True Short Throw Shifter Not An Adapter!

[Tuner513]

So I have been looking online for days now it seems and I can't find any true short throw shifters that I've seen talked about on this forum. But just a few minutes ago I stumbled across this video CB7 and Prelude Short Shifter 4th Gen Cheddas Auto: http://youtu.be/frvQO-Hsim8
This thing looks awesome. Has anyone seen this or used this before? I would love to know what you think!

[Tishock]

A few have them. I believe DanCan did a review on the fully adjustable one. And he also talks about it in his MRT. I bought one, but I haven't installed it yet. All I can say is that It looks to be pretty well built.



FYI - They also have a single bend adjustable shifter for our cars.

[steelbluesleepR]

it does the exact same thing as a $3 DIY, it's just shiny. is that worth $150 to you?

[Tishock]

it does the exact same thing as a $3 DIY, it's just shiny. is that worth $150 to you?

Very true.

At least for me, besides it being shiny it does serve a purpose. My driving position changed a bit because of my leg injury. So having the option to position the shifter slightly closer to me is a big plus. I could just modify the stock shifter but it wouldn't be as purty. I also imagine it may help really tall drivers.

steelbluesleepR is referring to this DIY

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthre...ighlight=short

[deevergote]

Adapters could be made to extend or relocate the shift knob, too. I've seen "full shifters" that were little more than stock levers cut in half, material added, and the parts welded back together in an offset manner.

If a shortened throw is the only desired outcome, steelbluesleepR is 100% correct. The throw is shortened by relocating the shift cable mounting points. This can be done with a full custom lever, it can be done by welding new mounting points to the stock lever, it can be done with a name-brand adapter, or it can be done for a week's worth of milk money at Home Depot using readily available brackets (there are two methods described in the DIY section of this site.)


A number of people have used Cheddas shifter. Jordain is a pretty decent guy, and his work seems to be quality. I have heard no complaints. I wouldn't pay that kind of money for something I could do myself for under $5... but to each his own.


Also, keep in mind that many people have experienced issues with short shifters (myself included.) Shortening the throw can cause damage to your transmission, resulting in accelerated synchronizer wear, and seriously notchy shifting. I nearly blew my engine because I couldn't tell the difference between 2nd and 4th while racing... and I picked the wrong one while redlining 3rd. I know half a dozen people that have done the exact same thing (I was the only one lucky enough to do no damage to my engine! The rest bent valves.) I put mine back to stock as soon as I did that. Some people have had no issues with short shifters, and it doesn't seem to be related directly to whether they're using full shifters, purchased adapters, or DIY adapters. I'm not saying you will definitely experience problems... but there are enough reports of it to warrant a legitimate concern.

[Tuner513]

Adapters could be made to extend or relocate the shift knob, too. I've seen "full shifters" that were little more than stock levers cut in half, material added, and the parts welded back together in an offset manner.

If a shortened throw is the only desired outcome, steelbluesleepR is 100% correct. The throw is shortened by relocating the shift cable mounting points. This can be done with a full custom lever, it can be done by welding new mounting points to the stock lever, it can be done with a name-brand adapter, or it can be done for a week's worth of milk money at Home Depot using readily available brackets (there are two methods described in the DIY section of this site.)


A number of people have used Cheddas shifter. Jordain is a pretty decent guy, and his work seems to be quality. I have heard no complaints. I wouldn't pay that kind of money for something I could do myself for under $5... but to each his own.


Also, keep in mind that many people have experienced issues with short shifters (myself included.) Shortening the throw can cause damage to your transmission, resulting in accelerated synchronizer wear, and seriously notchy shifting. I nearly blew my engine because I couldn't tell the difference between 2nd and 4th while racing... and I picked the wrong one while redlining 3rd. I know half a dozen people that have done the exact same thing (I was the only one lucky enough to do no damage to my engine! The rest bent valves.) I put mine back to stock as soon as I did that. Some people have had no issues with short shifters, and it doesn't seem to be related directly to whether they're using full shifters, purchased adapters, or DIY adapters. I'm not saying you will definitely experience problems... but there are enough reports of it to warrant a legitimate concern.

Aside from over revving due to a missed gear, what other damage could it possibly due to the tranny? Or is it that the gears are so close together that you can't tell them apart? I had a Steeda shifter in my 87 fox body and I loved it. I only had to move my wrist to shift. BUT, it was not a cable shifter. It bolts to the transmission. For my cb7, I want about a 50% decrease in throw. For my style of driving the OEM is just too sloppy. I have a shifter out of a 92 prelude and I've been thinking about modifying it by making my own adjustable shifter. I paid $11 for it and if I screw it up, well I'm not out a bunch of money and I can probably weld the factory piece back on. Now I think I'll spend some time in the DIY thread to better educate myself on possible cable locations on this shifter.

[Fleetw00d]

So having the option to position the shifter slightly closer to me is a big plus. I could just modify the stock shifter but it wouldn't be as purty. I also imagine it may help really tall drivers.

