Best 6MT short shifter package?

[coop3422]

Apologies as I'm sure this is asked a lot. However things change and new products come out, so I thought I'd ask.

Christmas is coming, and I'm not the easiest to buy for my wife tells me lol. Since I have a platform I intend to keep for a few years, I figured I'd put a list together for her.

Part of that is getting the shifting experience as good as it can be. I know it won't be s2k levels, but it could be better. From the reading I've done, I think I've decided on a weighted shift knob from Sport Shifters, I remember reading about a shifter plate that a member here makes but the name escapes me. That plate seems pretty unanimous as a must have if you're going down this road.

That leaves me with the question of which short shifter. Are there pros and cons to each brand, or are they all pretty much the same? Is there anything else I need? I don't think I need bushings or anything like that, as is everything is smooth and tight. I just want to make it a bit better since improved shifting is enjoyed every time you drive the car.

Thanks folks!

[NixonKB]

https://www.jxbperformance.com/produ...ow-shifter-kit

You need this. Don't waste your time on other packages - this is what you want. I bought my ECS shifter before Jay made his, but doing it again I would go with this package 100%. Install them all at the same time.

Also - Calgary represent! Haha

[Envy187]

I remember reading about a shifter plate that a member here makes but the name escapes me.

@jbullin2 is the member you're looking for. He's a pleasant fellow and his products are top tier.

Best of luck with your endeavors!

[wes8398]

I'm gonna say Jay Bullington's (JXB performance) is probably your best bet. He's "one of us" and he knows his stuff. I have the JHM shifter and ECS weighted knob and I'm happy with it; but if Jay's stuff was available back when I was looking, I would have went his route for sure.

[Jay@JXB]

I'm that member you couldn't remember ;) I make the shifter mounting plate, as well as the short shift clamp, which reduces the throw as much as the other short shifters out there for a fraction of the price. It also maintains the height of the OEM shifter, which is a plus IMO. Putting the short shift clamp and shifter mounting plate together makes my Ultimate Short Shift Kit, which is the best bang for the buck. Gets you the crispest shifts possible (maybe as good as your S2K even ;). The only thing is it's not adjustable, but most don't often adjust their throw length anyways. The throw reduction is 30%, which puts it shorter than the JHM, and right around the shortest or 2nd to shortest setting on the ECS/Eurocode units.

Check out the products here:
https://www.jxbperformance.com/produ...tegory=Shifter

Be sure to watch the comparison video on the Ultimate Short Throw Kit page.

As an aside, if you want the best possible setup available, and there are no budget limitations: Weighted Knob + JHM Shifter + JXB Mounting Plate + JHM Linkage is 100% the best you can have. There is zero slop. Literally zero. Might as well be gated. But you're in the $1,000+ price range to get there.

[hellovaras]

I have the shifter mounting plate. The difference is night and day. Would seriously recommend.


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[Kyokio]

+1 for jhm solid linkage.. its pricey but rowing thru the gears is such a pleasure now

[timmyzr1]

I have the shifter mounting plate. The difference is night and day. Would seriously recommend.


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Can you provid more details on this?

[hellovaras]

Can you provid more details on this?

Shifts feel crisp, especially going 1st to 2nd. As you shift through all the gears it feels solid. It's hard to explain other than you will notice the difference from the plastic OEM piece to the JBX piece.

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[ALAN12186]

HAVE THE SHIFTER PLATE AS WELL WHAT A INSANE DIFFERENCE

[timmyzr1]

Shifts feel crisp, especially going 1st to 2nd. As you shift through all the gears it feels solid. It's hard to explain other than you will notice the difference from the plastic OEM piece to the JBX piece.

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You changed the shift plate only?

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[NixonKB]

Can you provid more details on this?

It removes a ton of left/right flex, and is most noticeable in 1-2 shifts. Mine used to get hung up slightly on the reverse track due to flexing in the stock plastic plate... with the JXB plate, there is NO flex and no way you can get hung up on reverse track.

My ECS short shifter removed a bunch of slop, but the JXB plate removed the same if not more. Really good investment in my opinion...

[hellovaras]

You changed the shift plate only?

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I already had a JHM short shifter installed. Then installed the plate

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[timmyzr1]

I already had a JHM short shifter installed. Then installed the plate

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Ok i thought it was for stock shifter

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[Jay@JXB]

I'm gonna say Jay Bullington's (JXB performance) is probably your best bet. He's "one of us" and he knows his stuff. I have the JHM shifter and ECS weighted knob and I'm happy with it; but if Jay's stuff was available back when I was looking, I would have went his route for sure.

