Link to product:
http://miataroadster.rpmware.com/miataroadster/miataroadster_short_shifter_kits/g-63251.aspx
The kit:
I sent an email to Bill Wilner at MiataRoadster asking for a shipping quote to Puerto Rico and he got back to me very quickly. A couple of quick exchanges later and he sent me a Paypal invoice. A few days later I received a nice heavy padded envelope in the mail!
This short-shifter kit isn't just the bare bones, it includes OEM replacement parts - two rubber shifter boots and a foam isolator - to replace the ones on your car that are most likely torn. The shifter shaft itself arrived fully assembled, with the OEM inner boot, gasket, nylon pivot piece, and delrin pivot bushing attached.
This short shifter works by adding a riser assembly to the the top of the transmission mounting area and extending the lower length of the lever arm below the pivot ball, thereby decreasing the amount of throw of the top of the lever to move the bottom.
The quality of the shifter arm is perfect; No flaws to be found anywhere.
The installation couldn't have been much easier. Remove your center console, insulation and foam, and upper rubber boot. (Mine had a small tear in it, nothing horrible, so I saved it as a spare.) Remove the three bolts holding the stock shifter on (the lower boot was very torn and turret oil had leaked down the sides of my gearbox!) and pull the shifter lever out. Remove the stock bushing and the wave washer under it. At this point I ran into my only snag - the OEM wave washer, which acts as a spring, had broken into three parts and two of them fell into the turret. I had to fish around in the opaque oil with needle-nose pliers until I got them out.
Install your new wave washer, bushing, then the riser assembly; I popped the delrin pivot bushing off the new shifter and installed it into the transmission first, then popped the shifter back into it. Tighten down your new longer bolts through the riser assembly, install your new outer rubber boot and center console, thread on the shift knob of your choice, and you're done!
All told the installation took me less than 20 minutes.
I have to say I LOVE the way this shifter feels. If it were the same length as the stock shifter, the throw would be extremely short due to the raised pivot. What sets it apart from other short shifters on the market is that it is long and angled towards the driver. It should be noted that this shifter was designed to be installed on either LHD or RHD cars. It falls very readily to hand; This is more of a comfort thing than a time-saving thing, but there are great benefits to having the shifter lever be longer. The shift knob is much closer to where your right hand rests on the wheel, and it allows you to use your whole arm to move the shifter, where the stock shifter is so low that the pivot is more of an uncomfortable angling of the wrist.
Despite the dramatic length increase of the shifter the throws feel about as long, and possibly slightly shorter, than the stock shifter. This is a very good thing. It has an incredibly direct, positive feel with no slop or unpleasant vibration while driving. It really has that bolt-action rifle feel that a shifter should have.
The price of this shifter is higher than others at $250, but the fact that it comes with new OEM replacement parts for your worn and torn items justifies the higher price over other short shifters. This is not just an aftermarket part, it's a true kit that comes with everything you need to refresh your shifter, including the Loctite for the new bolts.
Installed, with Voodoo textured knob:
http://miataroadster.rpmware.com/miataroadster/miataroadster_short_shifter_kits/g-63251.aspx
The kit:
I sent an email to Bill Wilner at MiataRoadster asking for a shipping quote to Puerto Rico and he got back to me very quickly. A couple of quick exchanges later and he sent me a Paypal invoice. A few days later I received a nice heavy padded envelope in the mail!
This short-shifter kit isn't just the bare bones, it includes OEM replacement parts - two rubber shifter boots and a foam isolator - to replace the ones on your car that are most likely torn. The shifter shaft itself arrived fully assembled, with the OEM inner boot, gasket, nylon pivot piece, and delrin pivot bushing attached.
This short shifter works by adding a riser assembly to the the top of the transmission mounting area and extending the lower length of the lever arm below the pivot ball, thereby decreasing the amount of throw of the top of the lever to move the bottom.
The quality of the shifter arm is perfect; No flaws to be found anywhere.
The installation couldn't have been much easier. Remove your center console, insulation and foam, and upper rubber boot. (Mine had a small tear in it, nothing horrible, so I saved it as a spare.) Remove the three bolts holding the stock shifter on (the lower boot was very torn and turret oil had leaked down the sides of my gearbox!) and pull the shifter lever out. Remove the stock bushing and the wave washer under it. At this point I ran into my only snag - the OEM wave washer, which acts as a spring, had broken into three parts and two of them fell into the turret. I had to fish around in the opaque oil with needle-nose pliers until I got them out.
Install your new wave washer, bushing, then the riser assembly; I popped the delrin pivot bushing off the new shifter and installed it into the transmission first, then popped the shifter back into it. Tighten down your new longer bolts through the riser assembly, install your new outer rubber boot and center console, thread on the shift knob of your choice, and you're done!
All told the installation took me less than 20 minutes.
I have to say I LOVE the way this shifter feels. If it were the same length as the stock shifter, the throw would be extremely short due to the raised pivot. What sets it apart from other short shifters on the market is that it is long and angled towards the driver. It should be noted that this shifter was designed to be installed on either LHD or RHD cars. It falls very readily to hand; This is more of a comfort thing than a time-saving thing, but there are great benefits to having the shifter lever be longer. The shift knob is much closer to where your right hand rests on the wheel, and it allows you to use your whole arm to move the shifter, where the stock shifter is so low that the pivot is more of an uncomfortable angling of the wrist.
Despite the dramatic length increase of the shifter the throws feel about as long, and possibly slightly shorter, than the stock shifter. This is a very good thing. It has an incredibly direct, positive feel with no slop or unpleasant vibration while driving. It really has that bolt-action rifle feel that a shifter should have.
The price of this shifter is higher than others at $250, but the fact that it comes with new OEM replacement parts for your worn and torn items justifies the higher price over other short shifters. This is not just an aftermarket part, it's a true kit that comes with everything you need to refresh your shifter, including the Loctite for the new bolts.
Installed, with Voodoo textured knob: