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
Originally Posted by trinydexOriginally Posted by Mike WOriginally Posted by trinydexOriginally Posted by Mike W