RP Short Shifter Installed (first impressions)
 

Since The other thread seem to be getting a bit long I thought I start another on driving impressions of the RP shifter.

When I received mine I was very impressed with the quality and feel. Honestly, it looks as much a stock component as the OEM. The install is a breeze and the improvement is remarkable. Napa Valley is surrounded by some wonderful twisties that I routinely run on beautiful days like today. Comparing to previous runs I can feel the improvement. Shifts are more precise and noticably quicker. Fast throws between 2nd, 3rd, and 4rth were accurate and I love the almost electric feel of the transmission tranmitted through the shifter. The only negative I have noticed is a rattle if I lug it in reverse, but that's easily resolved by proper driving :)

To me everything about the 8 is just a notch softer than I like. This is another component that makes the 8 feel more like the car I want it to be.

Great work Richard.

The other thread's only 400 posts....that's not long! We are talking about a Richard Paul product, after all. And yes, I'm still enjoying mine after all this time... :D

Can someone post a pic of this shifter installed? I know I've seen it somewhere (probably that long thread) but this would be a good place for it.

Yes this thread would benefit RP. Its a good place for end users to report their experiences with this new product.

A couple more positive reviews from different people not involved in the project and I'm the next customer!!

Another thing probably worth mentioning. The OEM shifter has a slight bend to make the shifter vertical in neutral. The RP shifter being straight leans very slightly to the left. I think this is another improvement over the OEM shifter. I notice top of the shift knob more and there is ample room between the brake. I'd be curious how the RHD folks perceive this. Here is a picture of it installed for what its worth. It looks very stock but feels quite different.

I suppose I'm the only RHD owner who has one fitted. I can't say I noticed the removal of the kink at the top of the shifter. Having it removed on this shifter certainly isn't a negative from my point of view. The top of the shift knob has been displaced approx 3/8" to the left.

sorry, got on this thread late. Randy, can you tell me how much you got it for? thanks!

If you have the idea that as the starter of the thread encouraging this shifter that I'm somewhat biased toward it, I can assure you I'm not. I spent a good deal of time testing it after fitting, and posted comprehensively on what I perceived as it's only shortcoming.....the slight gear noise.

If this thing was sh#t, I'd tell you.

I didn't get it for nothing, I paid good money for it. If it was no good, I'd have sent it back.

Gomez.

ok few questions..

the picture above which is stock and which is RP's?

What exactly is a short shifter.. i can think of these...
the actual hight of the shifter is shorter...
the distancce to pull in and out of gear is shorter
orrrrrrrrr a more technical thing like shifter helps the flow of change of gears or something idk lol help???

A short shifter has less throw. In this case it takes about an inch off the throw. It is not requirment but as this one evolved it wound up 5mm lower then stock. That's less then 1/4 inch. Yet it is noticable to users and they report it perfect for shifting with their fingers.

The one with the white band is mine.
The fat black one is stock

Humor me...

If i were to hold the original shifter as low as i can, does that make the feel of the throw similar to the short shifter already or is it diff?

thanks

Here's the original thread: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-aftermarket-performance-modifications-23/rp-short-shifter-get-queue-42601/

To save me from reading the whole thing, where (link) do I buy one please?

rx8cited, you have to PM richard Paul.

installed mine last night. easy install, and the shifts are oh so rock solid now. we're talking rifle bolt feel now, no more slop in the shifter. definately a must have for every 8.

only qualm i have is it transmits a tad more tranny noise into the cabin (not a big deal at all), and it comes with that convienient 'reverse stall warning' buzzer :P

(btw, the buzzer is really a rattle from the shifter that you get when you near a stall in reverse.)

Is there a DIY to install the RP short shifter? Or do instructions come with it...?

Look at Gomez posts on the other tread. You can't do better then that.

How much ?

Gomez's instructions are on the middle of this post.

PM Richard for price & info.

Yay, got mine installed.

Installation was a snap. Biggest hurdle were those killer cable fasteners. ARGH.

I must say the shifts are definitely shorter and feels more "engaged", if you will. The shifting and gear engagment are much more firm and sure as compared to the somewhat softer stock setup.

The only qualm I have about it, is that it does trasmit more vibration from the transmission. You can hear a tad louder whine from the gears over stock. Not too much of a big deal. Also, the shifter shakes A LOT more as you're slipping the clutch to engage a gear. However that's usually not a problem unless you're slipping it a lot like say climbing an upgrade.

