Short Throw Shifters

[ORazor]

Hi all,

 

Does anyone have experience with short throw shifters on MINIs? I'm not especially pleased with the stock shifter, and I would love to hear your comments. I'm considering the NM engineering option.

 

Bill

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

I would like to hear about them too

[elpollodiablo]

I'm running one of the adjustable ones. . .I *think* it's the alta and I love it.

Install is clean and easy. Probably took an hour on jackstands. Adjustment is easy, just pull the boot, loosen a set screw (or was it two) with an allen wrench, slide it out and tighten it back down.

 

So the deal is, a short shifter changes the disgances between the shift armature and the pivot point. The shorter your throw the stiffer the shifting is. At the tightest setting it's pretty tough but not unmanagable. I keep mine about half between stock and it works great.

 

If you'd like, I I'll bring some allen wrenches to the next meet so you can get a feel of the full range of motion on the shifter.

 

Cheers!

Beau

[GotMINI]

I have a B&M short shifter and I LOVE IT !!!! The throw is much shorter (about 30-40%) and very smooth. It makes your tranny feel very tight when shifting. I got mine online for $45 on e-bay. They can run up to $125. I definitely reccomend. You can keep your original shifter cover and not have to worry about any modifications. It installs directly.

 

Geno

[GotMINI]

I have also heard that some short shifters on the market can have unwanted vibrations that transfer to the shifter. I do not have that with the B&M.

[cmcveay]

I had a Craven Speed shifter and the Craven Speed shift well in my other MINI and loved it. It was also adjustable and it came with a little wrench that was used to tighten/loosen the tension and it just moved up/down to where you wanted it. At the shortest setting, the shifter "throw" was only a couple of inches and at it's tallest setting, it was normal. I kept it around the middle.

 

The Craven Speed won't work with the OEM shift knob so you'll have to look around for a replacement. I have two aftermarket shifters, one of them a custom and the other a group order that's pretty cool. About 5 minutes after I post this, I'll remember where they came from... Doug Whalen... It finally came to me. The custom shift knob is stainless steel and if you ever wanted to have a weapon in the car, it meets the need. It must weigh two pounds! The other is black delrin with MINI wings and the sift pattern. The SS knob is torture in the winter time as it never warms up. The Delrin knob is awesome any time of year and it's what I'm using all of the time lately.

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

I had a Craven Speed shifter and the Craven Speed shift well in my other MINI and loved it. It was also adjustable and it came with a little wrench that was used to tighten/loosen the tension and it just moved up/down to where you wanted it. At the shortest setting, the shifter "throw" was only a couple of inches and at it's tallest setting, it was normal. I kept it around the middle.

 

The Craven Speed won't work with the OEM shift knob so you'll have to look around for a replacement. I have two aftermarket shifters, one of them a custom and the other a group order that's pretty cool. About 5 minutes after I post this, I'll remember where they came from... Doug Whalen... It finally came to me. The custom shift knob is stainless steel and if you ever wanted to have a weapon in the car, it meets the need. It must weigh two pounds! The other is black delrin with MINI wings and the sift pattern. The SS knob is torture in the winter time as it never warms up. The Delrin knob is awesome any time of year and it's what I'm using all of the time lately.

 

 

I know I drove Archie with the short shifter on, but I don't remember what it was like.

[GotMINI]

B&M will fit all OEM shift knobs.