Another take on the Steeda Tri-Ax shifter

Yesterday I installed my brand-new Steeda Tri-Ax short-throw shifter on my '15 GT-PP with 4,500 miles.

Here's my take on the installation and my initial impressions after a day driving around.

First: Fuck you, Boomba Racing (I pre-ordered their short-throw shifter back in September; the post office lost it but Boomba didn't insure the package and so they kept my money less the $66 refund from USPS, and then they threatened to sue me if I left a negative review. Fuck them).

Second: Installation may take about 3 hours if you have access to a lift and your arms are normal-sized. I have neither a lift nor normal-sized arms. I'm a powerlifter rather than a bodybuilder but even still my forearms are pretty meaty and this made installation MUCH more difficult -- it took me almost 7 hours doing this in my driveway (I also don't have a creeper, so it took a lot of wriggling about too).

Prior to the installation I removed my console and taped it off so I could take the opportunity to remove the cupholders. I then plasti-dipped the fake chrome on the shifter surround and cupholders with the same graphite metallic I used on my exterior emblems. I'm quite pleased with the result here. I also took reflective heat tape and taped the underside of the console thoroughly to try to reduce heat intrusion through the trans tunnel.

On install day I started off by removing my Blowfish Racing bracket (this will likely be for sale here later). I'm glad I retained the stock pieces, as I ended up using two of the 10mm nuts that were removed with the BR piece.

From there things started getting difficult. Keep in mind, I'm a big guy and I was working on my back in the driveway. I did slide the exhaust couplers off and I removed the driveshaft bolts, but I couldn't disconnect the driveshaft from the flex coupler. That made installation more difficult for sure.

Dropping the trans mount and lowering the transmission was straightforward enough. I also disconnected the trans tailshaft mounting bracket, which gave me an extra inch (isn't that what all guys want?) or so.

The 10mm bolt holding the assembly to the trans was a pain in the butt to remove, but made easier with swiveling/ratcheting gear wrenches. My forearms wouldn't fit in between the trans and the tunnel, though, and so I swore a lot during this process. . .

. . . but not as much as when I had to remove that goddamn 13mm-head shift shaft pin. My neighbors are now, if they weren't before, very well-acquainted with my proclivity towards swearing creatively and loudly. I did, however, refrain from chucking tools down the street. Ultimately I ended up using a cambered pry bar from inside the car through the shift area to pull up the pin.

Assembly of the Steeda unit was pretty straightforward with their included instructions. Installation was straightforward, even though reinstalling those 13mm and 10mm-head bolts was really, really goddamn awful. (At this point I was losing patience as well as light.)

Putting in the console took me several tries because I was very, very fussy on lining up the reverse lockout collar juuuuuust right. When I went to install the shift knob it simply would not install at all with the Steeda-supplied rubber chord; even with the plug compressed, there was no way to engage the threads. I ended up removing about 3mm from the chord, and then the knob went on just fine.

After driving it for a few miles:

I am EXTREMELY impressed with the quality and engineering of this unit. My piece was shipped in the wrong box (marked S197 SHIFTER), which gave me a moment of panic on Thursday, but it was indeed the correct bit of kit. There were a couple chatter marks and scuffs on the assembly anodizing when I unwrapped it, but really, that's minor: This isn't exactly in a place to be seen. Fitment is top-notch, and this shows very much that the Steeda guys did their homework.

NVH intrusion is substantially higher; I get more exhaust noise coming in through the trans tunnel. Since it's pretty trivial to take off the console I'll likely do this next weekend and add some more Dyna-Mat to surround the entirety of the shifter body. That said, even though NVH is higher (more exhaust noise, some trans noise) this really isn't unbearable (and in fact if I'm honest, it's a tiny bit pleasant -- at least until nuance becomes nuisance). This makes my Mustang at least 40% more racecar.

Recently I swapped trans fluid to Royal Purple, and that was a good move. It smoothed out shifting quite a bit. Combined with the Steeda shifter, there's simply nothing more to be done to the trans. Shift feel is precise and direct. It reminds me of nothing so much as the bolt action from, say, a SMLE wherein the proper means of firing is to keep the middle finger on the trigger and the thumb and forefinger operate the bolt.

