How does everyone that has one like it? I drive about 150 miles a day and dont want to fight with it. any info would be great!

 

i am also interested in one of these

 

One of the better upgrades in my opinion. The throw is shorter although not extremely. The overall height is shorter but not too much. The biggest advantage of it is that angle of the shifter is brought rearward. First, third, and fifth aren't in the storage compartment with the short shifter.

This is first gear with the short shifter. Compare to your OEM.

 

I wonder if it comes back so far that it would be hard to shift with the long Zeta Gen II armrest which might overhang it. How does it feel - is the linkage much tighter, less slop and free play?

 

I've had the TRD shortshifter for about 6-8 months and it didn't seem that much shorter of a throw. I like the shifter and I have had no problems, and the install was easy. It would be nice to compare with someone who has another brand of short shifter to see and feel the difference.

 

twm has a short shifter that seems to have good reviews in the tC community

 

I must reall love you guys. I found some old pics that I took just after I put my shifter in and made a collage of them.

The shifting is a little tighter but that's because the TRD shifter mounts brass bushings whereas the OEM mounts on rubber bushings.

Top-left is 1st and it goes through the gears as you go right.

 

 

Oh, I felt the TWM in a tC at our shop, It was SWEET! i put a TRD Short Shifter in my box, the shift is a little shorter, not too noticeable, but it took alot of the slop and play out of the stick....nowIf I could get the kind of shrt travel from the TWM into my box...then..... Oh, man...Im drooling at the thought.

 

I'm very interested in a S/S kit, but I'm worried about a drop in hight. It's already a wrist exersize to shift from 2/3 and 4/5 with the arm rest. You have to pull out of 2 and 4 and push into 3 and 5. It's like doing light weight, high rep curls in heavy traffic. Just from shifting, my Right arm is like 1.25 the size of my left.

 

Can't say wrt the armrest, since I don't have one, but my experience with the trd shifter has been positive. Slightly shorter throws, and definitely a more positive feel. I kept the stock ****, better heft, and reamed out the stock boot collar just enough to make it fit. The trd "solution" in that regard isn't a solution, at all, so be prepared to do a little extra to get it right...

The whole installlation is about 1" shorter than stock...

Got mine used in perfect condition on ebay- half price....

 

thanks anyway

 

Two things are holding me back from getting one.
1. The fear that in 2nd and 4th, the **** will come back so far that it is under my long Zeta Gen II armrest where I can't reach it.
2. How to make the chrome collar ring work, so I am not left with a shifter boot looking like an open sock. I understand the ring is too small for the TRD rod. How do you "ream" a chrome ring?

 

its plastic so a dremel would work.

 

1. take out the armrest?
2. i just used a drill press to ream my collar ring. took maybe 30 seconds out of the ten minute install for the entire thing.

 

I took a picture of the armrest and OEM shifter, and I exaggerated about it being under the armrest:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...atherRtFrt.jpg
The OEM shifter is already close enough so that with my arm on the armrest, the ball has to be moved back with my downturned wrist, and I was afraid the TRD ball would be even further back and more awkward to move. But it looks manageable, and I have a Dremel to work on the plastic ring, and I would like less slop, so I ordered the shifter today.

 

The TRD Quick Shifter was delivered by UPS Ground only 48 hours after I placed the order online to Sparks Toyota at http://trdsparks.com/, and I had it in the car an hour later. I must be the only person disappointed with this mod, and it's not the shifter's fault. It does what it is said to do: shorten the throw a little. But it does not make the feel of the shifting any better, or reduce the slop or play that seems to be inherent in cable shifts, it has a little problem with the OEM chrome plastic boot ring, and the TRD **** feels terrible.

The chrome ring fits over the TRD thread, but is stopped from going down the rod by a black plastic sheath. I was going to ream the ring with a Dremel, until I saw that it is not a ring but rather a cylinder about an inch long. Reaming it larger would best be done on a drill press, which I had, but I thought of another plan. I cut the plastic sheath off the TRD rod, and this allowed the chrome ring to slide down the rod far enough to expose the threaded tip.

The TRD **** threaded on OK, but I don't like it. It is a little pingpong ball that is swallowed by the hand, letting the fingers dangle on the chrome ring and leather boot, which is not the pleasantest combination of sensations. A poke in the palm, with rough stuff below.

I preferred the heft and smooth feel of the big OEM ****, but could not use it. The chrome ring only goes down just below the threaded tip before it jams on the rod. It would need to pushed down another inch, to allow the threaded rod to reach the threads that are recessed up in the OEM ****. That would require reaming.

I plan to take the consol off again and drill out the chrome ring, so it will slip down enough to allow the OEM **** to screw on. If that does not succeed for any reason, I will probably sell the TRD shifter because the feel is no better, its **** is uncomfortable, and I do not need speed in shifting.

Other notes:
- The TRD shifter is no different with my Zeta Gen II armrest, but the armrest has to be removed to remove the consol.
- My 2006 xB has an audio plug in the console trim plate. I could not detach the plug from the plate, but there is no need to - the plate drops through the consol.

 

Good Review, Too bad you are un happy with it, but it makes me rethink the idea of the TRD s/s kit

 

vintage42, have you thought about doing something similar to mine? Take a look at the pic I posted (3rd post from top). I flipped the boot inside out and sewed the hole smaller so I didn't need the chrome ring. I didn't like the ball shift **** that came with it either so I bought a Momo shift ****. It was pricey and I wouldn't do it again but I like it. The extra weight of the **** makes shifting feel much better.

 

The chrome ring is working for me, after slicing off the black plastic sheath that was decorating the upper half of the shifter rod, so that the ring can slide down and expose the threaded end. Your photos show a gap between the boot and the shifter rod that looks unfinished to me. If I did that, my fingers would be feeling the bare shifter rod and the loose boot. If I can get the ring reamed out to slide down far enought to allow the OEM **** to thread on, I will probably be satisfied enough to keep the TRD shifter.