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Short Shifter!

RBFIRE
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kasanoff Collaborator

kasanoff

Posted
Posted

I've got a Nismo one in my R33 GTSt, but i wouldn't really say it's a "heaps" shorter throw. It did make it notchier but feels more solid...

The throw was only shortened slightly but I like the way it feels now - still makes you feel you're doing something when slamming into the next gear :) So I'm sorta agreeing with Ash's comment/opinion...

I think the Nismo GTR short shift reduces the throw by a lot more compared to the GTSt model...

Sydneykid Grand Master

Sydneykid

Posted
Posted (edited)

Comparison of a short shifter gear lever and a standard R33GTST gear lever.

1903Shifter_Comparison_Small.jpg

As you can see in the above comparison, all a short shifter really is just a gearstick with the pivot point moved upwards. This means that you get the same movement of the shift linkage (in the gearbox) for a shorter movement of the gear knob. That has 3 effects;

1. The gear knob moves less (back & forward and side to side) for the gear change. This is not a bad thing as your hand moves a shorter distance from the steering wheel, so you spend less time one hand steering.

2. A higher level of force is required on the gear knob (by your hand) as there is less leverage. This higher level of force can manifest itself in more feeling through your hand/fingers for the gear change. Provided you are not a weakling, there is no real down side to this.

3. If you move the gear knob at the same speed, the gear linkage moves faster, hence tries to change gear faster. This can be a problem, because the synchronisers may not be able to move at this faster speed. Hence you can get crunching as the gear tries to engage before the synchroniser has had time to align the meshing. This is an often quoted problem with short shifters, one that is easily overcome by slightly reducing the speed of movement of the gear knob.

The trick with a short shifter is to know what it does and use it to your advantage. Don’t fall for the fallacy that you can change gear faster with a short shifter, because the truth is you can only ever change gear as fast as the gearbox (synchronisers) will allow.

:D cheers :wub:

Edited by Sydneykid
Sydneykid Grand Master

Sydneykid

Posted
Posted
Ive heard these can damage GTR gearboxes due to the mesh being different to GTST boxes? is that right?.....any first hand experience?

100% BS

Internally an R32/33GTR gearbox is the same as an R33GTST gearbox, other than the take off on the output shaft for the transfer case of course.

:D cheers :wub:

RANDY Veteran

RANDY

Posted
Posted
im running a r33 gearbox in my r32. It actually has a std gearshift lever that has been cut and welded.

i cant remember where it had been cut/rewelded, but i dont know if its a shorter shift or not. The gearknob height is shorter though.

If it's been chopped down, then it will seem like a shorter shift. I'd liken that to chopping springs in a car though, bit of a hack job. =-[

If you imagine your gearstick three times as long, the top of it would travel much further... if you reduce it, then you are moving the top a shorter distance, but i'd imagine that it's uncomfortable to have to grab lower down to get it.

And to the above guy with the Nismo shifter... there are two.. one is a "solid shifter", which as you felt, makes shifting feel more direct. It has a 10% shorter throw. Nismo make a "quick shifter" which apparently is 25% less throw.

Thanks, SK, for the background on the mechanics of it!

  • 5 years later...
J'son Proficient

J'son

Posted
Posted

I really would like to find a proper shorter shifting leaver... It becomes a short shifter in that the length is shorter... I dont want to do a hack cut job... and installing a short shifter stick will reduce the throw, but not the length of the damn leaver....

Pal Veteran

Pal

Posted
Posted

Bought one off ebay about 4 years ago, to much noise through it from gearbox, so cut the shifter below the solid section and same place below the rubber mounting on the standard one and tig welded to rubber mounted top half onto the short shifter bottom. The noise disappeared and due to the rubber mount I got a bit of give in the shifter which made it feel great.

Only thing I noticed is after a few years of driving with it, 3rd and 5th gear started to get a bit crunchy if changing to fast.

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