Shifting is just right. freaking. there. This is 100% of the 30% claimed throw reduction. In fact, the throws are so short when I first played with the shifter after I'd installed it that I was wondering if I was engaging each gear; they're quite close! Shift effort is just right with the soft springs, and I absolutely wouldn't want the stiffer springs. Reverse takes a bit more oomph to engage, but that's not a big deal.

This is really transformative in how I drive the car. I liked the shifter with the Blowfish Racing bracket, but this goes not one but several steps beyond that. Yes, it's quite a bit more expensive. Yes, installation is MUCH more involved (though to be fair, I had a smaller friend with skinnier arms who helped during the BR installation so maybe I'm a bit colorblind here); I saw some people were quoted about $100 from a shop to install the Steeda parts, and I'd have gladly paid that.

Ultimately I'm very pleased so far with this product. The Steeda customer service is excellent (*cough cough*) and I'll be doing more business with them in the future. The Tri-Ax shifter? Totally, 100% worth it. As of now, I have precisely zero regrets. I now really love how the MT-82 shifts. If you've any hesitation I would strongly recommend that you grab some Royal Purple and do the fluid swap and the shifter install at the same time and absolutely find out what this is all about.

Incidentally, I took a couple quick photos today of the console after dipping the chrome pieces.

I'm really quite pleased with this, too.

Interesting that you have more exhaust noise than you did before. Did you reinstall the original insulation?

I did. I reinstalled the factory sound-deadening stuff, but there's still a cavity below that. This weekend I'll pull off the console and run some Dynamat around the perimeter of the shifter and actually make a physical seal between it and the trans tunnel.

I don't think I have an exhaust leak, as the exhaust sounds the same outside the car as it did before and I lined up the sleeves with their detent points and smacked the nuts tight (though I didn't hammer on them) with the impact gun.

I thanked your first post before I even got past the first line, I wish more people were vocal and honest with how they were actually treated instead of just being starstruck when they get their new shiny part.

Epiphany said:

Interesting that you have more exhaust noise than you did before. Did you reinstall the original insulation?

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The blue arrow (shift boot) is reused as per the instructions. The red arrow (body seal) wasn't mentioned, so we didn't reinstall. We both applied the supplied dynamat. I'd say, get another sheet of it, and make a seal under the car as well as the top and that should completely eliminate any extra sound. I left the bottom open but sealed around the shifter in the cabin. It definitely adds a pleasant (IMO) growl when you romp on the gas. David would have to chime in whether it's possible to reuse the body seal.

I'm pretty SURE Id tell Boomba to blow it out their ass AND leave them bad feed back all over the place.. how can they threaten to sue you because THEY fucked up? What a crock of shit with their lack of customer service and not insuring parts that they send out.

Evo_Rob said:

The red arrow (shift boot) is reused as per the instructions. The blue arrow (body seal) wasn't mentioned, so we didn't reinstall.

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You have it the other way around...

The one in red is the body seal; the black portion is part of the stock shifter. All that is removable down there is a thin oblong piece of foam which really won't do anything. Hence the Dynamat.

The one in blue is your shift boot...that is re-used and it states so on the instructions.

rvlyssup said:

You have it the other way around...

The one in red is the body seal; the black portion is part of the stock shifter. All that is removable down there is a thin oblong piece of foam which really won't do anything. Hence the Dynamat.

The one in blue is your shift boot...that is re-used and it states so on the instructions.

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Yeah, that. Its fixed now. I wasn't looking at my art while typing. Just swap colors and that's what you said.

Dynamat absorbs vibration/resonance and does NOT block sound waves, Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV) blocks sound waves passing through. This is science. Try some MLV, which cannot be acquired in small batches but if you go to Home Depot/Lowes and get the black roles of floor underlayment (the expensive one), that is essentially Mass Loaded Vinyl (not the best kind, but it works).

wildcatgoal said:

Dynamat absorbs vibration/resonance and does NOT block sound waves, Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV) blocks sound waves passing through. This is science. Try some MLV, which cannot be acquired in small batches but if you go to Home Depot/Lowes and get the black roles of floor underlayment (the expensive one), that is essentially Mass Loaded Vinyl (not the best kind, but it works).

