# Short shifters... blah blah blah



## foney_email (Oct 29, 2003)

First off, I searched. so relax. Please listen, and don't flame..

I understand the mechanics involved as well as the mathematics and angles and other things dealing with a shorter "throw".

I have driven a pacesetter(smc) shifter, and it is amazing. Much much better than stock. But I want to know which has the shortest throw, or the greater legnth under the pivot point. The pacesetter goes to 50% at the maximum setting, but I haven't seen any stats on the B&M's reduction in shifter throw. 

I want the shortest throw possible. Not really for the racing benefit, but for bragging rights against my friends SE-R. 

Also, which do you think has the shortest height? (The shortest distance between the pivot and the threads for the knob)

I guess that if I am unsatisfied with the height, I can bust out the hacksaw on the brand that I choose. I really like the ratchety feel of the pacesetter, but I have never driven one that had the B&M installed. Anyone have a comparison of both? I don't care about the price, I want short throws.


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## xt_out (Jun 23, 2003)

i thought about hacking this stillen one i have, but i think it would get pretty hard to shift so im not using it and its for sale.


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## Greg200SE-R (Feb 5, 2003)

I have never tried the SMC but I can give you some info on my SS. I have the B&M and the throw is pretty damn short. From neutral, the throw is only about an inch and a half (!) measured from the top of the shifter. So from 1st to 2nd would only be about a 3 inch throw.

My friend has the Stillen in his 2K Sentra, (uses the same stillen as the B14) and just as a quick comparison the B&M seems taller (height-wise). It's still shorter than stock but my friend's Stillen appears to be 'cut down' a little lower. After driving his car my impression was that the Stillen has a slightly longer throw but feels smoother when put into gear - but of course his transmission is a different one than mine so its hard to say.


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## Radioaktiv (Feb 12, 2004)

height really shouldnt be an issue considering you can just use a hacksaw and shorten it as much you want really
also, the shorter you cut that shifter down, the shorter the throw will be but the throw will require more force considering you are compensating for the pivot point it was meant to have
so, unless you are just absolutely not wanting to hack your shifter down about 3 inches like I did, you'll probably always be in the 30-50% shorter range


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## Rathi134 (Jul 11, 2003)

dont know if this helps or not but ive heard good things about the ps ss and i went ahead and bought one. im installing it this weekend. ill post my opinion of it once installed soon


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## Nico Flax (May 3, 2003)

I have the pace setter on my 98, I know some people like to bash on the PS but the thing works great, I guess the only issue would be the install, since I hear the B&M you just drop in, but with the PS you have to use some of the old parts, I set it as low as possible and there is a huge difference, I can go and take some measurements if you really want, only thing your going to have to watch out with the PS, I'm not sure about the B&M, if you shorten it a lot the bottom of the shifter is going to hit the heatshield of the exhaust so it might take some more work to get it just right...

Nico


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## Greg200SE-R (Feb 5, 2003)

I have never hit the heat shield with my B&M. Even if you toss the shifter left to right, there is no contact. The Stillen hits the heat shield occasionally in a B15, I _assume_ the same with a B14. 

As far as cutting a short shifter with a hacksaw, you'll be changing the manufacturer's carefuly calculated length above/below the pivot point, which will affect shifting effort (which is already on the high side on a B&M). It's like being on a see-saw that's 1 or 2 feet shorter on one side - it takes more weight to move the longer side. Also, cutting a shifter obviously removes the threads on top, which forces you to go with less secure set-screw type shift knobs. you could re-thread it but I don't know how much work this would involve.


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## tkvtec (Apr 20, 2003)

i beleive i read the b&m is 40% shorter throws. (correct me if I'm wrong)
I just ordered a Pacesetter and some ES shifter bushings.


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## foney_email (Oct 29, 2003)

What i am really going for is the way that the shifters are in the dsm's. They look so damn sweet when they are super tiny and engulfed into the shift boot. I don't really think there is any problem with the pace setter. I really like it on my friends car. I just want the best set up that I can get. I would only get the B&M for bragging rights. If the pace setter is still 10% shorter throw than the b&m, I guess that is what I will get. 

Shorter throw and cheaper. Is there a catch? Besides of course having to reuse the old housing, or whatever. 

I acctually installed the pacesetter in my friends SE-R and it was a pretty straight forward install. But I still wonder, which of the two is shorter in height, and is the b&m only a 40% reduction in throw?

