# How much does a short shifter really help?



## 200sxOuTKasT (Feb 24, 2003)

I'm just curious because right now I see at www.courtesyparts.com the B&M short shifter for a mere $110 + $10 shipping. I'm very tempted to get one but when I think about it, I have yet to see any REAL improvement from having just a shorter shift. Don't take me wrong, I've driven my friend's crx with a short shifter, but I couldn't really see how much faster it was by only having to move 1" instead of 2" when shifting. It felt like there once no difference at all in how fast I shifted except that it was much more "race-like" to shift so little instead of the long stock throws. So I'm curious now how much faster people have improved their 1/4 or 1/8 times by having a short shifter, and if $110 is really worth that improvement.


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

a short shifter will just give you more persist and accurate throws and faster shifts, i dont know if it will do too much on a 1/4 mile or 1/8 mile, but it does help out a little.. maybe a tenth of a second.. im not positive but you will enjoy it..


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## DanTheMan (Jan 12, 2003)

*Short shift*



psulemon said:


> a short shifter will just give you more persist and accurate throws and faster shifts, i dont know if it will do too much on a 1/4 mile or 1/8 mile, but it does help out a little.. maybe a tenth of a second.. im not positive but you will enjoy it..


I think I've got a pace-setter short in my garage for my 97 1.6 200, 
I don't plan on putting it in as the install looks like i need a lift (I just don't get under my car with a factory jack, sorry) and it says you gotta pull of the cat, the heat shield just to see the connection, sorry but I just had it all custom welded (try to take that off) I thought this was a top-down procedure not bottom-up!
A 10th of a second?
Hardly worth buying a 100 dollar stick, a 100 dollar jack and doing 100 worth of labor yourself.
Just saved me several nights of agravation (much more than 1 10th of 1 sec.)


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

DanTheMan said:


> I think I've got a pace-setter short in my garage for my 97 1.6 200,
> I don't plan on putting it in as the install looks like i need a lift (I just don't get under my car with a factory jack, sorry) and it says you gotta pull of the cat, the heat shield just to see the connection, sorry but I just had it all custom welded (try to take that off) I thought this was a top-down procedure not bottom-up!
> A 10th of a second?
> Hardly worth buying a 100 dollar stick, a 100 dollar jack and doing 100 worth of labor yourself.
> Just saved me several nights of agravation (much more than 1 10th of 1 sec.)


its a piece of cake... takes like 40 min. you can do it with jackstands and a floor jack. its worth every penny. 

on my car I only have the pivot a little halfway up the threads... I remember driving another car with the pivot as high as it will move (shortest throw possible) and it felt like... like... a Honda


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## aphex4000 (Oct 9, 2002)

In terms of driving comfort, I would never give mine(B&M shifter) up. The SS combined with the ES bushing makes shifting through gears as simple and precise as flipping a light switch since the rubber seat around the stock pivot is completely eliminated. The install is easy too, takes about half and hour.


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

dantheman, i dont know why you are givin me a hard time or if you didn't mean to link it to me, but i was just giving my experience with my pacesetter short shifter, i am waiting to get all the es bushings once i get all the sway bars, but i love me shifter... and was well worth the money to get eht short shifter.. i grind less and i have better and faster shifts


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## viprdude (Jun 27, 2003)

pacesetter or b&m psulemon?


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

pacesetter is adjustable the B&M I don't think it is...


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## viprdude (Jun 27, 2003)

i thought so, im eyeballin the pacesetter just cause its adjustable


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

Found mine for $75 bucks off some internet site... Forget where...


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## viprdude (Jun 27, 2003)

curse you. if u find it, please tell me it.


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

PM AznVirus (deric) he gave me the site.


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

damn, i got my pacesetter ss for 60 like a 1 1/2 ago.. i lucked out.. just need to trim the threads down to fit my shift knob..


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## Junbug (Oct 21, 2002)

Even if nothing else, it'll be a heck of a lot more fun to drive around with the short shifter.


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## 200sxOuTKasT (Feb 24, 2003)

I dunno, spending a $100 is never really that fun for me :thumbup:


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## viprdude (Jun 27, 2003)

i really hate how high the shifter is, and my mom's cougar has a short shifter in it stock, it feels amazing to shift so i think its worth it, pace setter will get my money. makes it look alot nicer and drive better for myself.


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

its the only pacesetter item i would ever buy.. but its not that much short cuz its a short throw shifter..


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## Junbug (Oct 21, 2002)

200sxOuTKasT said:


> I dunno, spending a $100 is never really that fun for me :thumbup:


You're gonna hate me, but I got my SMC for 65 shipped to my door. These things were going dirt cheap when they first came out.

