Die hard Manual guys get in here!

[Norm Peterson]

I guess the A10 isn't your benchmark. 'cause apparently 'jolts of PAWA!' gives the illusion of speed all the kids keep yammering for...

Harsh shifting was never my 'thing', not even as a teen.


Norm

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[Sivi70980]

Harsh shifting was never my 'thing', not even as a teen.


Norm

I was all about that harsh shifting. Fast as possible and make that 4 banger and clutch work hard. I beat the crap out of cars when younger. Jumping and offroading cars and leaving parts behind as I went. I remember laughing so hard when I shifting and looked at my hand to see the shift knob no longer attached. Then casually handing it to the passenger for them to hang on to. Oh to be young again!

 

[NoVaGT]

Well, since we're on the topic.....

What's the best short-throw shift kit for MT82 D4s?

I'd like to sharpen and shorten the throws on my transmission. But I don't want something that creates other issues due to poor engineering or quality.

ETA;

looked at Steeda's stuff. Gotta jack the car up, and un-bolt various things from under the car, up above the drive-shaft. I'm assuming that goes for any manufacturer's short-throw shifter kits.

Damn it. I mean, c'mon man!!! Make that shit replaceable from above by simply removing the center console!!!

 

[shogun32]

I'd like to sharpen and shorten the throws on my transmission.

come drive my Steeda short-throw. I don't know if it's the best since I haven't compared to others.

 

[NoVaGT]

come drive my Steeda short-throw. I don't know if it's the best since I haven't compared to others.

I just looked at them. Which one did you get? Can you share your impressions?

I just don't have the space to jack the car up and futz around with un-bolting everything from right above the drive-shaft.

Living in an apartment sucks.

 

[shogun32]

I just don't have the space to jack the car up and futz around with un-bolting everything from right above the drive-shaft

Jax Automotive.

I'm not one to wax eloquent over short-throw shifters. I left my EB with factory+steeda bushing and put the short-throw+bushing on the GT. I can shift either one just fine and the GT feels 'tighter' (less play) and obviously shorter. Only way to know if it suits your goals is to try it.

 

[NoVaGT]

Jax Automotive.

I'm not one to wax eloquent over short-throw shifters. I left my EB with factory+steeda bushing and put the short-throw+bushing on the GT. I can shift either one just fine and the GT feels 'tighter' (less play) and obviously shorter. Only way to know if it suits your goals is to try it.

Which one did you do? They've got two.

And what do you mean by "bushing"?

 

[shogun32]

Which one did you do? They've got two.

And what do you mean by "bushing"?

sorry, I just got the 'stalk' not the whole assembly.
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-mustang-tri-ax-short-throw-shifter-2015-all-555-7316.html
The bushing is a MUST-DO
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-mustang-shifter-base-bushing-bracket-kit-2015-all-555-7092.html

 

[sk47]

I've spent the last not-quite-50-years consciously trying to get all of my shifting to be as smooth as that of a good automatic. Some days I'm there, some days not so much.

Hello; Got my license in 1963. Back then driving a manual trans was a rite of passage. I have had some crummy manuals and have driven some really nice ones. The manual preference is at best a personal thing anymore as automatics have caught up with manuals in terms of fuel economy.

I guess the few remaining objections for an auto are how they can hunt on grades, how they do not give the control in some rare situations and are generally more expensive to repair. (That last part may not be true anymore. I may be out of touch.)

One of the cars I liked best was a 1972 Porsche 914. The shift linkage in that was poor. I can live with an automatic well enough. Have one in my pickup. I just like to drive a manual in a fun car.

 

[Dfeeds]

I've spent the last not-quite-50-years consciously trying to get all of my shifting to be as smooth as that of a good automatic. Some days I'm there, some days not so much.

My dad taught me stick by using that same mindset. So my goal, to this day (because I'm human and make mistakes), is to be smoother than the automatic. Doesn't matter if I'm shifting at redline or leisurely cruising around. Even if I'm alone, I feel like I failed every time I screw up a shift.


But to the point of the thread, that's part of the fun of it. There's a level of skill expression with a stick that isn't present with an auto. Every day behind the wheel is an opportunity to improve my technique, if I'm not feeling lazy or on autopilot. The acceleration of the a10 is a lot of fun, but I got bored of it just during my test drive.

