nacy333

I went down to Carson Toyota/Scion today to pick up the quick shifter. From the look of it and playing around with it uninstalled it seems that the shaft length and throws are about the same as the stock shifter. The base section is made of a strong thick plastic and the Leather TRD shifter ball looks kinda cheezy. Regardless, I still have to wait until I install it before I make any comments on how it feels and how long the throws are.

The instructions are in Japanese but the pictures should help. I plan on installing it tomorrow after work while theres ample daylight out so I can take some good pics. I'll upload some quicky pics later on tonight on the unit so everyone can see what the thing looks like.

As before, Steve Ganz from Carson Toyota/Scion got me the hookups. Very informative in the whole process starting from over 2 weeks ago on when I can expect them in and around what price I they go for (this was before it even had a sku). I've only ordered 2 parts so far but I know this won't be the last. Thanks Steve!

its_ikon

when i installed my trd shifter it didn't feel that short at first. i also have second car that is a manual trans and when i drive that and then go back to my corolla the shifter is a lot shorter. it just might not seem like it at first, but it will be better and smoother.

bBted

did u install it by yourself? i want to get it but i want to find out how hard is it to install

its_ikon

they are really easy to instally. as long as you can tak all the plastic apart you should be fine. there are only about 4 bolts that hold it in and then there are cables that run through it. i also did it with my dad there (he is a toyota tech for over 20 years), so that made it a little easier. if you know your way around car then this will be easy. much easier then installing spings and people usually don't have much trouble with those.

nacy333

I finally got around to installing the shifter. While there didnt seem to be much of a difference visually, it feels completely different now. The throws are considerably shorter, I'd say the difference in distance is at least a good 1/3 to a 1/2 shorter. The shaft is an inch shorter (8.5" vs. 9.5") and bent rearward a little more than the old one, and while it doesnt look like a big difference, you can definitely tell. In neutral positio, grabbing the stick from where it's at, it feels like its in the old postion of where 4th gear was...this is probably better for taller drivers as they won't have as much of a reach, though it still felt fine with me once I got used to it.

It feels quite a bit notchier and stiffer. You can definitely tell when you're in neutral as it has a stronger tension when positioning the stick side to side. There's a good amount of tension as well until the gears are engaged. Although I can't compare it anymore, shifting in reverse requires more effort than from going one gear to the other. I doubt that many people would accidentally engage reverse when not intended, same goes from going from the accidental 3rd to 2nd (when 4th is intended).

Now for the gripes >>
The only installation problem I had was with the boot support ring that holds the boot cover on the top part of the shaft to be flush with the shifter ball; the shaft will not fit through the support ring because its too thick (yes, I tried to make that sound less sexually oriented..heh). I had to remove the boot support ring and use part of a ring washer clip thingy to hold it in place and screw on the ball shifter with the boot cover material between the ring and the ball shifter....after driving home from my friends place, the boot material came out...I'll find another way to secure it on there later.

The ball shifter - its a really cheezy looking leather wrapped TRD shifter. It has the Logo on it with a super cheezy picture of of carbon fiber. Its not too difficult to notice that its not carbon fiber. The leather seems also feel plain wrong. They stick out a bit and the leather is hard enough to the point where it feels irritating enough to give me second thoughts about putting the stock rubber shifter on...or at least until I can find an after market shifter. (Sorry,I didnt take close up pictures of the ball shifter, but I'll put them up tomorrow).

Here's a comparison of the 2 with the TRD shifter behind the stock unit (it has the black upper portion on the shaft). They look identical to each other with the only exception being that the TRD unit is shorter and has a sharper bend.


Here's the length of the stock unit (the midget assistant in thebackground is my buddies son).


Here's the length of the TRD unit.


I've put up more pictures (a few install pictures) at:
http://nacy.net/scion/default.asp?cd=TRDShifter%5C

If anyone has any questions let me know. Otherwise, I'm gonna try to make it to the next So Cal Scion meet (provided its not on a Sunday) so that you guys can get a feel for it.

JDMxB

Damn...and I thought we'd at least get a cool looking TRD Shift ****.

Looks like a mod i'm skipping for now...not like the xB is gonna see any "spirited" driving for awhile anyway.

Thanks for the writeup nacy...informative and helpful as usual.

Mr_scion

have u had the problem with shifting from 1 to 2 is it still hard? or did the new shifter fix that problem?
:?:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=662

nacy333

I never had the problem with my old shifter so I don't know if that helps matters. Still, I love the Quick Shifter, Genesis has drivin it for a bit and commented on the better feel. Just as well, other people from this board have sat in there and played around with it...everyone comments that it feels alot better.

Mr_scion

8) thanks

TylorWeaver

Does anyone have a picture of the Quick Shifter installed with Shift **** along with before and after pics installed with shift ****?

I would really like to see the pics...

Thanks...

-TW

showpaojoe

The quickshifter is incredible. I drove mine for 3 weeks and just put it in yesterday and I drive 10 times smoother. There is still a problem with going into second when you you push the car hard but for slow traveling out of a stop sign, its better than stock. The other gears are awesome though, short distance and smooth as all hell.

JDMxB

Anyone have a FAQ on this bad boy install?

I only got the JDM instructions--and I don't wanna fudge it all up...

Thanks fellas.

Guest

I was talking to bBted and both of us might cut off the 1inch ourselves. I have a die grinder and a tap & die set. So we will let you guys know if it works!

McG_XB

Is the 1" length difference the only thing that is different between the TRD short throw shifter and the standard one? I don't know much about the TRD shifter, but I just assume that the throw mechanism at the bottom of the shifter might also contain design elements that shorten the distance between gear shifts?

Just curious if anyone knows this to be true or if the TRD shifter is really just a shorter shifter stick.

TJ

How much does the TRD SS Kit cost?

eric_m

i have the instructions in english. i can make copies for people or i can try to scan them and put them up on the internet for everyone to see. it's really not hard to install, but i understand that sometimes it is more assuring to have the directions there to let you know you aren't screwing something up.

i think it's around $150-$200 for the shifter. but it's totally worth it.

JDMxB

Thanks Eric...that would be great.

Guest

I installed my quickshifter on Sunday. The shifter is worth buying! I do have a problem when it comes to shifting 1st to 2nd gear. Does anybody have a the similar problem?

Or is it just me?

Rhobz

The length of the shaft ABOVE the ball joint is not what makes it a short throw shifter. The length of the shaft BELOW the ball joint does it.

It a simple lever. The length of shaft BELOW the joint on the TRD shifter is LONGER than the same portion on the stock shifter. So, simple physics tells us that a shorter movement on the top, produces a longer movement on the bottom...thus requiring a shorter THROW to get into gear.

Simply cutting your stock shift rod will NOT give you a short throw shifter. It will only give you a lower shift ****.

nacy333

As Rohbz stated, this is true. Though I didn't really check for that when I took pictures of it. Another thing about the shifter is that the upper portion of the shaft is angled slightly as can be seen in the pics.

I really do like the shifter, but some people are iffy about it. The best way to tell if you want one is to simply drive one of the cars with the short shifter in it. Anyone that wants to give it a try should just try to make it to one of the meets. I've had about 10 people drive my car. Some fell in love with it and some didn't like it....