Manual Shifter Improvement

For those of you that have not convinced yourself to buy and aftermarket shifter I ran across a very in expensive improvement.
Energy Suspension has a shifter bushing for $14 that utilizes the stock bracket. http://www.aftermarketsuspensionparts.com/4.1145.

It sharpens up the feel of the shifter and after seeing how flimsy the stock bushing is I can see why it does. Not sure how this bushing will compare to the Steeda bushing and bracket. The Steeda extruded aluminum bracket does not appear to be appreciably stiffer than the stock heavy stamped steel so any difference would likely be attributed to different durometers in the actual bushing material. Certainly won't be as solid as the Boomba bracket but with the shifter being hard attached to the floor I would think the Boomba will have a very noticeable increase in NHV, I didn't notice any difference with the Energy Suspension bushing.

For $14 and 20 minutes of your time it is a worth while mod

Good tip!

Anyone have or could point me to a DIY for doing this? Thanks

DrEverettScott said:

Anyone have or could point me to a DIY for doing this? Thanks

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It's linked from their page...http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/installation_instructions/41145 and 41134 es.pdf

I have the Boomba bracket and there is absolutely no NVH added just must less slop in the shifter.

Interesting that there is no NVH increase from the all metal Boomba bracket. I had considered it but the Energy Suspension offering was a no brainer to see if stiffening the rear mount would make a difference.

I would say that the majority of the improved shifting people report from the aftermarket shifters is from increasing the stiffness of the mounting points of the shifter. When you get right down to it whether it is the factory shifter or an aftermarket unit they are all just a stick with a ball that allows back & forth and side to side motion to control the shift rod that comes out of the tranny.

Ordered! For that price, why not give it a try.

This is definitely a great solution, just like the tranny mount insert. So inexpensive and easy for such an improvement, it's a no brainer. I feel like the Steeda and Boomba mounts aren't really worth it with this available. It does the same thing. If you don't want to go this route, shell out a couple more bucks and go all the way with a BFR bracket instead of spending 70 or 80 bucks on just a mount.

Ordered! I'll just drink two less drinks tonight to make up for the cost. That steeda piece was gonna cost me a whole bar tab...

How difficult is this to install for someone with very little experience working on cars? (first car I've modded)

Brometheus said:

How difficult is this to install for someone with very little experience working on cars? (first car I've modded)

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I replaced the shifter bracket on my 2012 GT with the steeda piece in ~10min after jacking the car up on all four corners. You'll need ratchet extensions and some patience reaching you arm/hand around the exhaust/ds. Similar to the video below but just swap bushings after removing bracket then reinstall.

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dgc333, what percentage of improvement have you noticed over stock? Does it improve the shifting in gears 1-3 (i.e. is it more precise, resulting in less resistance/notchiness)?

VoodooBear said:

This is definitely a great solution, just like the tranny mount insert. So inexpensive and easy for such an improvement, it's a no brainer. I feel like the Steeda and Boomba mounts aren't really worth it with this available. It does the same thing. If you don't want to go this route, shell out a couple more bucks and go all the way with a BFR bracket instead of spending 70 or 80 bucks on just a mount.

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What tranny mount insert are you speaking of? Did you install this new bushing as well? Which improved things most?
Thanks

Star711 said:

dgc333, what percentage of improvement have you noticed over stock? Does it improve the shifting in gears 1-3 (i.e. is it more precise, resulting in less resistance/notchiness)?

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The notchiness is internal to the tranny no shifter is going to get rid of it. The shifting feels more precise and solid, the shifter is not moving around as much when you are shifting. Hard to put a number but it is quite a noticeable improvement.

Bartly said:

What tranny mount insert are you speaking of? Did you install this new bushing as well? Which improved things most?
Thanks

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If you get under your car and grab the end of the tranny it is quite easy to move it around. The rubber mount between the cross member and the transmission has several openings in it that allows you to deflect the rubber with your fingers. The insert is a urethane molded piece that fills these openings to stiffen up the mount. Steeda, Whiteline and a couple other outfits sell them.

When I first got my S550 I would get locked out of 3 or 5 about 1 in 4 shifts when driving aggressively. After installing the Steeda version I have not missed a shift since.

This is another no brainer upgrade since these inserts cost only $30.

Having the shifter remotely mounted is great for isolating the interior from noise and vibration but have the tranny and shifter moving around independently of each other is not good for precise shifting. These bushings and inserts reduce the amount of motion so shifting is improved.

There are a couple of outfits that make brackets. That bolt to the tranny and the shifter mounts to the bracket is no longer attached to the floor of the car. This almost cuts the independent motion to zero and is the best solution. After that you are talking about replacing the factory shifter altogether.

I installed the tranny insert first and it made more improvement than the bracket bushing but that could be reversed if I had installed the bushing first.