Thanks for the imput guys. By the way, I just bought my SE-R today. So welcome me to the group. Yea me...


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## Radioaktiv (Feb 12, 2004)

congrats
and welcome


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## tkvtec (Apr 20, 2003)

foney_email said:


> What i am really going for is the way that the shifters are in the dsm's. They look so damn sweet when they are super tiny and engulfed into the shift boot. I don't really think there is any problem with the pace setter. I really like it on my friends car. I just want the best set up that I can get. I would only get the B&M for bragging rights. If the pace setter is still 10% shorter throw than the b&m, I guess that is what I will get.
> 
> Shorter throw and cheaper. Is there a catch? Besides of course having to reuse the old housing, or whatever.
> 
> ...


I beleive the difference in price is due to the fact that B&M has a good brand reputation and can charge more like $tillen, plus the fact that they come with a shift knob and all new hardware including bushings.

The Pacesetter SS is an SMC design, which is also proven, so I see no reason to beleive it is low in quality. The reason it's cheaper is because Pacesetter wasn't the company that put the time and money into research, SMC did, so there was less overhead for pacesetter and can charge less for the shifter. Judging the price difference between that and the B&M it seems about right anyways, considering a good knob is gonna cost you $50 or more and the bushings are like $15 or so.


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## Greg200SE-R (Feb 5, 2003)

foney_email said:


> What i am really going for is the way that the shifters are in the dsm's. They look so damn sweet when they are super tiny and engulfed into the shift boot. I don't really think there is any problem with the pace setter. I really like it on my friends car. I just want the best set up that I can get. I would only get the B&M for bragging rights. If the pace setter is still 10% shorter throw than the b&m, I guess that is what I will get.
> 
> Shorter throw and cheaper. Is there a catch? Besides of course having to reuse the old housing, or whatever.
> 
> ...


Hey man, go back to your friend's SE-R and measure the throw and height. here they are for the B&M in my 200SX SE-R for comparison:

- as said earlier, the throw is 1 1/2" from neutral to any gear

- the height of the shifter is about 5" measured from the plastic shift boot trim piece up to the tip of the short shifter, not including height of the shift knob.

I got my B&M for about $125 and it (and the Stillen) will require dismantling the whole assembly, since they are drop in replacements.


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## xt_out (Jun 23, 2003)

for the record, rethreading the stick is easy. so you guys all use the stock shift knob of set-screw replacements? i could never find one that screwed onto the stock nissan threads so i just bought the tap and did it. cakewalk and very secure...no vibrations like the set screws.
i have a pic with instructions that i made when i installed shifter. its not too difficult. (im selling my shifter btw. check sig if interested)


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## ray7se-r (Apr 28, 2004)

*ray's 200sx ps ss*

hey what's I'm new to the forums but you've already heard of me I Jay's[foney_email] friend with the se-r I was reading you input on your b&m so I just went to go measure mine & it's about 3/4 :jawdrop: of an " from neutral to any gear and about 1 1/2" from 1 to second gear and I didn't lower it all the way down. I don't know if you have an adjustable joint on yours but the ps ss comes with one which allows you to adjust it up to 50% which I don't if that is true or not but if it is then mine should be around guessing 46% I really would like to see what the real measurements are might be convincing enough to lower mine all the way well I get back to me later.

Ray
200sx se-r :crazy:


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## foney_email (Oct 29, 2003)

ray7se-r said:


> hey what's I'm new to the forums but you've already heard of me I Jay's[foney_email] Ray
> 200sx se-r :crazy:


 :loser: :loser: :loser: :loser:


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## Cgamboa (Nov 12, 2004)

I got one question though...After installing the short shifter, I've noticed that shifting gears were pretty hard. I had to pull it harder than before to get it in gear...So Now I'm like, WHAT DO I DO NOW? I spent 6 long hours to install a shifter, and I'm not satisfied. FOR those who want to know, I bought a BnM shortshifter....YES I did replace my shifter bushings, but it STILL rough on the shifting. Is there a certain torque you have to tighten the bolts because I tightened them tight because they were tight when I unscrewed the bolts. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME ASAP?? I REALLY don't want to go changing my shifter to the stock one because of the problem I'm having right now...If anyone ever had this problem and FIXED it please reply...I'm desperate!!! THANKS


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