Hi Im Simon

i wanted to buy a short shifter but unsure which one to get.
can you guys give me some feedback.
i dont really prefer the ones that shorten the shifter though

oh yeah its for a NA model


please let me know
thanks simon

LagunaRoadster

I have a KGWorks short shifter and love it. Shifting takes a bit more force to put it in gear but it is one of my favorite mods, I would do it again. I have maybe a 2 inch up and down by 3 inch side to side action throughout all of the gears now, so it's very tight. I liked the KG works because it was a decent price at RSpeed open house, it comes with factory mazda little parts, ie washers and shit, it looks nice, and it's exotic, ie not a run-of-the-mill B&M or something like that.

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MiataRoadster

Last time I checked, B&M doesn't have a kit for Miatas!

I've been curious whether there's any difference in function or feel between the name brand short shifters vs. the eBay knock-offs. Anyone compared first-hand?

BTW, I chose a MazdaTrix SS kit to use with my FC-TII tranny (someday...)

LagunaRoadster

B&M - first name I could think of. "eBay Special" would probably be more along the lines of what I should have been refering to. But I really can't say much on those, as I haven't tried one out.

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Bryan

Not that it would matter much, but I honestly can't understand why you'd really want a shorter shifter. Unlike say, a Civic, the Miata doesn't have a long clumsy linkage to slow things down.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd save the (nearly) $200 for something else.

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boogie van

I tried a fidanza (which are on ebay btw ~$70) in a friends miata, enjoyed it instantly.

Im just waiting for mine to arrive now.

It doesnt lower the shifter any, its raises the fulcrum point so at first glance it looks stock.

We flogged eachothers cars on a back road and I kept missing 3rd gear, so it would take a little getting used to.

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ninety1eun0s

i got me the fidanza one as well and dude loving it...got it for less than $100 off goodwin, they was on sale cuz now its like 100 something i guess,....but yeah feels good, at first i missed third but now its all gravy!

RichyVRLimited

ya could'a picked a better example, the gearchange on my old car (CRX/Civic DelSol) was fantastic, the Roadster only *just* shades it.

Try MK1 golf or Vauxhall Nova now they have a sloppy gearchange

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y8s

does anyone make a shorter THROW shifter that's actually got a LONGER stick?

i like my knob close to my hands you see...

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bratfass

i have the "ebay"-one catched for 60$ include shipping from u.k. to germany and its great, the only thing at these you have to use your small rubber-seal or take a new one if yours broken, the shifter and the housing is machined well, nothin leaks, shifting is after 300miles very soft, a very little stronger, but i must say ihave shorten the upper part about 2" cause with the ss my shiftknob sit a bit higher than with the oemshifter and i like the sunken look of mine

Bryan

Wow...really? The shifting on my 99DX is the only thing I really dislike about it (ok, that and the really tall gearing...great mileage but totally underwhelming acceleration ).

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90_mx

I have an ebay one, bought it for $60, 2 years and 20K miles later with no problems...this ones like mine but with an adjusteble shift height tho.

90_mx

my bad...here`s the link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda...QQcmdZViewItem

Sid

the only real reason I want a short throw is to run a shift extender.

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geffrocks_86

i have to agree, i test drove two miatas with short shifters and i prefer the stock linkage. i thought it took away from the car's smoothness...but on a honda--it's night and day.

90_mx

Thats exactly whyI got one.

Bryan

I could understand that. Just throwing in a measured but opposite opinion

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Road Cone

IMHO the Mazdaspeed unit is the best and well worth the extra $$.

I've used the EBay units as well as the Simpson and KG Works items as well and removed them after a short while.
The MS unit is a true short shifter, not a shortened shaft style shifter, but a short shifter that changes the fulcrum of the lever and actually delivers a very short shift.
The MS unit also by virtue of it's fulcrum change delivers a raised shaft that places the shift knob closer to the steering wheel.
It's a very tight, notchy feel that takes about 5 minutes to get used to, but once you get used to to the change a stock shifter feels like rubbery in comparison.

MS FTW!

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y8s

but the "easy" way the short shifters are designed would move the knob down AND shorten the throw... the MS version must have a longer top shaft too.

I liked my E30's BMP short shifter. It had a threaded ball pivot so you could change the effort/throw to whatever you wanted. The trade-off was that the knob was lower for shorter throws as I said above.

I've been pondering making a female-male coupler to spin onto the top of my knob (or future short shift kit) to move it up. damn voodoo knob sits too low.

Matt

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Hi Im Simon

i was really interested in the mazdaspeed shortshifter too, but its like 300-400 dollars. that is really steep. know of any site with it cheaper? because of it being so expensive, im acutally leaning more towards the fidanza one after reading about it in this thread.

simon

bratfass

sorry if i am wrong, but the ss i have from ebay has another fulcrum-distance of the lower little ball to the upper bigball, too. the distance lower>upper ball is greater than at the oem-shifter, that means (with the same shaft-longitude as the oem) the shift-lever from one in another gear is shorter with the ss

the first time i mounted my ss, my knob sits higher as with the oem-s (thats logically though the fulcrum is longer), i had shortened the upper shaft, now my knob has the sunken look, nice short shifting and soft shifting, too

if the fulcrum is the same as the oem and only the shaft is longer, than i would understand your opinion, but i measured the oem and my ss: the shaft was even long as the shaft of the oem, only the fulcrum (distance lower littleball > upper bigball) was longer than that from the oem

i hope you could understand what i mean (my english isn´t the best)

Hi Im Simon

hmm... can someone tell me how tall the fidanza short shifter is compared to stocK?
a pic would be nice if you have one, i can only find generic pictures online of it

thanks
simon

boogie van

The Fidanza is the same height as stock. It raises the fulcrum point. I dont have pics, Ive tried it in a friends car.

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Sid

I drilled out a spare BM shift knob and mount it upside down, shorten's the throw significantly but the effort is more and less precise because of it. I'll take a pic and show it. its not that impressive but works and it cost free dollars.

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Hi Im Simon

anyone try the OBX short shifter by any chance?
i was looking at it and i liked the fact that it raised the shifter, that was exactly what i was looking for. but OBX seems kind of like a cheap brand to me though, maybe i'm wrong.

anyone have one?

simon

spike

I have the Steeda short throw shifter and I love it,it may be really expensive but it is really well made and it also comes with factory bushings and inner shift boot.

The best thing about this shifter is that you can adjust the height of the shift lever(I have mine on the lowest setting).

LagunaRoadster

the KG works one is also fulcrum changing, as apposed to just a shortened shaft.

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boogie van

here is a pic of the fidanza installed. no shift boot ftw.

http://clubroadster.net/forum/garage...&image_id=1912


as stated before, its a raised fulcrum design, but shortened shaft so it sits the same height as stock. With a heavy shift knob, it feels about as "notchy" as the stock shifter with the stock shift knob.

I too would like to try out one of those shift extenders and see what all the fuss is about. You would think ebay would be flooded with such a simple mod, anyone with a source want to set up some sort of group buy?

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waiting for my next miata.....

y8s

shift extender? you mean to lengthen the top shaft?

why not weld a nut onto a bolt and make your own

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bratfass

or take a rod and taper an inside thread at the one and an outside thread on the other side