Cut to fit short shifter?
- Thread starter JerryDaugherty
- Start date
Depending upon where the fulcrum is along the shifter handle, it changes the amount of leverage required, as well as the length of throw. Aftermarket shifters can have the fulcrum up higher to shorten the throw (the higher the fulcrum, the less leverage there is, but also the less distance between throws).
What you want to do will work just fine - many have done it before you. The only reason I mentioned anything (the lack of stops was my main thought) was because you have a nice set-up and I imagine you like to bang gears a little.
What you want to do will work just fine - many have done it before you. The only reason I mentioned anything (the lack of stops was my main thought) was because you have a nice set-up and I imagine you like to bang gears a little.
well the thing is i dont wanna invest in a really nice shifter due to the fact i have a stock t-5... i traded a used block of mine for a centerforce stage 2 a while back and havent had it running yet but should tomarrow beside the point anyhow i dont wanna get a nice shifter if im just prying the clutch i got saves the t-5 from ebing bashed.. I dont think i will ever powershift it in due to total fear of it exploding lol... but wut do you mean by all the stops? like bells and whistles? and is there a way to adjust the folcrum?
If you desire saving the trans, I would go with a organic-disk clutch that would slip (a stock Valeo) - let the clutch be the weak link. I know you have this clutch now - just be careful with it.JerryDaugherty said:
It would not be worth messing with the fulcrum on the stock shifter - you will probably like the feel of the shortened handle alone.
The stops are external stops on [aftermarket shifter perimeters] that keep you from overextending the shift fork when mashing from gear to gear. The stocker does not have this. With stops, one can literally shift as hard as you want and the stops save the trans. Every now and again you will read about someone on here breaking their shift handle. That is from a defect or hitting the stops - the trans would take a poop before the handle ever broke on a stock shifter.
Good luck.
Here, you can see the adjustable mechanical stop on the Steeda Tri-Axe:
Here, you can see difference in length between the fulcrum point of the shift handle and the bottom of the of the shifter ball. The increased length between the fulcrum point and the ball (at the bottom) means that the handle has to travel a much shorter distance at the top of the handle in order for the shifter ball to travel the same or more distance at the bottom. This is the fulcrum that JT is referring to. A higher fulcrum means more travel of the shifter ball.
This is what makes a short throw shifter a short throw. Cutting the handle down just gives you a shorter handle.
Hope this helps.
Here, you can see difference in length between the fulcrum point of the shift handle and the bottom of the of the shifter ball. The increased length between the fulcrum point and the ball (at the bottom) means that the handle has to travel a much shorter distance at the top of the handle in order for the shifter ball to travel the same or more distance at the bottom. This is the fulcrum that JT is referring to. A higher fulcrum means more travel of the shifter ball.
This is what makes a short throw shifter a short throw. Cutting the handle down just gives you a shorter handle.
Hope this helps.
Oh... another advantage of an aftermarket short throw shifter is the spring loading of the handle. That spring loading makes it very difficult to inadvertantly shift into the wrong gear (virtually impossible unless you're TRYING to do it). This is a lesson that I had the misfortune to learn the hard way. 
One would either have to section the handle and reweld it or tap the top of the handle after it is cut. I would actually do the former - I could move the handle to a more ergonomic spot before welding.Kevin R. said:
Daggs (sorry for always abreviating your name Dags - I recently saw you refer to yourself as Daggs. I will try to remember that), I dont really try to convince people what to do anymore. LOL. I just offer my two cents on how something could be done. You have more energy than I, Grasshoppa'.
You are spot-on about the centering springs - I forgot about those. I used to hit no-mans-land on 2-3 shifts with the stock wet noodle.
