DIY: Installing a Syncro Saver on an S2
 

So I managed to get my hands on the Syncro Saver and took the plunge in installing it on the S2. The install is a lot more involved due to the design of the S2 transmission, but hopefully this will help anyone who is considering it.

Contents

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1360610620

Syncro Saver
3 Oem Replacement Bolts
3 Panhead Hex Bolts

Required

What you will need to do is run to the hardware store with the enclosed 3 oem replacement bolts. What you need to do is get a set of bolts that is slightly longer. I wish i took measurements but unfortunately I was in a rush as the store was closing :(

Working the Plastic Shift Gate

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1361323044

One of the most intricate parts of this install is modifying the OEM plastic shift gate. What you want to do is basically flatten it down to match the thickness of the metal spacers inside of the bolt holes.

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1360610633

There is one thing you really need to remember though, and that is incorporating the reverse lockout into the trimming. What i did, was laid the syncro saver over the plastic gate and sketched out where I was cutting. Remember to really take your time, and make sure that the gate is nice and level throughout.

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1360611741

Finally Installing

It really came down to a long time of trimming, installing, measuring, trimming, installing, measuring etc. Eventually you will get the plastic gate trimmed just right and it should mate perfectly with the syncro saver. The longer bolts that you should have picked up at the store will make up for the added thickness of the syncro saver.

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1360610641

And lastly, a lot of people complain about putting the rubber boot back on. There some cases where people had to trim the boot, but in my case, i just had to muscle it over the syncro saver and it was good to go

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1360610653

More Information Can Be Found: http://www.normalexception.net/index...8-syncro-saver

did you trim the opening on the rubber boot underneath too? If not it will eventually tear and is only available with the bolt-down cover as a 2-pc assembly, not as a separate part.

edit: could be wrong, maybe the S2 boot is different than the S1. LMK.

I didn't have to trim the lower boot but it seemed to fit fine after i got it around the SynSaver (not sure if noticable in the last pic (4th attachment). Didn't look like it was stressed enough to tear, but i will keep an eye out. Thanks.

Adding a "before" image to the original post so people can get the idea of what the shift gate looks like before the trimming

That's what I thought too. Unfortunately I already tossed the torn boot I just bought the new replacement parts for. Rubber under duress has a much greater affinity to tear when also subjected to high temperature. I'll take some pics of my new both before and after so that you can see if the S2 boot is a similar arrangement.

do u seriously need this?

need what? the product on this page? not sure if anyone needs it but I love the shift feel with it installed. Far more confidence when shifting aggressively. The OEM shift guard doesn't do squat.

if you track it is good to have.
Confession--sometimes when I drive I slow my shifting down just to listen to the "click"

If you are doing any kind of performance driving or competition with an S1 trans you definitely need it

Lol love the click.

haven't gotten back to mine yet so the boot pics are still pending until I get return next week from being ouut of town

on the S1 setup the boot fits over onto the top plate covering it except for a small shifter hole area and then also around the perimeter of the shift tower housing. It's designed to seal off the shifter top opening from any dirt getting into it from underneath the car. In order to have it seal only the perimeter of the shift tower housing you'd either have to stretch the top cover part over and around the shift tower housing which is what will eventually cause it to tear or cut that top cover part out.

I never considered it before, but I suppose you could punch the three holes into the top cover part of the boot such that you could set the top plate in place, put the boot on, and then bolt the Synchro saver plate on and sandwiching the top cover part of the rubber boot between it and the shifter top plate :dunno:

Let me be the first to comment on the excellent hand modeling at work here.

I think that the S2 rubber boot and the S1's are just slightly different:
https://www.rx8club.com/attachments/...421_113843-jpg

vs the S1:
http://www.axialflow.com/images/diy/ss8_di6.jpg

Looks like the S1 "hole" in the middle is somewhat smaller.

Anyway, I will check in a week or so to see if there is any tearing significant wear.

I would still trim it to the perimeter fitment of the shifter tower housing. It may not tear in a week. The issue is that when/if it does tear then the transmission has the possibility of sand/dirt getting into it through the shifter opening. Mine was torn and there was dirt all up on the top of the trans tunnel in that console area. Found all this while swapping out the trans which appears to have a bad bearing. Not sure if this why it failed yet.

I may try punching the holes and sandwiching it on the new one.


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Are you trying to suggest that he has good hand job skills? :eyetwitch

Dang, thanks for the heads up. I will go ahead and trim it up a bit.

my only emphasis is the importance of the boot based on experience, otherwise use your best judgement

I did this last night and it worked better than I had hoped. Squeezed the top plate into the rubber boot, marked the hole pattern onto the boot with a white paint pen, then popped the holes in the rubber boot with a hole punch. Took some finagling to get the holes aligned to the shifter housing and the screws started, not too bad though. Made for a better than OE fit because it has the metal SS plate bolted down on top of it and can't come loose or pop off to allow dirt into the shifter housing. :rock:


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So i realized why i couldn't completely imitate what you did, and that is because of the way that the AF SS is designed for the S2. We had to install like a quarter inch thick spacer between the transmission and the shift tower. Because of that, even without the SyncS the rubber boot didn't exactly seal like OEM. Add the minute complexity of having the SyncS and i had to take a different avenue of approach.

what i did was simply cut the pattern of the shift tunnel out at the center of the boot which i think is similar to what you said in one of the previous posts.

gotcha, thanks for getting my brain into gear and figure out an alternate way to handle it with my S1

Would button head allen bolts help?

in regards to what portion of the installation? The rubber boot fitment? Unfortunately not. Actually no part of this installation is hindered by the type of bolt used, just the length of the oem shift gate bolts (for S2 owners), the plastic gate itself (for s2 owners), and the overall area of the product.

I posted here in my build thread how I dealt with the plastic gate, saver bracket, and boot, to install on my S2 shifter.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...837573941a.jpg
I retained additional plastic gate material by modifying the main bracket.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...dc0dbc3190.jpg
How I trimmed the lower boot before installing the gate and saver.

that synchro saver looks ground out though, what’s up with that?
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Explained in my build thread. I didn't want to repeat everything here and take over this thread.