Your concept is correct but in this case the picture you used to illustrate your point is slightly misleading. First, the shifters are at an odd angle which creates the illusion that they are the same length below the pivot ball when in fact they are not. Also, the stock shifter still has the plastic cup installed on the lower ball, which makes it appear longer than it actually is because it ends lower than the ball inside it does. I do, however, see how you could make this assumption based on the picture you saw as it does create a strange illusion.

Our tC shifter is actually roughly .5" longer below the pivot ball, the maximum amount of added length possible due to clearance issues with the shift assembly.

I've attached a picture we took quickly this morning that shows a stock tC shifter next to our part from an overhead perspective, as you can see the difference in length below the pivot ball is much more apparant from this angle.



I hope this clears things up a little bit, feel free to contact me directly if anyone ever has any questions about our products.

Thanks,

Karel Wegert
TWM Performance

 

Ah that looks much better. I figured there would be some clearance issues just looking at the setup that Scion choice. I'm used to Hondas as far as installing short shfiters goes... there you only have to worry about hitting the exhaust or the ground. (Civics and Integras anyway).

That clears things up immensely. I'll consider getting one now. Are they steel or aluminum? I've had some of the cheaper aluminum ones break on my Hondas before.

 

cad455

I'm interested in the way the shifter now feels. A dedicated Honda guy here and I love the tC... hate the shift action, its the clunkyest crapfeeling shifter. Does this help the feel of the shifting? Typically cable shifters still dont feel so hot with a SS kit... any insight? Thx

Peace

 

too bad they raised the price

 

I just ordered the short shifter last nite, if there is not an update on this in abt a week I'll post something up abt the feel of the shifter....I to WAS a dedicated Honda guy it both of my civics I had the DC short shifter loved the way it felt, hopefully this one will be close to that or give the same stiff feel..can't wait to get the shifter in...

 

Great! I'm glad it makes more sense now. Our tc shifters are all made from steel. There are some diameters on Toyota shifters that are small enough to make aluminum a dangerous choice in terms of potential for breakage.

As far as the group buy goes, why doesn't someone post an interest thread and we can see how many people we can get togeather. We'd be open to offering a discount if we can get 10-20 people ready to buy.

Thanks!

 

Shortening the existing shifter is the way to go. The feel is just as good. I will never pay $189 for the TWM.

Wait until a competitor comes up with a better product.

Joel

 

B&M shifter is now available. The shifter height is unchanged and they boast a 25% shift throw reduction. Also, they add Alum. bushings to eliminate some of the shifter base flex.

 

Ok... Finally got the TWM short shifter kit installed today and its feels amazing. It feels similar to the stock Honda S2000 and Mazda Miata shifters. I'm really impressed w/ the way this shifter feels, along w/ the TWM shiftknob it makes a big difference as far as sliding into gear.... TWM gets major props....

 

I just installed this today. The instructions posted here are perfect! I have never installed a short shifter before and I got it done without confusion thanks to these instructions. Thanks cad455.

That ring really is a pain in the butt to get off. My dremel ended up carving nicks into the plastic housing around the ring. I still had to stick a screwdriver in to pry out the ring, after the dremel weakened the ring enough.

Also, if you follow the instructions to shorten the shift boot instead of just cutting off the excess, make sure that the extra vinyl doesn't interfere with the shift. I re-folded the extra vinyl back into the middle.

Pros:
* More positive engagement for each shift. You know you're in gear, in any gear.
* Definitely shorter throws.
* Less wobbly action when in gear. It really feels solid.
* It looks nicer when it's shorter. I'm short and have zero problems reaching for a shift.

Cons:
* A bit notchy. But nothing I can't get used to.
* $125 and I don't even get bushings for the base? Oh well, I probably can't tell the difference anyway.

I haven't tried any of the other shoft shifters, so I can't compare.

 

thanks for the great post! installing that shifter was a royal pain, but i think without your instructions, it would have taken me considerably longer.

oh, and for anyone who doesnt have a dremel, i used a hacksaw to cut off that clip. it only took me about 10 minutes and was relatively painless.

 

I'm glad to see you like the shifter!

The sale is still on by the way

Karel
TWM

 

Try this to get the cap off with minimal damage. Pry both sides at the same time.

 

yeah that cap was easy and i used a dremel for the side piece...thanks for the instructions worked like a charm

 

It is funny - of all the pics ive seen of this cap, none of them have the two clamps on it like mine does. I had to pry them off before I could pop the cap off. Not a real big deal, but I wonder why some people dont have them on their car...???

 

Thx for your write up, and today, i hav installed it.
But i dropped a clip connecting with the bottom of the shifter.
i couldn't find it because it goes into a hole....
i wanna know if i can buy it somewhere, or if i hav any ways to take that out.
The hole is right below the shifter, and it doesn't stick with magnet...

 

That picture he posted was of a Mazda Protege Kartboy shifter, versus a stock 1992 Mazda Protege shifter. I also ask that people not steal bandwidth. thanks

 

awesome write up. cant wait to get mine!

 

I installed mine this weekend, I have one VERY IMPORTANT piece of advice to anyone installing a new shifter.

When you get at the full shift assembly (if you're doing it in car), there is a hole right in the middle, slightly towards the backseats direction. The hole is maybe 1.5" across and goes directly into the chassis (a bottomless pit).

When you can see this, take a piece of duct tape and cover it up.

This hole is in a perfect position to catch the center securing clip that fits on the bottom if you happen to drop it while taking it off, or putting it back on.

TAPE UP THE HOLE.

You have no idea how hard it is trying to get a metal clip out of a metal hole in a metal cave using a magnet. I do.

Love the shifter, I got the stage 1 (the really short one), my only issue is that the boot will need some major modifictaion, I've tried the whole fold it over thing, but it still bunches ugly, so I'll be taking it out and manly sowing it into a better fit.

 

limey...
i think the really short one is the stage 2.