 

[Fly2High]

My dad taught me stick by using that same mindset. So my goal, to this day (because I'm human and make mistakes), is to be smoother than the automatic. Doesn't matter if I'm shifting at redline or leisurely cruising around. Even if I'm alone, I feel like I failed every time I screw up a shift.


But to the point of the thread, that's part of the fun of it. There's a level of skill expression with a stick that isn't present with an auto. Every day behind the wheel is an opportunity to improve my technique, if I'm not feeling lazy or on autopilot. The acceleration of the a10 is a lot of fun, but I got bored of it just during my test drive.

that is EXACTLY what I like to do too. I go so far as to see traffic or slow and uneven traffic as a further challenge all the while I try to keep the shifting smooth and try to keep those behind me driving smoothly as well.

 

[tom_sprecher]

sorry, I just got the 'stalk' not the whole assembly.
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-mustang-tri-ax-short-throw-shifter-2015-all-555-7316.html

I got one of these a couple of years ago and did not care for it. It was too short for my tastes and for some reason after a couple of hours of hard driving in the mountains the trans did not want to shift until it cooled back down. That problem went away once the OEM shifter was swapped back in.

The bushing is a MUST-DO
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-mustang-shifter-base-bushing-bracket-kit-2015-all-555-7092.html

I did this at the same time and it is still in there. Can't say there is much difference.

In retrospect I did not have any real issues with the OEM trans or shifter and still don't. I just thought I would try something different based on forum members here swearing this or that was so much better. Different is not always better and that includes some people's opinions.

 

[Norm Peterson]

I was all about that harsh shifting. Fast as possible and make that 4 banger and clutch work hard. I beat the crap out of cars when younger. Jumping and offroading cars and leaving parts behind as I went. I remember laughing so hard when I shifting and looked at my hand to see the shift knob no longer attached. Then casually handing it to the passenger for them to hang on to. Oh to be young again!

Young for me meant a "3 on the tree" shift linkage on an 8 year old mid-1950's Chevy with a 1-barrel inline-6 for "power". Long shift throws in a vertical-ish direction and shift linkage that generally looked like the below image with all those flexy bends were very effective at discouraging race-like shifting. Not shown are still more linkage components running to the shift lever proper . . . no wonder floor shift conversions came about.

Young also meant I couldn't risk breaking stuff through abuse.


Norm

 

[Norm Peterson]

Hello; Got my license in 1963. Back then driving a manual trans was a rite of passage. I have had some crummy manuals and have driven some really nice ones. The manual preference is at best a personal thing anymore as automatics have caught up with manuals in terms of fuel economy.

This, in spades.

I guess the few remaining objections for an auto are how they can hunt on grades, how they do not give the control in some rare situations and are generally more expensive to repair. (That last part may not be true anymore. I may be out of touch.)

For me at least, there's a few more. Automatics usually don't make their shifts when I'd make them manually, and being just a little out of step bothers me. I also don't care for downshifts commanded by throttle position; let's keep shift commands separate from throttle commands.

The worst shift action I can recollect was with a Borg-Warner T10, after one of the synchro hubs split itself into three pieces that tended to taper-jam the slider. Which resulted in my wife christening that car with the name 'Cranky', a name that stuck with the car even after I swapped a very nice-shifting Tremec 3550 into it.


Norm

 

[Sivi70980]

Young for me meant a "3 on the tree" shift linkage on an 8 year old mid-1950's Chevy with a 1-barrel inline-6 for "power". Long shift throws in a vertical-ish direction and shift linkage that generally looked like the below image with all those flexy bends were very effective at discouraging race-like shifting. Not shown are still more linkage components running to the shift lever proper . . . no wonder floor shift conversions came about.

Young also meant I couldn't risk breaking stuff through abuse.


Norm

With a driving age putting me in cars around late 90's early 2000's, the few experiences I have of driving cars from the 60's has always given me that nice check. 25 year old me thought I could drive a stick well enough. 69 Camaro's 4 speed took me about 15 minutes to get it moving. I'm sure a "3 on the tree" would take me a bit even now as I've never experienced it.

Took me a couple ungentle transitions back to a bicycle to realize I should treat cars with at least some respect.

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