I'm sure you can still find them -although I think pacesetter makes them now- for 75.

Jun


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## viprdude (Jun 27, 2003)

i dont really mind how high the shifter is but how long the throw is. and i just want it to be short shift and ill be happy


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## mr_sarge (Apr 7, 2004)

*short shift 40$*

I bought one on ebay, but it's not a hotshot one.

I pay 40$ CND for it, and it's really worth the 40 buks!

It took me 2 hour to put in there on a jack and 2 support on the same side (driver side) remove the support for the ehxaust just to lower it, remove 5 bolt on the heat shield (broke 4 of them!! and i don't put it back) and after that it's just to remove the shifter, about 3 or 4 bolt, not shure.

I had to grind a little the housing with a dremel, because of the new shifter. It has 2 bearing instead of a bushing and i was not able to make it fit in the hole. not really a prob but i took 5 min. to grind the hole.

after that juste rebolt all stuff and that's it.

me shifter as a throw of about 1" for each speed but as about 1" shorter than the original shifter.

I think i will cut it for about another inch. It to long for me, i want it shorter. this will decrease the throw a little bit again, but i just want to make that so the shifter will be more short.


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## mr_sarge (Apr 7, 2004)

*again...*

this is a link to one shifter like mine on ebay, for a 15$ buy it now!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2477063475&category=33736


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## Nico Flax (May 3, 2003)

You can get the pace setter short shifter from Nopi.com for 60 I believe, or at least thats how much I got mine for, oh yea, worth every penny, doesn't feel like I'm driving a Mac truck anymore. good luck

Nico


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

Hmmm, I'm thinking about getting one as well. I'm finally used to the feel of a shifter. What does the ES bushing do and is it worth it? What's the point of the pasesetter being adjustable and is the GA shifter the same as the SR?


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

es bushing are worth it, it give you a better and cleaner throw..


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

psulemon said:


> es bushing are worth it, it give you a better and cleaner throw..


how do they fit in there, wht do they look like?


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

look like small bowls with a hole in the center.

they go in the shift linkage by the rear motor mount.


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## 9double8 (Jul 9, 2002)

The shifts between gears is about 1/2. So imagine the throw of (example only) is 12 inches it will get you to the next gear in 6 inches. It was a new experience for me to get use to. I dropped my downpipe and then disconnect the rest of the exhaust from the hangers and laid it on the ground got under with 2 jack stands and a jack for extra saftey and did it. It is worth it! Get some ES stablizer bushings too!


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## nizzan4u2nv (Apr 14, 2004)

I have the cheap ebay short shifter, only problem is it rattles because you have to buy a different nut and bolt because they stock bushing holes are bigger then the skateboard bushings on the ebay shifter. I would never go back to stock after putting it in.


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## 200sxOuTKasT (Feb 24, 2003)

Odd to see this thread being brought back on and on again after posting it over a month ago, anyways, not to be rude or anything, but everyones entirely missing my question. I have driven with a short shifter before, I just don't see any "performance" gains from it. I believe if I go a short shifter put on my car, I won't get even .1 seconds faster on my quarter mile time, but it could just be that it wasn't my car with a short shifter and that I had not adjusted to it quickly enough. So I was curious if anyone has any true performance gains from a short shifter other than "shifter feel" and "shifter look".


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

re-read my first post but to expand.. heres the thing, since they dont add hp or tq, its hard to measure because there are too many variable that change 1/4 and 1/8 times... but they give you a more percist throw... like i was saying with the measureable factors, its hard cuz stuff like weather, tire, humidity and thousands of other factors come into play when you race.. but its the same reason why a person would get polyurethane mounts and inserts... they are a lot better than stock... but the percision helps out when you are racing.. otherwise people wouldnt buy it..


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

200sxOuTKasT said:


> So I was curious if anyone has any true performance gains from a short shifter other than "shifter feel" and "shifter look".


Feel is extremely important when you're racing. A long shifter throw will tire you out very quickly and the vauge feel of the stock shfiter is just asking for a missed shift. Ideally, the shifter should also be as close to the wheel as possible (not on the floor as with a lot of new cars) to minimize movement, but with most short shifters you at least reduce fatigue and better the shifter feel. And yes, it's practical for the street too. No more having to reach all the way over to hit 5th or hitting your passenger's knee as you do so.


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

definitly used to hit the knees of others...


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## viprdude (Jun 27, 2003)

UGH i hate hitting peoples knees and they look at me like "wtf and this is a sporty car with that huge shifter hitting my face?" and i tell them to shutup. its too big.


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

sh*t's just wack...


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