Click to expand...

Interesting tech on the MLV. How well does it handle heat, considering the exhaust isn't too far away and convection in the shifter area can at times be fairly substantial?

I've never heard of MLV. Interesting. Thanks, @wildcatgoal.

However, Dynamat (or another vibration-damping product) should have acoustic properties. If it is used to seal the air gap around the shifter between the shifter and the trans tunnel, even by the nature of a physical barrier that is denser than air then sound waves shouldn't propagate as readily. I'd think it would at least do something.

The cheapest MLV is about $100 on eBay. That's a pretty expensive proposition, IMHO.

ETA: Reading up on MLV here: http://www.acoustiguard.com/products/soundproofing-walls-ceilings/mass-loaded-vinyl.html

We're looking for something that blocks low- to mid-frequency waves. Therefore, we need something dense but also flexible enough to fit into the cavity between the shifter and the trans tunnel.

The first thing that springs to mind is lead sheet. I can go down to my local metal supply house and purchase lead sheet in small quantities for not a lot of money. This is very dense, and also very pliable. If I then took this lead sheet and sandwiched it between Dynamat, using the Dynamat's adhesive sides to adhere to the lead and the shifter and body, this should create a very dense, flexible barrier that should reject quite a lot of noise. Bonus for the fact that working with lead is easy in that it can be shaped and cut very easily with hand tools (caveat: Wear gloves while handling lead, and don't grind on it without a respirator). Plus the melting point of lead is 621 degrees Fahrenheit, which is more than high enough to withstand environmental or exhaust proximity heat. 1/32" sheet is 2lb. per sq. ft.

Someone tell me why I'm wrong before I go down to IMS and buy a couple square feet of sheet lead!

And more:

http://www.supersoundproofingsales.com/products.asp?dept=28

You can buy a single square foot of fire-rated MLV for $20. However, it is half as dense as lead.

There's also acoustic foam. Maybe that would be an option? Now I'm just having fun.

Dynamat's purpose as a Constrained Layer Dampner (CLD) is not to block sound waves, it is to reduce resonance (which incidentally eliminates some noise, but key word eliminate... it stops the noise from happening, not blocks or absorbs AIRBORNE noise). Any material will block/absorb some sound waves at certain frequencies as a consequence of its particular mass, especially when it is sealing a crack. Hence, MASS loaded vinyl, which used to use lead as the mass and now uses something else (though you can still get the lead stuff, which is the best and also heavy as hell).

Open cell foam will "absorb" (not block, but similar overall effect) sound waves. This is not waterproof (open cells) and is in turn a haven for mold growth, so don't use it in a car, even in dry areas. It's also very expensive. Closed cell foam is basically your cheap hardwood floor underlayment, as an example, through stuff called Ensolite, which is great stuff for car use. It is useful as a DECOUPLER so that two panels do not rattle against each other, but offers almost zero sound reduction.

MLV is not designed to be in close contact with hot surfaces generally - need to check manufacturer for those specs. I doubt the transmission area will get hot enough as I've put MLV all over the floor of vehicles before including along the transmission tunnel, no issues... but I can only speak for my own applications and purposes, not your own. Dynamat (or other CLDs) are often designed to block heat, as well (which they do well) so you'd put down CLD then MLV, generally with a 1/8" or 1/4" layer of CCF (Closed Cell Foam) inbetween.

Visit sounddeadenershowdown.com and see applications at diymobileaudio.com.

@wildcatgoal: Seriously, this is really informative. Thank you.

I think I'm going to have to go with vinyl-sandwiched lead, as I bet that would do well. I can mold the lead to the shape of the cavity, line the bottom with heat-reflective tape (noise damping AND heat rejection!), and seal it to the existing Dynamat on the trans tunnel.

Think this will work?