Anyone know if there is such a device as like sort of screw down, or clamp on dampener we could attach to the shifter? That might help the vibration and hum.

I have two videos that show the stock shifting over the RP shifting. I don't know if you can tell the difference from the vids.. but at least it's something to look at. Where you can see the "shortness" is near the end where I have the shifter in neutral and just move it side to side.

2 quicktime movies, about 7megs each. sorry, that's what my digicam captures at.
Plus with QT, you can play multiple videos at a time. :)

Stock shifter
http://66.206.4.159/old.mov

RP Shifter
http://66.206.4.159/new.mov

RX-Nut,

Those files are great. I ran them simutaneously in separate windows. I think they very accurately demonstrate the difference. Although 5mm is not much you can see the difference from your files. I'm finding reverse much less effort to engage over OEM. How about you?

Yea, there seems to be less travel to the right...

Here are some pics from the vids for those who just love the more visual example (like me)...

The left shots are the OEM shifter.. the right shots are RP's.

Sorry, the order of pics are screwed up.. the board didnt follow the alpha order I guess...

I tried to take the vids as close to the same way as possible. Although its hard discern a big measured difference in throw, look for the angle the shifter is at. You can get a better idea that way..

Here are 4th, 5th, 6th, and left and right..

Great, that shows well. Next time let your girlfreind shift, we'd much rather see her hands. ;)

I wish.. my wife would kill me if I let my girlfriend shift. Hahaha :D

i don't think the shifter vibrates too much...if anything it keeps my hands off of it when im in gear. the oem shifter has a rubber dampener in it to cut down on this a bit, but that accounts for alot of slop.

the most difficult thing in learning the gates...the entire pattern is shifted to the left, and you cant 'ride the wall' on a 5-6 or 6-5 shift any more. once i got it bolted down i tested to make sure it engaged each gear correctly, and i couldn't get it into either 5th or 6th. with my shifting style, the 4-5 shift is just like the 2-3 in that you have to guide it into the gate. if you overshoot it it just hits a wall. it takes getting used to, but once you got it down, it's just great.

OK I have a handle on the shaking in reverse or on a hill. It's clutch chatter.
The clutch is on the verge of slipping or not. The little springs in the hub are winding up and releasing. Just doing it's job. I don't know how to cure it. Just have to learn how to use the clutch differently???
The rubber diaphram around the shaft might be made heavier, but I'm not sure.
I know that we can't make a mold for a new one of those. It would cost alot more then we could recover from a few shifters.

Could a person double one up and glue them together? You could use contact cement to do it. Is it worth the trouble? Might be worth a try if you really have a problem with it. I didn't notice it when I drove the two installs we did here. Might be my style of driving?? :confused:

Rx nut, tell your wife I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause domestic problems or encourage your infedelity. All I really wanted to note was a mans hand is not as attractive to this type audience. ;) Mainly men, since Kari is gone. :( (Foolman/ Icemastr.)

Hahah, it's cool Richard. I was just joking around.

As for the shakes, I understand about not being able to fix it. I'm not sure there is a fix. I guess it's just more noticeable due to the fact the shifter is now a solid piece.. who knows.

I can take vid of the shakes if you want.. Sometimes it just does it while I'm sitting in neutral, but its most replicable when I am slipping the clutch just about to engage the gear. Like I said, it's really only specific moments, but does happen nonetheless. The shakes while in neutral, I think are the normal RX-8 shakes however just magnified.

I'll try to get you some vid to see how spooky it looks hehe :)

i like the shakes! it makes my friends and guinea pig test drivers flip out, and i can laugh at them for not being able to drive :)

it's only happened to me in reverse though, not in any forward gears. all in all, i dont think the shifter vibrates any more than the OEM one. it just doesnt stop when you grab the knob, since there's no isolator to absorb the vibrations.

and about 5th and 6th gear, i retract my previous statement. now that the tranny lube has gotten up in there it finds the gears just as smoothly as the others. all smiles here!

Whatever happened to Kari? :confused:

Icemastr is the bad guy, ask him. :( the jerk ;)

Is this normal with the RP shifter? What is different that makes the "wall" not be there for 5&6?

I'm looking into this. It is the first I heard of it. Maybe other drivers don't use that style of shifting. I have an idea but I'm going to have to experement a little.