Tall drivers like me (5'17") have long arms so the stock throw seems short anyway. Want a long throw? The shift lever in a friend of mine's 65 Ford pickup must have been two feet tall and was so sloppy you couldn't tell what gear you were in. Long lever on the "three on the the tree" shifter in a 62 Chevy pickup I had a long time ago.

[deevergote]

Aside from over revving due to a missed gear, what other damage could it possibly due to the tranny? Or is it that the gears are so close together that you can't tell them apart? I had a Steeda shifter in my 87 fox body and I loved it. I only had to move my wrist to shift. BUT, it was not a cable shifter. It bolts to the transmission. For my cb7, I want about a 50% decrease in throw. For my style of driving the OEM is just too sloppy. I have a shifter out of a 92 prelude and I've been thinking about modifying it by making my own adjustable shifter. I paid $11 for it and if I screw it up, well I'm not out a bunch of money and I can probably weld the factory piece back on. Now I think I'll spend some time in the DIY thread to better educate myself on possible cable locations on this shifter.

Replace your bushings to eliminate the slop... or as much as you can with a cable transmission, anyway.

Over-revving has nothing to do with damaging the transmission. That puts the engine in danger. The damage to the transmission comes in the form of worn synchronizers, which results in your gears grinding. The gears don't actually get closer together. Everything is still in the same place. A short shifter really just puts things in a partial-shift state.
I had a hard time telling gears apart because I had to essentially force the lever into any gear. You know how it normally just slides easily into the next gear? With a short shifter, that didn't happen. Pushing it into 4th from the top of 3rd offered just as much resistance as 2nd.

[h22sparkle]

Forbidden made one which was pretty decent but the wear of shifting and the angle that its at will cause you to have to rebuild your transmission early because of worn synchronizers.

[deevergote]

Forbidden and P-Spec were the big ones years ago. Forbidden was made for Preludes, but required little modification to work in a CB. P-Spec was made for the CB, but the thing was expensive as hell. I think it was over $200, nearly a decade ago. High quality piece, but I don't see the point... Especially since the shifter bucket is hideous when exposed, and no fancy part is visible if it gets covered by a boot.

[Tuner513]

Replace your bushings to eliminate the slop... or as much as you can with a cable transmission, anyway.

Over-revving has nothing to do with damaging the transmission. That puts the engine in danger. The damage to the transmission comes in the form of worn synchronizers, which results in your gears grinding. The gears don't actually get closer together. Everything is still in the same place. A short shifter really just puts things in a partial-shift state.
I had a hard time telling gears apart because I had to essentially force the lever into any gear. You know how it normally just slides easily into the next gear? With a short shifter, that didn't happen. Pushing it into 4th from the top of 3rd offered just as much resistance as 2nd.

Well.... I tried the DIY shifter mod. It was horrible. I could barely move my shifter back and forth and moving side to side was out of the question. Tomorrow if I actually get to play around with my car, I'm gonna install the lude shifter and see how that works. I noticed an adjustment on the cable itself close to the shifter. Can that be adjusted to better facilitate a different shifter? I also now understand how the transmission can be damaged with the movement of the cable. Partially engaged gears will destroy synchronizers and no modification is worth the price of a tranny rebuild so thanks deevergote for the insight and warnings. Is replacing the bushings difficult? I think I want to change them just because. I also need to service my transmission. So I'm looking into what that task consist of. Later on down the road I may try the shifter from cheddas. First I want to see how this lude shifter performs. Hopefully I will have an update on the shifter tomorrow.

[owequitit]

I have a P-Spec and LOVE it.

With a Skunk2 weighted shift knob it is sublime compared to the stock shifter. Nice, short throw, notch and I have put something like 80K miles on the car and have had ZERO synchro issues, which I believe to be a mathematical wive's tail that manifested with other issues.

That said, the tighter pattern does make you more likely to miss a shift...

But like any part, you often get what you pay for, be it cheap crappy coilovers, or well designed parts.

[H311RA151N]

Tall drivers like me (5'17") have long arms so the stock throw seems short anyway. Want a long throw? The shift lever in a friend of mine's 65 Ford pickup must have been two feet tall and was so sloppy you couldn't tell what gear you were in. Long lever on the "three on the the tree" shifter in a 62 Chevy pickup I had a long time ago.

The throws in my 86 f250 are at least 8" apart. The shifter somewhere in the neighborhood of 24" long. The T19 4 speed likes you to take your time between shifts as well. It will still will walk hard on a modified 92/93 EX until about 75 though. Once in 3rd gear it will put 2 or 3 cars on the Accord.

[HappyGilmore]

I have the 3$ mod done to mine. I haven't seen any issues out of mine at all. I just like where it sits vs where the stock one does. I remain happy with my setup!

[Tuner513]

I had to modify the prelude shifter due to the fact that I only had the shifter and not the plate, but its a night and day difference. Not a bad $11 investment. Much more positive shifts and the gears are closer together but not so much that I miss gears.