PixelHarmony

Someone please educate me. So I know a short shifter reduces the throw of the shift. My question is though does the height of the shiftknob lower? If so then how much lower is the shiftknob compared to stock?

tony4311

It's not the knob.......hehe...knob location but where it's connected. The pivot points are moved. If someone has a picture of two together it'll explain it much better.

slo007

A shorter shift can cause transmission problems. Recommend you stay away from them.

PixelHarmony

How can that happen? I think a lot of members here have shortshifters, are they aware of this?

sauceman

And many of them seem to have problems as well.

CJ Majesty

Ive had mine for about 6000 miles. Do you mean in the long run??

CJ Majesty

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12374

bad pics but you can get the genral Idea.

LannyM

Shifting too quickly can cause transmission problems. So obviously a short shifter can facilitate this.

Your transmission has synchros; a synchro's job is to allow the collar on the gear selector shaft and the gear to make contact before the dog teeth make contact. This lets the collar and the gear match their speeds before the dog teeth need to engage. If the collar and the gear are not at roughly the same speed, you will hear a grinding sound as the dog teeth slip a few times before engagement.

Now, this process takes a certain amount of time. If you blast a shift off very quickly, you run this risk that this process won't be completed in time. The shift to second gear typically requires the most spool up, so that's why grinding second is the most common. Also, when the tranny is cold, there's mere drag in the gears; it takes them longer to spool up.

Installing a short shift kit makes it easier to shift quickly, and all it would take is one bad shift to chip a dog tooth on the collar or a gear. But if you keep your shifts within the limits of the transmission, you'd be okay.

I don't beleive that a short shift kit in and of itself would cause any damage though, but I do think that a dealer/manufacturer would try to use its prescence to deny any tranny problems you might have.

I installed a new shift knob a few months ago, and while doing so, I pulled off the nut and spacer at the bottom of the knob. The result is a shift lever that sits lower than stock, and reduces the throw somewhat. Switching to an all metal knob has firmed up the shifts as well (although it gets really cold this time of year). I think the bushings are a great idea too.

Stokeless_TSX

I have had a short shifter in every Honda I have ever owned. And have never had a problem.

kurt_bradley

Me either. I actually think they help. Honda puts in shifters with a little more throw than some others to prevent what was mentioned before (synchro timing). Forcing time in shifting helps, in some small way, in ensuring time for the synchros to do their job.

BTW, I use the comptech short shift adapter with the bushings my friend made.

xizor

sorry, you're just flat out wrong. please name the members who have had problems, because I've never heard of one on here. if someone messes up their transmission its because they suck at shifting that is all.

kurt_bradley

I've never had a problem.

CJ Majesty

Me neither.

Does anybody notice when letting off the clutch once you shift from 1-2 that the car hesitates almost like its afraid your gonna chirp in second. It doesnt happen as much when VSA is off but but it still happens.

The shifter unit is not the what changes. Just the pivot point so if you want the shifter to be shorter you have to modify the "stick" for lack of a better word.

slo007

I don't know any members in here, but know of VW and Toyota owners who had problems. I disagree that people are the only at fault. Transmissions are not flawless, and some do break down. I personally only had a problem with one where a wire on the road got stuck under the car and kept me from shifting over 3rd gear (car was a VW Voiage). The wire was removed the next day and the transmission was fine.

JeffTSX