I don't experience the "wall" not being there in 5&6. For me the pattern is just tighter "shorter" and that takes some getting used to. But overall shifting is more precise and much improved.

I'm getting different opinions on this from different users. I wonder if the Mazda parts are not the same car to car. I have some people looking at the clearences now. Or It may just be driving style and some people have to adjust to it. Keep the feed back coming, I'm interested.

Hey Gomez, I'm sure there is no difference in right hand drive cars but do you experence any of this flutter? Or is it normal rotary rough idle just not dampened as much without the rubber insert? :confused:

No mate, they're all the same. No problems here. Look back a few posts, you'll see epitrochoid retracted his complaint about the 5th and 6th "wall" and stated he didn't think the shifter shook any more than the old one. The shaking shifter is an idle problem or clutch technique issue, I'd say.

The isolator is so stiff it'd transmit any vibration anyway. It's only use is to reduce noise and soften up the shift, IMO. The rubber will isolate a bit of heat from the shift knob too. That's not a concern for me at the moment, but it's something I'll have to take into consideration when I fit a ball style knob.

Does anyone know if the Voodoo knobs have a threaded nylon insert?

Thanks,
Gomez.

Well the shifter has no metal to metal contact, but heat still transfers through anything given time. A nylon insert can always be made, just have the knob tapped larger than the 10mm it is. Like 15mm. Still it will transfer sooner or later, probably later. Have a bushing made from hard nylon or an engineering polimer.

I'm still interested in feed back from anyone who thinks he is having a problem, of any kind.

put it this way...5th is where 3rd normally is and 6th is where 4th normally is: at the rearmost point of the circle trim around the shift boot. if you push the shifter all the way to the right and push up, it wont go into 5th or down for 6th. driving really isnt an issuse, but you don't have that stop there to stop the left/right movement of the shifter on a 4-5 or 5-6 shift. perviously 5th was very hard to find as was 6th, and when it when in it was clunky (partially attributed to the fact by the time i found the gear, the revs had dropped below where i naturally hold them) almost like when you have to force it into 1st when the car is rolling slowly. 5th and 6th slide right in now, but theres still no stop there to keep you from going to far

my $.02 is that the metal ring that actually secures the shifter into the transmission has a flat spot on the right hand side. this keeps you from pushing the shifter too far right and out of the 5/6 selector rod. richard perhaps you should look into machining a new ring that moves that flat spot where it needs to be to eliminate the dead area between the 5-6 line and R.

some one else try to push the shifter all the way to right and get it into 5th or 6th, maybe it's just something with my car.

The Voodoo knob I have does not have a nylon insert, it is aluminum through and through.

ok, i've figured it out...i went out for a drive and realized the problem isnt half as bad as i make it sound...it's just a matter of learning the new gates. push the shifter to the right and STRAIGHT up and 5th will engage (since 5th sits on the y axis at the top of the circle). i was pushing to the right slightly as i would with the OEM shifter (where 5th gear resides in the upper right quadrant of the circle), and it just happens that if you do this you'll hit some sort of barrier. same thing for 6th

only thing i wish the shifter came with was a new clip for that damn center console!

Is it possible you are pushing down (into the tranny) slightly when going to 5th? Reverse seems to take much less effort and you my be going into the reverse gate. Mine will act the same if you man handle it. Shifting with a light touch seems very sure.

Okay...thanks, dammit... :(

i thought that might have been the problem, but i backhanded it and applied slight upward pressure, same issue. but its my particular shifting style that causes this, and it would be native to all short shifters, not just the AFE.

I have not done the mod yet. What's the purpose of this clip? Can we not reuse the stock clip?

not if you massacre it when removing the center console! :P

Here are a couple short vids to help out. I have a 6 minute step by step video of the install. If anyone is interested PM me and I'll put it on my server for you.

Clip Removal

Before and After (measured throw)

-Boxcar

Great clips (pun intended) Boxcar.
That trick with the needle nose should make everyone else a little embarased :o
The shift reduction is hard to tell people but your clip is a good find.

I need to put all these things together somehow for an install video.
Between some of the visuals provided by you guys and Gomez instructions it will be the best DIY guide ever. :)

The clip removal tip alone is worth a few min of time. :D

Ummm, you're not talking about the wiring harness clips are you.......or are you?