Ebay Short Shifter?

[blade34609]

Hi,

I am thinking of buying a short shifter for my car.
I have a 1990 Civic LX four door with the LX tranny.
I've been looking on Ebay and found smoe shifters that are only 15 bucks.
Have any of you tried them?
Also, How easy is it to put on in yourself?
What kinda results will I get?
Thanks,
Owen

[Rufes1]

Should be ok.
You should get abut a 30 - 50% reduction in throw length

[civickiller]

ok those cheap ebay short shifters have been known to break under pressure, like when u shift hard, they have been known to break. dont go cheap, get a steel short shifter those wont break, aluminum is weak

[sparq]

You shouldnt be "slamming" when you shift anyways - you'll be fine.

[Problem_Si]

NO, you won't be fine.

And you should be able to stand on your shifter without fear of it breaking.

I had my old OBX one break right above the pivot point. I had to leave my car in Nj to come home to get my tools and stock shifter, so DEFINETLY dont recommend cheap shifters. That one cost $80 and it still broke. I took the piece of shit back and made them buy me a Skunk2.

Make sure you have one thats all one piece, no welded shit. Most of the "true" short throws are no shorter than stock, the pivot point is just higher. This is what makes for the "short throw".

I would definitely recommend the skunk2, with the knob. Makes for a very smooth, positive shift. Worth every penny of the $150 ($100 for just shifter).

[sparq]

Bro, thats what "short" shifter means...

A shorter throw, not shorter as in how tall it is.

[autoxef]

Go with the cheap one because most of them come out of the same shop. Some one has a horror story to tell about everything. I have had one in my car for years and without any problem and I have solid shifter bushings. I autocross,drag race,and drive the piss out of my car and it works as good as the day it was installed,the best 12 dollars I've ever spent.

[Problem_Si]

In that case, why not just saw off the top 2" of your stock shifter.

You get the same effect, for Zero $$, and its just as shitty.

Skunk2 bought RsR and all their maching equipment when they left the US, so I seriously doubt that they are the same as the "ebay specials"

Point is.....
If you want quality, your gonna pay for it.
If you want crap, your gonna pay later.

And that goes for everything, not just shifters.

[sparq]

And I assume a $500 shift knob would make an ass world of differance over a $5 one right?


Its a shifter - if you dont have some reason for buying top quality parts (aka racing be it auto x or whatever) then ebay parts will do just fine. You just need to shop around and make sure the parts you buy come with some sort of warranty. Nothing wrong with saving money, not everyone needs bling bling parts and $1000 short shifters :finger:

[Problem_Si]

Bro, thats what "short" shifter means...

A shorter throw, not shorter as in how tall it

I understand that, I thought that came through in my post. My point was, I see a lot of crap being passed off as "short throw". When all it is a shorter piece of metal.

You have to be really careful on Ebay, theres a lot of gimmicks and 2nd hand parts for sale.

[Problem_Si]

Listen man...

Dont flame on someone because they have a difference of opinion. If you want to use shitty 2nd hand parts, then great. I've been down that road, and its not worth the headache. Its either "pay now, or pay later" no matter what you're buying.

The Skunk2 Knob IS designed to make a difference. It weighs at least 2 times as much as the shifter itself, and its not on accident. Call up Group A Motorsports and ask them to explain why.

No one ever said ANYTHING about bling bling or spending a fortune just for Name Brand parts. The shifter is an extension of your motor/trans. So why treat it any different than any other performance upgrade?

[sparq]

Listen to your own advice - dont flame someone who realizes that you dont need to spend a fortune to get mods done to your car. Yes they are cheaper, but these companies dont have the same kind of overhead that larger companies like Skunk2 have etc. so in the end their parts cost less.... besides, you really think the Skunk2 shifter costs ANY MORE to make then the generics? Absolutely not - all you are paying for is the name.

Just like how 95% of the LCD screens that are in the audio/video world come out of 1 of 2 factories overseas - then aer imported and branded. Do they cost anything differant to make? Nope... all you are doing is paying for the Alpine / Pioneer / JVC name tag, when they get the screens from the same place Lanzar / Audiobahn / etc. get them from.

[Rufes1]

Originally posted by sparq
.... besides, you really think the Skunk2 shifter costs ANY MORE to make then the generics? Absolutely not - all you are paying for is the name.

I agree with this somewhat. As longas the shifter your are buying is in its brand new packaging, is a one piece shifter. do not go for the ones with joins around the pivot. it will snap. and has decent bearings youy should be sweet. Also get one that is the same length as the original. Shorter then original often means they have just shortened the rod and not the throw - gimic...

If you plan on putting you car on the strip... then sure go for a weighted shifter but honestly... Us non professional drivers probably dont have the skill to take full advantage of professionaly weighted and designed shifters.

Thats just my opinion

[FourthGenHatch]

I've heard people who bought the ebay ones have trouble getting their shift knobs on because the threading on the shifters are really shitty.

The only eBay product I recommend are the CAIs because they are usually just AEM copies so might as well save some bucks, a metal tube is a tube, not much you can half ass about that.

[sastanley]

My aluminum OBX short shifter broke as well. I was lucky, mine broke at the threads so I had a li'l nubby to shift with for a while. Also, mine did it while in traffic (25 mph) on the way home from work during a nice easy shift from 2nd to 3rd.

I bought a B&M Edge steel shifter after that. Although I like the characteristics of the shifter itself, it is a straight stick, so the shifter & knob inside the car tend to be too close to the dash (i.e. not in the middle of the shifter hole.)

So...although an e-bay shifter may be fine, I would try to find a steel one, and also make sure it is one of those crooked ones..they position the shifter closer to you and don't make you reach for your radio to shift. Another place to try for good deals on these types of parts is www.groupbuycenter.com

Although I don't know if you need to spend $150 on a short shifter, I do believe in the philosophy of you get what you pay for.