The shifter mounting plate works with your setup how you have it now. I basically had what you had before designing the plate. It’s night and day difference adding onto the JHM setup ;)


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[wes8398]

The shifter mounting plate works with your setup how you have it now. I basically had what you had before designing the plate. It’s night and day difference adding onto the JHM setup ;)


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One of these days I'll get around to making up my mind and actually placing the order with you. Couple other things I'm mulling over too, but this stuff just isn't on the priority list just yet.

[Jay@JXB]

Ok i thought it was for stock shifter

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The mounting plate works with any shifter :)

The short shift clamp only works with the stock shifter.


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[2by2handsofblue]

I bought the jhm short shifter. But haven't installed it yet. I'm thinking about getting the mounting plate from jxb. But the adjustment that needs to be done, not sure how much of a pain that would be.

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

[Jay@JXB]

I bought the jhm short shifter. But haven't installed it yet. I'm thinking about getting the mounting plate from jxb. But the adjustment that needs to be done, not sure how much of a pain that would be.

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

Check out my install video for the ultimate short throw kit or the mounting plate. They go into detail about how to set the shift linkage perfectly. The plate doesn’t add any complexity to your install; you remove the OEM plate to install the JHM anyways. Just a matter of using a new plate when putting it together.


https://youtu.be/q9PNWBRN2_o


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[NixonKB]

I bought the jhm short shifter. But haven't installed it yet. I'm thinking about getting the mounting plate from jxb. But the adjustment that needs to be done, not sure how much of a pain that would be.

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but i didn't need to change anything on my ECS shifter to install JXB plate. No adjustments needed post-install. In any case, setting the linkage correctly isn't that hard. Just watch Jay's video!

[coop3422]

JXB, yup that's what I was trying to remember haha. Thanks guys, that ultimate shift kit looks to be the ticket.

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[2by2handsofblue]

Maybe I'm just lucky, but i didn't need to change anything on my ECS shifter to install JXB plate. No adjustments needed post-install. In any case, setting the linkage correctly isn't that hard. Just watch Jay's video!

I guess u are lol.

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

[2by2handsofblue]

I'll have to think about it. The plate is a bit pricey. But I hear good things about it

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

[Jake@JHM]

Our shifter has a 35% and a 20% reduction setting you can set it to. We ship it in the 35% setting. Our Solid Linkage/Cross Rod combo ties it all together nicely.


Shifter: https://jhmotorsports.com/jhm-solid-...5-2008-on.html
Linkage: https://jhmotorsports.com/jhm-solid-...5-2008-on.html

I personally haven't tried Jay's plate, but I am sure everything combined together is super crisp

[Jay@JXB]

Our shifter can has a 35% and a 20% reduction setting you can set it to. We ship it in the 35% setting. Our Solid Linkage/Cross Rod combo ties it all together nicely.


Shifter: https://jhmotorsports.com/jhm-solid-...5-2008-on.html
Linkage: https://jhmotorsports.com/jhm-solid-...5-2008-on.html

I personally haven't tried Jay's plate, but I am sure everything combined together is super crisp

I have a video somewhere of my shifter. One of our customers put one together with the full JHM/JXB suite and it really shows how fantastic the combo is.


https://youtu.be/QH4MWcr5bNE


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[Jake@JHM]

I have a video somewhere of my shifter. One of our customers put one together with the full JHM/JXB suite and it really shows how fantastic the combo is.


https://youtu.be/QH4MWcr5bNE


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Looks like pure mechanical bliss!

[coop3422]

Our shifter has a 35% and a 20% reduction setting you can set it to. We ship it in the 35% setting. Our Solid Linkage/Cross Rod combo ties it all together nicely.


Shifter: https://jhmotorsports.com/jhm-solid-...5-2008-on.html
Linkage: https://jhmotorsports.com/jhm-solid-...5-2008-on.html

I personally haven't tried Jay's plate, but I am sure everything combined together is super crisp

That linkage is a good chunk of change. Double the JXB plate and clamp. Probably a tough question as people likely do it all together, but how would stock to the JXB kit compare to going from the JXB kit and adding the linkage? If 80% of the benefit is gained going stock to JXB, I'd probably skip the linkage. Trying to get an idea since I can't feel before buying.

[Jay@JXB]

I did them incrementally, though in likely a different order than others would. I went JHM shifter --> JHM linkage --> JXB plate. I felt like all were very noticeable jumps in performance. My wife's car is just JXB shifter + plate, and if you watch the comparison video (filmed on her car) you can see how much the improvement is over stock in terms of slop reduction. My car with the trio of JHM/JHM/JXB has zero slop. So that kind of gives you an idea of stock vs JXB shifter/plate vs JXB plate + both JHM products. I personally feel the plate (and specifically the bushings between the shifter and base) are the weakest link in the system, but I only found that AFTER I already had the JHM linkage installed. The linkage replaces some pretty sloppy stuff too, though it's not under as much load as the shifter base bushings are.

So I probably just made your decision worse. If you can, I'd get JXB shifter/plate and the JHM linkage. And if you come into more money down the road, sell my shifter to help offset the purchase of a JHM one to have the perfect setup. Since my shifter is $100 regularly and you get it for $70 in the kit, it should be an easy $50-70 sell on its own.

[cmiguel32]

I started with the JHM short shifter paired with a BFI weighted knob, then added JXB shifter plate. Phenomenal combo. I just added the JHM shift linkage and it's a night and day difference. The shifter now feels damn near gated. Zero play and confident shift clicks, especially when shifting from first to second gear.

[2by2handsofblue]

I started with the JHM short shifter paired with a BFI weighted knob, then added JXB shifter plate. Phenomenal combo. I just added the JHM shift linkage and it's a night and day difference. The shifter now feels damn near gated. Zero play and confident shift clicks, especially when shifting from first to second gear.

I got a jhm ss and just bought the plate. Glad to know it's a good combo

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

[jimrobbington]

Another view for jxb stuff. I have Jay's full skirt shifter package and it's awesome. Best price, simplest solution, well engineered, quality made, easy install.

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[coop3422]

Thanks guys, excellent info in here.

So, who's driven an s2k? Would love to hear how these options compare. No other manual has been close to that gearbox, and I"m not expecting to get the S4 to that level. But close would be awesome.

[Jay@JXB]

Thanks guys, excellent info in here.

So, who's driven an s2k? Would love to hear how these options compare. No other manual has been close to that gearbox, and I"m not expecting to get the S4 to that level. But close would be awesome.

I've autocrossed a few over the years, but honestly wasn't paying too close attention to shifter feel. I will say, with the JHM/JHM/JXB combo in my car, it would be extremely hard to beat.

[onelowboi]

I can attest to the shifter plate. I was purposely trying to get it to lock between 1-2 and I just couldn’t. Just a friendly reminder if you do go Jay’s ultimate kit for the short shifter and plate, you’ll need to keep your stock shifter!

[coop3422]

I can attest to the shifter plate. I was purposely trying to get it to lock between 1-2 and I just couldn’t. Just a friendly reminder if you do go Jay’s ultimate kit for the short shifter and plate, you’ll need to keep your stock shifter!

What are you referring to when you say keep the stock shifter? Do you mean the stock shift knob?

[Jay@JXB]

What are you referring to when you say keep the stock shifter? Do you mean the stock shift knob?

The Short Shift Clamp attaches to the bottom of the OEM shift lever. So you need to have the OEM shift lever still. The knob can be replaced.

The shifter mounting plate is compatible with any shifter, OEM or aftermarket.


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[B7TitaniumA4]

I have a setup waiting to go in, hopefully soon now that I have a daily driver!

JHM solid shifter
JXB solid base plate
Black Forest industries weighted knob.


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[6SpeedS4]

I have a setup waiting to go in, hopefully soon now that I have a daily driver!

JHM solid shifter
JXB solid base plate
Black Forest industries weighted knob.


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This is my exact setup. Big difference over stock, it shortened the throw more than I thought it would.

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[coop3422]

The Short Shift Clamp attaches to the bottom of the OEM shift lever. So you need to have the OEM shift lever still. The knob can be replaced.

The shifter mounting plate is compatible with any shifter, OEM or aftermarket.


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Ah, that makes sense. I wouldn't be trying to use your adapter plus a short shifter, that would be redundant. Super Duper Short Shifter lol.

I think I'll start with the JXB kit. Worst case, I want to go a little further and get an aftermarket short shifter, and I'm out $70. I think this will give me a great starting point, and honestly it'll likely be good enough to leave it at that. The extra $800 USD to get a JHM short shifter and linkage would be much better served spent on a RSB, wheels, exhaust, etc.

Since I'm taking things apart, did any of you upgrade your shift boot? In my old Legacy Spec B I got a blue suede one from Redline Goods and it made such a nice difference in the cabin. Figure I might as well since everything is apart.

[B7TitaniumA4]

I picked up an Alcantera boot to match my seats from eBay IIRC, Good fit, same white stitching.




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