$30 ebay short shifter?

[groupus]

Alright, so there have been discussions of cheap ebay shifters before, but I have not seen any reviews on this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/V2-POLISHED-...9f460e&vxp=mtr


Unlike other cheap shifters, this is not the ball cup type. I have read some poor review of those, with issues involving the cup not fitting and wearing out. However, this one is just a solid piece with the stock type ball, so I can use the stock ball cup bushing. It does not have a potential failure point that I can see.

Does anyone have any experience with this shifter?



FYI, I am also going to be replacing all of the stock shifter bushings and getting front and rear delrin carrier bushings from garagistic. I'm considering either this or the z3 as a replacement lever for a modest short throw. This is about half the price.

[Delta]

Never used one, but because it's one piece doesn't mean that there isn't a potential fail point. It's still most likely inferior quality which could lead to it cracking or snapping at some point. But if you want to try it, do it!

Personally I would stick with something OE.

[groupus]

Yeah, I recognize that anything could happen. Is snapping a shifter something that I should have to worry about? I only plan on daily driving my 318is, and the possibly the occasional auto-x.

[mitchlikesbikes]

that appears to be pretty long below the ball, if anything i would be concerned about it shortening the throw TOO much and causing notchiness or trans damage. if you look at this e30 wiki with the size comparison it looks like that one has the same length below the ball as the OEM Z3 //M shift lever which is warned to be hazardous to an e30

here's the article:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Z3_short_shifter_conversion

for what it's worth, i got a z4 2.5 lever used on here for like $50 and the throw is really nice. anything shorter would be too much IMO


edit: i just took another look at that ad and realized it's for an e36 as well. if i remember correctly the e36 manual shift lever is the same as a z3 1.9 or close, and therefore is actually already a short shifter for the e30. so an e36 short shifter is basically turned into a short-short shifter on an e30. so like i was saying earlier it might be overkill

[AlexHale]

I have this one, http://m.ebay.com/itm/201002072427?nav=SEARCH

The ball and cup type is all how you treat it, it'll wear out after awhile IF you don't keep it lubed. You can't put it in an forget it, I use sway bar bushing grease and it keeps the shifter feeling smooth, but not loose. It's notchy, but I like a hard shifter. Quality a decent for the price.

[AlexHale]

And it's used in autox, never a problem.

[M-technik-3]

Why not just purchase the oem Z3 unit?

[groupus]

Why not just purchase the oem Z3 unit?

I'm considering the z3 1.9 (maybe 2.8/3.0) or z4 2.5, but all are $68 plus shipping from the dealer. This is $26 ;)



I want to upgrade from the old-truck style stock shifter without sacrificing driveability or comfort. I got to drive my friend's miata and I just loved the quick notchy feel of the shifter.

Again, it will get new bushings all over, and I know I may need to modify the linkage with the more aggressive levers.

[groupus]

I have this one, http://m.ebay.com/itm/201002072427?nav=SEARCH

How is the throw/length on this one? Did you have to bend the linkage? Is the upper section the same or shorter than stock? It looks to be about the same dimensions as what I was looking at, just different mounting. Same seller too.

[mitchlikesbikes]

if you can find a used lever they're a bit cheaper than new and higher quality than an ebay part. i don't hate ebay parts but i think that thing is gonna shorten the throw more than it should

[ForcedFirebird]

I had one in my own car for a while, only because someone let me have it after we were done with his car. It works fine, but that didn't like the throw. I was missing gears at the track consistently.

Short of the DSSR, you really will never really have that same notchy feel in the e30 like you did in the Miata since the Getrag has all external linkage. It will be notchy, but will at times be hard to find the gears. I went back to a stock shifter with delrin bushings.

[GunMetalGrey]

I had one in one of my cars, mine was very heavy and seemed to wear bushings pretty quick. The bushing in the bottom was also poor quality and wore quickly.

[groupus]

Thanks everybody! This is what I was looking for. I'll pass on this one.

[TobyB]

Huh. I use that on the Pro3 car. It works. I don't mind the feel. I did have to
polish the ball, as it was a bit... abrasive. Haven't broken it, and I'm ham- fisted.

I did have to drill out the bushings to get them to fit the shift lever.

And yes, it DOES put more strain on the cup, but that's because it's
trading mechanical advantage for force. That's how these things work.

Perfect? Hell no, but for the tax on the AKG part, I don't think it makes me
any slower than I deserve to be.

t

[M-technik-3]

I'm just spoiled I grab them when I'm in yards. I have a mix and match of them.