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Thread: Do we have a shifter that brings the shift knob closer to the steering wheel?

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Posts: 1-10 of 76
2009-10-08 18:49:49
#1
Do we have a shifter that brings the shift knob closer to the steering wheel?
Below is a picture of a FLP shifter.


Here are pictures of it installed in a Del Sol.




Here is a link to thier product.
Fastline Performance - Products

Its a shifter that brings the shift knob closer to the steering wheel. Its a Honda product. Does the Nissan community have a shifter like this? If so, where?

10/15/09 - Update: FLP/HeelToe Auto as agreed to make thier shifter for us!
10/21/09 - Update: One of the homeys on the West Coast has come through & is going to try set an appointment with FLP/HeelToe for next week.
10/26/09 - Update: Welp, a forum member got too meet up with Marcus today. This was the email he sent me.

Originally Posted by Marcus
Hey there, just met w/ a guy right now.

He brought an ebay shifter and had a stock shifter in his car. I took measurements of both. I measured the throws of each (yikes you guys NEED a better shifter!) and estimated how much closer to the dash we could move.

I need a bit more help and info from the community.

1- I need a stock shifter to measure against. I can return when R&D is done.
2- Customer had an aftermarket header, cat, etc. I need someone with a stock header and converter, and a stock or ebay shifter, to measure underneath their car and let me know the distance between the bottom of the shifter and the converter. This will require removal of the heat shield above the cat. The final product will require the heat shield be removed or modified, and we need to know how much room there is.

Marcus


And here is some good news

Originally Posted by Marcus
News for the interested parties:
* We will be able to increase shift speeds by moving the shifter closer to the driver for shorter reach.
* We will be able to greatly improve the ergonomics of the stock shifter by adjusting the angle of the lever.
* We will increase the smoothness by counter-weighting the lever.
* We will reduce mis-shifts by moving the knob more within driver peripheral vision.
* Waiting to see what final throw of the system is going to be (using 3-4 shift as a throw measurement).

Marcus

10/28/09 - Update:
Originally Posted by syne'
so i called up Marcus to schedule and apointment today and he told me he didnt have the space to work on the car, so he asked if i could do it at my house. So i did, well i did the best i could... anyways long story short.... i sent him an email with a photo and the measurements i took, i hope it works.
2009-10-08 18:52:17
#2
Not that I've seen. The closest I've seen are those hugely long shift knobs.
2009-10-08 19:09:14
#3
Just make one with the stock shifter. My friend did it in his crx, went a little crazy with it like next to the top of the steering wheel but ya get the point haha
2009-10-08 19:46:15
#4
what would be the reason to do that?
2009-10-08 19:46:25
#5
Originally Posted by BenFenner
Not that I've seen. The closest I've seen are those hugely long shift knobs.


Thats a shame. Im pretty sure with all the hardcore auto-x'rs that we have on this site that there is a market for a product like this.
2009-10-08 19:51:58
#6
easier to shift while racing suppose? what i heard loks dumb to me.
2009-10-08 20:10:29
#7
Originally Posted by LikeTheMovies
easier to shift while racing suppose? what i heard looks dumb to me.


Function > Form
2009-10-08 21:06:44
#8
Originally Posted by morgans432
what would be the reason to do that?

The argument goes that the shift lever should be as close to the steering wheel as possible to reduce the distance your hand has to travel from the steering wheel to the shifter in hopes of maintaining more control of the steering wheel while shifting. The idea is to limit the time you have to spend with your hand off the wheel, and limit the time it takes to perform a shift. People cite WRC cars as a good example of why this positioning is important.

Many RWD sports cars have a high center console with a shift lever close to the wheel that gets the desired results. Notably the recent FWD Honda Civic Si hatchback had a shift lever very close to the steering wheel which is rare in FWD "economy" car.

Almost all other cars with manual transmissions have a large distance between the shift lever and the steering wheel, so aftermarket products have emerged to fill that niché. How they look on said cars is left up to you to decide.
2009-10-08 21:10:28
#9
Can you take steel rod to a machineshop and have it bent and then welded.
2009-10-08 22:51:20
#10
But what of the fact that you have to move the shifter a greater distance to shift in that case? Doesn't that offset the time advantage of not moving as far to reach it? I'd love to see a direct comparison between wheel to shifter to wheel times between the two.
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