trinydex
08-20-2006, 01:25 AM
i'm bored so i thot i'd drop some info i've compiled about the subject from various threads.
shifter kits. in my personal opinion and experience. the 15% reduced throw ones are perfect. don't bother getting the one where you have to hack the shifter base to get it to work. i did it... it just increased the shifting effort too much which translates into a slower shift and more likelyhood of grinding harder if you do miss cuz you're hamfisting it so much more. it'd be nice if they made the shift stick longer, but then that would just be like a lambo shifter (which isn't a bad thing).
the bottom line is this. i didn't wanna say this but here it is. i sort of regret getting a short shifter. the shift bushings aren't the problem. i'd replace the rubber shifter base bushings... but prolly not the shift linkage bushings and if i had to, i would use polyurathane.
why? well the rubber bushes actually buy you some time for the synchros to mesh, since there's is some play in the shift you don't notice that the synchros haven't quite hooked up yet and you can keep pulling without doing any grind worthy actions. i've become a better shifter due to the solid bushings... because i can feel every little thing happening. is this great for dailiy driving though? not really. in fact it contantly has me scared that i'm gonna push too hard or something. you can feel every gate, every actuation, and you can feel the grinds before they happen. with rubber bushings... this would never be the case... and you could be a lot more care free.
the fact is... in the early days of evos all these people were trying to get rid of the 1-2 grind notchiness. they tried all the snake oils under the sun. shifter bushings, short shifters, base bushings, tranny fluids, etc etc. the fact is the 1-2 shift is caused by a LOT of things. tranny fluid being one of the main reasons, the stock clutch's slowness to respond being another and lastly the rocking of the motor being the most annoying contributor. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SHIFTERS.
case in point? i drove my friend's car with an act clutch, an ingalls stiffy set to full soft and ALL STOCK BUSHINGS. he even had the stock tranny fluid. the shifting was amazing (at least much more so than my all solid setup with proper fluids).
so save up yer pennies and get a good fluid change to bg synchroshift reference the driveline faq for more info. get a nice clutch from someone proven, act or exedy. get the ralliart motor mounts. get them all installed when you wear out your clutch. (that minimizes the labor costs)
clutch lines
i think the biggest benefit is that while you're doing the install you can remove the clutch restrictor in the clutch master cylinder. precise pedal movement to engagement, i used to have trouble driving my car very lean, feathering the clutch was difficult because there was a delay. now i can actually kill my car for a moment and as soon as i put the clutch down 1cm it saves it, it's THAT much more precise!
a convo with mike w
a question, do you guys know why the stock clutch releases so slowly and engages so funny even with braided clutch line and the restrictor removed? is there something lazy about the pressure plate? i suspect the no namer has this problem very well sorted.
I'm not sure exactly what you are experiencing, bring it by the shop sometime and we can feel it out. I wouldnt charactize them all like that, especially after the mods you mention.
The stock casting on the pressure plate is not held in place very well for it's size. It can dance around a bit either on release or when it releases on a high PM shift. This leads to the many problems encountered by EVO peoples. 95% of perceived EVO clutch problems can be fixed by playing with the adjustment, driving less like a teenager and not being such a sissy.
Mike W
i guess i ask because a lot of people report "faster shifting" with the aftermarket clutches out there. i attributed this to faster disengagement and more postive engagement and possibly flywheel weight. but it could be in their heads as when you install a new clutch it get a clutch pedal adjustment.
i guess i'm just trying to get to the bottom of why my shifting is so slow. i don't want to hamfist the tranny so i don't force it, but sometimes it takes so long for everything to line up and throw in. just wondering if any of it has to do with the clutch.
Jut like every EVO that leaves the factory needs an alignemnt by just about anyone that isnt on crack, just about every EVO can use a little clutch adjustment.
Mike W
shifter kits. in my personal opinion and experience. the 15% reduced throw ones are perfect. don't bother getting the one where you have to hack the shifter base to get it to work. i did it... it just increased the shifting effort too much which translates into a slower shift and more likelyhood of grinding harder if you do miss cuz you're hamfisting it so much more. it'd be nice if they made the shift stick longer, but then that would just be like a lambo shifter (which isn't a bad thing).
the bottom line is this. i didn't wanna say this but here it is. i sort of regret getting a short shifter. the shift bushings aren't the problem. i'd replace the rubber shifter base bushings... but prolly not the shift linkage bushings and if i had to, i would use polyurathane.
why? well the rubber bushes actually buy you some time for the synchros to mesh, since there's is some play in the shift you don't notice that the synchros haven't quite hooked up yet and you can keep pulling without doing any grind worthy actions. i've become a better shifter due to the solid bushings... because i can feel every little thing happening. is this great for dailiy driving though? not really. in fact it contantly has me scared that i'm gonna push too hard or something. you can feel every gate, every actuation, and you can feel the grinds before they happen. with rubber bushings... this would never be the case... and you could be a lot more care free.
the fact is... in the early days of evos all these people were trying to get rid of the 1-2 grind notchiness. they tried all the snake oils under the sun. shifter bushings, short shifters, base bushings, tranny fluids, etc etc. the fact is the 1-2 shift is caused by a LOT of things. tranny fluid being one of the main reasons, the stock clutch's slowness to respond being another and lastly the rocking of the motor being the most annoying contributor. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SHIFTERS.
case in point? i drove my friend's car with an act clutch, an ingalls stiffy set to full soft and ALL STOCK BUSHINGS. he even had the stock tranny fluid. the shifting was amazing (at least much more so than my all solid setup with proper fluids).
so save up yer pennies and get a good fluid change to bg synchroshift reference the driveline faq for more info. get a nice clutch from someone proven, act or exedy. get the ralliart motor mounts. get them all installed when you wear out your clutch. (that minimizes the labor costs)
clutch lines
i think the biggest benefit is that while you're doing the install you can remove the clutch restrictor in the clutch master cylinder. precise pedal movement to engagement, i used to have trouble driving my car very lean, feathering the clutch was difficult because there was a delay. now i can actually kill my car for a moment and as soon as i put the clutch down 1cm it saves it, it's THAT much more precise!
a convo with mike w
a question, do you guys know why the stock clutch releases so slowly and engages so funny even with braided clutch line and the restrictor removed? is there something lazy about the pressure plate? i suspect the no namer has this problem very well sorted.
I'm not sure exactly what you are experiencing, bring it by the shop sometime and we can feel it out. I wouldnt charactize them all like that, especially after the mods you mention.
The stock casting on the pressure plate is not held in place very well for it's size. It can dance around a bit either on release or when it releases on a high PM shift. This leads to the many problems encountered by EVO peoples. 95% of perceived EVO clutch problems can be fixed by playing with the adjustment, driving less like a teenager and not being such a sissy.
Mike W
i guess i ask because a lot of people report "faster shifting" with the aftermarket clutches out there. i attributed this to faster disengagement and more postive engagement and possibly flywheel weight. but it could be in their heads as when you install a new clutch it get a clutch pedal adjustment.
i guess i'm just trying to get to the bottom of why my shifting is so slow. i don't want to hamfist the tranny so i don't force it, but sometimes it takes so long for everything to line up and throw in. just wondering if any of it has to do with the clutch.
Jut like every EVO that leaves the factory needs an alignemnt by just about anyone that isnt on crack, just about every EVO can use a little clutch adjustment.
Mike W