“The Beauty and The Beast” How To Install Short Throw Shifters

How Much Do You Know About Short Throw Shifters?

 

A short throw shifters modifies the shifter’s geometry to reduce the shift lever’s travel distance. It moves the pivot point higher up the shift rod, which means that the shifter moves less distance, therefore the shorter throw.  So what is it exactly? It’s a driving technique utilizing the gear that is basically used to improve the fuel economy in day to day driving.  This is most common in “torquey” vehicles. Now you’re probably asking yourself,  what is a “torquey” vehicle? A “torquey” vehicle is a better measurement of how quickly your car will accelerate, while horsepower (relative to weight) is a better measure of your car’s top speed.

Basically, if you want a faster accelerating vehicle to add more torque, choose a light/lighter vehicle, a lower center-of-mass (closer to the wheel axle in height), larger diameter wheels & tires, and of course an engine that can output this large amount of torque over a wide range of engine speeds. “Torquey” comes from the origin torque which means the amount of “turning power” you have, much in the same way you turn a wrench.  A great example of a torquey vehicle is a racing car like in Nascar or  a more specific example would be the famous, legal street car prototype, The Sunbeam Tiger

Short Throw Shifters

Short Throw Shifters

For a more simplified explanation, or if you skimmed through the paragraph since you may not be much of a reader, here are YouTube links (Credit: The Audiopedia; WideBand) explaining the meaning and explanation of a short shifter and how does it work. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT6RnSFl6eo

How Short throw shifters works:

fastest street legal car

Short Throw Shifters

(Picture above: The Sunbeam Tiger) 

Since you made it this far, congratulations!

You’re either already a car guru or beginning to be one! Now that you’ve read in-depth on short shifters, the hardest question to yourself maybe is: Do I even know how to install a short shifter? Is it hard for someone whose not the best expert when it comes to cars? The answer is quite simple, as the process. No, it is actually easy to install a short shifter, plenty of newbies have done it.

It just gets easier with experience! Below, are step-by-step manual instructions on how to install a short shifter. If you’re not much of an “I don’t like to read manual instructions” type of person, we also provided an audio link below the manual instructions from YouTube (Credit: ChrisFix) if you’re more of a listener when it comes to instructions. Enjoy your upgraded ride!

Where Can I Purchase A short throw Shifter?

You’re in quite luck today my friend! Not only do we inform the public, but we inform potential and existing customers who are interested in purchasing auto parts we sell; such as a shifter. Below, is the link to a category of shifters! P.S. We offer free shipping! 

 Click Here For Purchase

DIY Installation Of Short throw shifters:

1. Unscrew and remove your shifter knob.

2. Remove all the console parts covering the main shifter unit. For our car, we had to pop out a few plastic molding pieces to clear a path to the shifter. In other vehicles, you might have to remove screws or pry off more than two pieces of molding. Ultimately, the key is to remove the rubber or leather shifter boot and the plastic pieces surrounding it. When prying moldings with a flat-head screwdriver, remember to wrap and cover the tip with a rag or cloth to prevent marring your interior.

3. Now that you have a clear path to the shifter, remove the bolts that attach the shifter to the connecting rod that links it to the transmission. There will usually be one large bolt that runs through a plastic bushing that holds the rod in place. Be sure to keep track of the bolt and bushing, as you will probably need these parts to install the new shifter.

4. With the rod disconnected, the shifter should swing freely, attached merely by a ball socket. Bend the shifter either fully back or forward — this may vary by vehicle — to pop out the stock shifter from its ball-socket seating.

5. There should be some grease on the stock shifter ball after removal. Wipe off this grease carefully with clean hands. Smear it onto the new shifter unit to enhance lubrication.

6. Now here’s the tricky part. Line up the new shifter over the ball socket where it will ultimately sit. Take a flat block of wood and line it up over the shifter. Using a hammer, smack the wood straight down into the shifter repeatedly until you can pop the unit into the socket. Be patient and don’t be scared to smack it hard, as this will take some effort. The reason you want to use a block of wood is to keep from damaging your new shifter’s threads with a hammer.

7. With the shifter seated in the ball socket, reconnect the new shifter to the connecting rod and bolt it in. Two warnings:

Don’t over-tighten the bolt or you will impede the car’s shifting action. You should only need about 10 to 15 ft. lbs. of torque here, so use some thread-lock on the bolt to ensure it doesn’t loosen by itself in time. If you don’t have a torque wrench to measure out the force here, just hand-tighten the nut completely. Then apply about the same amount of pressure as it would take for you to crack a nut or lobster claw.

Make sure you bolt the shifter in the right direction based on where the bend is located. If you don’t, and you install it backwards, your new shifter will likely slam into the center console when you change gears. You might want to put on the shifter knob and just test out the position of your hand as it shifts to ensure it doesn’t run into any obstructions in its new position.

8. After securing the unit, replace your center console pieces and shifter knob. Before driving with the new shifter, row it though all the gears with the engine off to ensure you are receiving proper engagement. You should be able to tell whether each gear can be solidly engaged.

How to install throw Shifter

Disclaimer: Please be careful racing your “race car like” vehicle on public roads for the safety of yourself and others! 

short throw shifter

short throw shifter

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