Short Throw Shift

[Checkers]

Hi guys, I'm looking to replace my shifter. I knew I had a short shifter in my car, but it's not real a short shift kit. Basically what the previous owner did was take a hacksaw to the shift rod, and then hot glued the shift knob back on top. I'm sure you all can see the problem here..... What is a good short throw shift kit, and how had would it be to install? This is basically my first car (I had a beater that I saved from a junkyard) but it was never worth putting money into it, so I bought my Eclipse. Anyways, I don't have a great deal of knowledge working on cars, but I'm trying. Would it be ok to try and do this myself? My only concern is if I do it wrong, I can't take it to a mechanic. Has anyone tried this before? If so, did you use a site? Thanks everyone for all the help!

 

[Tyeler18]

Know anyone that can weld well? Have them weld your shifter back together rather than hot glue. I've done it in 3 of my cars and it works great for a free short shifter. You need someone that can weld the shifter straight though, made that mistake the first time I let someone else weld my shifter

 

[Checkers]

Well the shift knob is like, plastice/fake leather, not metal, and I figured I might as well put a real short shifter on anyways. The shift knob is hollow (Because it used to be threaded) and right now I superglued it back and it works fine, but it looks like crap because the shift boot is held on with glue too! I don't plan on spending like, $100 on a shift kit, but maybe $50 (Or since Christmas is coming up) and I like to have an excuse to work on my car, because there's not a whole lot I can do yet, haha

 

[Tyeler18]

Wait, so he cut the shift KNOB or the SHIFTER?

 

[dsm4lif3]

Lmao very confusing but what from what I can understand the previous owner cut the shifter then glued it. Then he hollowed out the shift knob and glued it back on I have no clue haha. But iv heard great things about OBX short shifter that's the best one around to best of my knowledge. Also like he said if u can get someone to weld that's a free mod for u and just buy new shift knob. There's many around if you look such as Megan racing and a few others..

 

[Carter_95RS]

Are you looking for a shorter throw or shorter rod length? If you just want to keep the stock throw of the shifter just grab a shifter rod from a junk yard and make it your desired height.

 

[Tyeler18]

Are you looking for a shorter throw or shorter rod length? If you just want to keep the stock throw of the shifter just grab a shifter rod from a junk yard and make it your desired height.

Technically he is reducing the throw by simply cutting down his shifter. What a REAL short shifter does however is reduce the length of the throw AND the force required to move the shifter (which is minimal on something so small anyways). By just cutting the shifter down you've basically created the same thing as a your real short shifter since the force required to move the shifter from gear to gear is virtually nothing.

 

[Carter_95RS]

This is true, but I thought I remembered hearing of one brand of short throw having some adjustability in it.

 

[DSM_IKE]

Actually a true short shifter had a lower pivot point witch gives it its short throw, all cutting the top off one really does is lower the point where you hold onto the shifter itself but does not really shorten the range of the shift. So unless you know how to fab one yourself correctly or know someone who can, you might as well do it the right way and buy a decent kit.

 

[master jared]

we did that on a buddies integra without the glue beer was involved

 

[Checkers]

He guys, sorry to confuse anyone, I'll try to explain it as best I can, although I wasn't there when he did it. Also, I'll probably be sing some wrong terminology/stupid words.

It seems that this is what he did.

He took a saw to the shifter rod, meaning the part that the knob is attached to, that goes through the boot (The leather cover, right?)

Then he hollowed out the knob I guess, filled it with some glue, and stuck it back onto the rod. It's the same concept as like, cutting a pencil and then gluing the eraser onto the new end.


Also, it doesn't even have to be a short throw shifter, I just want it to not look the way it does, but if I can get one that will add performance as well without breaking the bank, I'd like to do that. Could I replace it myself? Does anyone have a link to a site with pictures, or happen to live in Westchester/Putnam New York, and wants to help a kid out?

 

[Carter_95RS]

So basically you're saying it has been cut and you want it to be stock height?
Just grab one from a junk yard

 

[97gst_spyder]

I bought a ebay B&M style ss. It works great, I had to source all the hardware (nuts, bolts, etc). $27 shipped with a generic shift knob.

 

[Dyesuperman]

If you want cheap and decent quality just get an ebay short shifter. I have had mine for about 6 months now with no problems. If you want it to be short too just cut out a section and weld it back together. My father and I did this and it did not take long.

 

[Tyeler18]

Actually a true short shifter had a lower pivot point witch gives it its short throw, all cutting the top off one really does is lower the point where you hold onto the shifter itself but does not really shorten the range of the shift. So unless you know how to fab one yourself correctly or know someone who can, you might as well do it the right way and buy a decent kit.

Actually you're wrong. Lowering the pivot point is what reduces the force required to move the shifter. Cutting the shifter down DOES reduce the range of the shifter. Think of it like this- Stock shifter is say 2" (ease of calculations), say we move the shifter 180 degrees between 1st and 2nd (again ease of calculations), since C=pi x D that means that you are moving the shifter 2pi inches from 1st to 2nd. Now lets say you cut 1" off essentially making the radius 1". Now you're range from 1st to 2nd is .5pi, thus cutting your THROW in half.

