Short Throw Shifting

[Accord2nrz]

If someone could, please elaborate for the community the racing benefits as well as driveability all around for shortening the throw in the shifter. Also please explain what a short throw shifter is for those that don't know.

[Dzaster]

Well, for us guys who modify Tercel's we don't have much aftermarket support so we are often left borrowing parts from otehr cars. In the case of short shifters, we can use the 93-97 Toyota Corolla Short Throw Shifter seen in abundance on eBay for dirt cheap. I can tell you they do the job, as I have one installed as I type.

In this pic below, the Corolla shifter is on the left and stock shifter on the right.

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/dzaster96799/IMG_1429.jpg

Contrary to what some may think/believe just cutting the top of a shifter does not neccessarily make it short throw--however taking some off the top does help. Its mainly the bottom portion of the shaft, when lengthened, that makes for an official short throw shifter. Its obvious that the Corolla short throw shifter has a considerably longer bottom portion.

However, that Corolla shaft does not have a bend like the stock Tercel one. So as it is, I can't use my cupholders--shift knob gets too close to dash/radio area. That is why I took this Toyota Paseo(?) shifter--with the nice "S" shape bend--and have made some neccessary cuts to make it a short throw shifter. Haven't had it welded up yet.


From this:
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/dzaster96799/Before.jpg


To this:
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/dzaster96799/After.jpg

And now for my theorizing. :D

Theoretically, having the bottom portion of the shaft longer means any motion from the top portion(shifter ball/knob), translates to a much greater range of movement on the bottom. So now instead of having to sweep from 1st gear to 2nd with the shifter ball range of say 8", with the short shifter that range of motion needed from the shift knob from 1st to 2nd is cut down to like 5-6" thus putting you in the next gear much quicker and no more letting off the clutch before you actually get it in gear.

It's 12:35am for me and that is the best I can do. Somebody will prolly come in with the whole "Axis B, in reference to Axis A" bit and that's all good and encouraged, I just had to try.

Bottom line is, the stinkin' thing works champ. My new one should be mo bettah because I will be stuffing gears while my Dr.Pepper sits purdy in the cupholder:p

[Dragtheater]

how many inches did you cut from the top?

and how many inches did you add at the bottom?

[Dzaster]

An inch I think?

[Accord2nrz]

this is the kind of info that needs to be in one centralized location on the web, nice stuff.

[Dzaster]

this is the kind of info that needs to be in one centralized location on the web, nice stuff.
We gonna work on that right here on DIYTuning. You stir up good convo Lin. Keep it coming! ;)

[bluesnowgt]

i bought my car with my shorty in it...i believe he got it for 3SX.com, online store deticated to 3/S's. i have also added solid brass shifter bushings at the tranny end where the cables connect to the shift linkage. the stock bushing are rubber to make shifting a smoother "feeling". but rubber rots in hell (my engine bay) after 15 yrs. . . .so now my shifting feels notchy but precise. actually, i can just about feel every tooth on my double synchros when shifting.

for ur DD i dont recommend it cause it gets tiresome if ur looking for a nice ride with smooth operations. but for track, hell yea shifting takes up precious hundredths of a second which could mean losing the race...



ps...make sure ur tranny wont asplode wen ur racing cause breakin ur fwd diff sux...3 times in a row...

[Turbineguy]

In a nutshell a short throw shifter raises the pivot point of the shift linkage relative to the pivot point of the lever which moves the linkage more for a given movement of the lever. This can make the shifts quicker due to less lever movement required and with the help of good urethane or solid bushings will also make the shifts more positive feeling and tighter. The downside is it may require more effort at the lever to shift simply due to mechanical advantage being reduced by having a shorter lever arm from the top of the shifter to the linkage pivot. YMMV

[bluesnowgt]

Ymmv?

[Turbineguy]

Your Milage May Vary

[Dzaster]

I actually have some brass bushings for my shiift linkages as well. They sell solid bushings for the shifter base as well. However, I instead eliminated the bushings all together and have the shifter base sitting right to the frame of the car. It's lovely!