect, but cutting a shifter DOES INDEED GIVE YOU A SHORTER THROW.

Class dismissed.

 

[Defiant]

Moving the pivot point and lowering the height of the shifter has a greater effect, but cutting a shifter DOES INDEED GIVE YOU A SHORTER THROW.

It's a shorter arc, but the throw from the pivot point down hasn't changed. Effort will go up (although I doubt anyone would feel it). A short shifter reduces the throw of the area below the pivot by moving the pivot point.

 

[SnoopySLR]

It's a shorter arc, but the throw from the pivot point down hasn't changed. Effort will go up (although I doubt anyone would feel it). A short shifter reduces the throw of the area below the pivot by moving the pivot point.

He's right.

 

[Wilfus65gs]

I bought a pacesetter short throw shifter for about 100 bucks. I know i should have known by the name, but it was not much of an improvement. The shifter was able to wiggle while it was still in gear because the bushing or whatever it is is not the right size for the shifter. I could probably say that i was more likely to get it in gear faster with the stock shifter. It was also supposed to be adjustable for height as well as throw reduction up to 70%, and nowhere in the instructions did it mention adjustability or how u would go about adjusting it. One of these days once i get my transmission fixed i will go the extra mile and get the b&m...

 

[Zmann42087]

I bought my car about a year ago, and just last week I took the shift boot off because it was a cheap red one that faded and was starting to look pink......

Ya so anyways I took the boot off and was completely taken by surprize when I found that my shifter had been CUT OFF AND WELDED BACK ON! Ummmmm..... So, I guess you can say I have experience in the "$10 mod" you are thinking about doing..... This is the first DSM that I've owned, so I can't really compare it to another DSM, but compared to the feel of my friends Eclipse (stock shifter), I honestly can't feel a difference. So my advice to you is this: don't do it, there is no point!

 

[LeJeune123]

Just get the one from ebay (It came from 4 Car Option) It has worked great and I shift really hard when at the road course just because I'm not thinking straight(read: left and right turns). I have had mine for about a year now and have had nothing but great comments on how the shifter feels if an instructor drives my car. It does click into place in each gear so you know it is in. Also get the bushings for your shifter plate and also get the roller skate bearing things for the end of the shifter cables and your shifting and driving experience will be much better.

 

[dsmrunnah95]

I actually went from a cut stock shifter to a B&M short shifter (at 50% reduction) and I saw a HUGE difference. My 5th gear shift went to where my 3rd gear used to be.

 

[BCESI]

just do what about 95% of people are saying...wait and get a B&M and forget about it. I have one and can't complain one bit about it

 

[suicidal2af]

It's a shorter arc, but the throw from the pivot point down hasn't changed. Effort will go up (although I doubt anyone would feel it). A short shifter reduces the throw of the area below the pivot by moving the pivot point.

Moving the pivot point up will INCREASE throw below the pivot while simultaneously decreasing throw above the pivot.

If you decrease the throw below the pivot, you will need to move the lever farther to achieve the same effect.

 

[Defiant]

Moving the pivot point up will INCREASE throw below the pivot while simultaneously decreasing throw above the pivot.

If you decrease the throw below the pivot, you will need to move the lever farther to achieve the same effect.

You're getting it backward. Raising the pivot will increase how far the lower end moves compared to how far the upper end moves. The bottom of the shifter has a finite distance it can move, as limited ultimately by the forks inside the gearbox itself. Other than re-mounting at the shifter cable ends at the transmission where they attach to the shifter arm, the movement below the pivot on DSMs never changes. The lever arm between the shifter cable ends in the cockpit and the pivot point is changed by shifters of the B&M design, as well as the inadequate OBX and PaceSetter shifters.

 

[suicidal2af]

You're getting it backward. Raising the pivot will increase how far the lower end moves compared to how far the upper end moves. The bottom of the shifter has a finite distance it can move, as limited ultimately by the forks inside the gearbox itself. Other than re-mounting at the shifter cable ends at the transmission where they attach to the shifter arm, the movement below the pivot on DSMs never changes. The lever arm between the shifter cable ends in the cockpit and the pivot point is changed by shifters of the B&M design, as well as the inadequate OBX and PaceSetter shifters.

No, I think you're misinterpreting what I'm saying.

Yes, raising the pivot increases the throw of the bottom of the lever in proportion to the top of the lever. Thus, it shortens throw over the pivot and lengthens throw beneath the pivot, depending on how you want to look at it. With the bottom of the lever having a finite distance it can move, the end result is less movement required over the pivot to attain the same amount of travel.

Cutting a shifter will have the similiar results, albeit not to anywhere near the degree of raising the pivot. It will decrease the travel above the pivot, but it won't affect travel below it -- so it does essentially the same thing, to a much smaller degree.

 

[Defiant]

Yeh, okay. Tag, you're it.