 

[ramsack]

Technically he is reducing the throw by simply cutting down his shifter. What a REAL short shifter does however is reduce the length of the throw AND the force required to move the shifter (which is minimal on something so small anyways). By just cutting the shifter down you've basically created the same thing as a your real short shifter since the force required to move the shifter from gear to gear is virtually nothing.

A short throw shifter is going to reduce the throw but increase the effort required to go into gear. You can't defy physics, this is how levers work. They will also speed up the linkage relative to not having a short throw shifter, so they tend to slam the transmission into gear. No thanks. The extra 0.01 seconds it takes to travel those extra inch or two isn't worth breaking shift forks. Reducing the shifter height a tad bit is a good thing to do. A lever is the most basic mechanical device known to man.

 

[my dreamt dsm]

Stock gear lever travel:
Example: normal gear travel
1st-------------------->2nd gear
3rd-------------------->4th
5th-------------------->reverse

Purpose of short shifter:
To produce minimal lever travel from gear to gear

1st------>2nd gear
3rd------> 4th
5th------> Reverse

Cutting shifter lever: Pointless
As the travel will just be the same!
You can choose the stocker or try the B&M kit. I've seen bad reviews of the no name on ebay so I suggest you stay away from that. Good Luck!

Try using the power of the computer key board!

 

[ramsack]

Cutting the shifter does reduce the throw. Yes the shifter is still travelling the same angle, but the linear distance is shorter. Simple geometry like Tyeler18 pointed out. If you halve the distance from the knob to the pivot point you are approximately halving the linear distance the shifter has to travel. You are also doubling the force required to change gears, though. Given the same hand speed you are also doubling the speed the transmission will be slammed into gear.

 

[Tyeler18]

A short throw shifter is going to reduce the throw but increase the effort required to go into gear. You can't defy physics, this is how levers work. They will also speed up the linkage relative to not having a short throw shifter, so they tend to slam the transmission into gear. No thanks. The extra 0.01 seconds it takes to travel those extra inch or two isn't worth breaking shift forks. Reducing the shifter height a tad bit is a good thing to do. A lever is the most basic mechanical device known to man.

If you read my previous posts you will see that I already pointed out that even though cutting it isn't a "real" short shifter (because the pivot point is raised to reduce the force required to move it) it is still reducing the travel that you move the shifter, thus making shift delays shorter. Also, like I said the force required to move the shifter is virtually nothing, so by shortening it you ARE increasing the force required to move the shifter, however, the force required is so small in the first place that it has negligible effects.


Show me some evidence that shows that it "slams" in into gear. The shifter travels the same distance just in a faster time, there a stops on the factory shifter that prevent it from "slamming" into gear. Where trouble happens is when you replace it with a "real" short shifter that eliminates the stops.

Stock gear lever travel:
Example: normal gear travel
1st-------------------->2nd gear
3rd-------------------->4th
5th-------------------->reverse

Purpose of short shifter:
To produce minimal lever travel from gear to gear

1st------>2nd gear
3rd------> 4th
5th------> Reverse

Cutting shifter lever: Pointless
As the travel will just be the same!
You can choose the stocker or try the B&M kit. I've seen bad reviews of the no name on ebay so I suggest you stay away from that. Good Luck!

Try using the power of the computer key board!

Like ramsack said, you obviously need to freshen up your geometry because reducing the radius of a moving object reduces the circumference which in the case of a shifter reduces the THROW.

 

[ramsack]

Because the linkages will travel twice as fast. The stops are at the shifter, not at the transmission. The shift forks, cables, and selectors on the transmission have mass, therefore they carry inertia despite the shifter being stopped...and cables have stretch. The tighter one makes everything like solid cable bushings and all that stuff the easier it is on everything.

 

[Tyeler18]

Because the linkages will travel twice as fast. The stops are at the shifter, not at the transmission. The shift forks, cables, and selectors on the transmission have mass, therefore they carry inertia despite the shifter being stopped.

The tension on the cables and the fact that the mass of the forks is so small that it doesn't create enough momentum to move them that far. Trust me I've done plenty of work with this.

 

[ramsack]

Yeah, shift forks break from age, not people putting ridiculously short throw shifters on cars, or slamming cars through gears. Yes there are instances where bad synchros can create a resonance in the fork and crack it through time, but most is human error. If people care so much to shave a hundredth of a second of a shift time why not just go automatic?

 

[my dreamt dsm]

Hummm that's odd cause when I bought a short shifter it was the same length of the stocker but it sure traveled less. Care to explain math wiz. BTW I fail math, my weakest subject besides 1+1=2,

They should have the *now what!* facey! hehe

 

[Tyeler18]

Personally I went with my short shifter for the feel. There's no slop in it at all and it's either in gear or it's out, none of the squishy half in/half out business. The other benefit for it is that I autox/snow rally, having an auto isn't ideal because it will shift on it's own. If I'm taking a corner at say 5500 rpms, I want no delay in power coming out of that turn. With an auto it will downshift as I let off to come out of the corner and then there's a delay as you floor it again, the short shifter helps me hit gears faster with no slop (never missed a gear drag/autox/rallying yet), while allowing me to hold high rpms through corners or when I need it.

 

[ramsack]

I've never had a good, non-notchy transmission either