d4m0n

You guys remember my infamous "zip tie mod" to tighten up the feel of the UUC short shifter (non-pushdown) for the A4? I really liked my UUC shifter. The only gripe I had was that I thought it had a little too much "slop" in the ball pivot. I tried to correct the slop by replacing my original UUC shifter with a Neuspeed shifter. In the end, I preferred the height and feel of the UUC so much, that I pulled out the Neuspeed, bought ANOTHER UUC (at full retail), and invented the "zip tie" mod to take out the extra play. All was right with the world...

Now, Rob @ UUC has made my "zip tie" mod obsolete. Months ago, when I voiced my concern about the play in the shifter and suggested to Rob that he increase the diameter of the "ball" to address this issue, he said he'd consider it for the next production run and would notify me when the change was made.

Rob, true to his word, e-mailed me this morning to inform me that the change has been made and that the new revised units have been shipping for a little while already. Additionally, he told me that the cartridge bearing pivot upgrade "CBU" (which is has been available for UUC's BMW shifters to make shifting even smoother) is now ALSO available for most recent UUC Audi shifters.

<img src="http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/html_product/bmw_shifters/pics_bmw_shifters/bearing.jpg">
(cartridge bearing upgrade on UUC BMW short shifter)

So for all those considering a short shift kit for your A4, you can forget about stories of slop and zip ties. I know that "feel" and brand preference is completely subjective, but I still believe that the UUC makes the best short shift kit for the A4 - offering shorter, more precise shifts without sacrificing shifter height/ergonomics.

<img src="http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/html_product/audi_shifters/pics_audishifter/a4_shifter_sm.jpg">
(UUC short shifter for A4)

Now, before EVERYONE with a UUC SSK in their A4 contacts Rob to request that he replace their existing UUC shifter with the new one at his expense, realize the fact that this is an "improvement" based on my input; it's NOT a recall. The previous version of UUC's SSK for the A4 worked just fine. Many people were happy enough with the feel, but I'm just a frustrated perfectionist. ;-) Please understand that there was nothing "wrong" with the older shifter; there was only "room for improvement". It would be unfair for everyone to start calling Rob and asking him to give them a free shifter, and I DO NOT want to be responsible for starting a mad rush of people demanding replacements, when replacement isn't warranted. I just posted because I said I'd keep everyone informed if my suggestions were ever implemented.

Happy shifting,
Damon H.

mdwsta4â„¢uroslut

my Stratmosphere shifter is far superior that the UUC ever was. even with the zip tie mod! the shifting is way shorter (an extra 15%), the height is still almost identical as stock/UUC. gears are very defined and precise as well. and for the same cost, i would much rather prefer a greater % in reduction of throw. maybe a thought Rob Levin might have on future A4 short shifter kits is offering greater than 20% reduction, maybe even an adjustable kit like the S4 has available. just my $.02. good write up though, and its nice that the product is being corrected so hopefully there will be less complaints in the future.

strat versus uuc
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22561/strat_vs_uuc.jpg">

stock versus strat
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22561/stockvsstrat.jpg">


happy shifting.

Object

so now you can spend extra money to replace your current shifter with a new one that corrects the slop that it had in the past.....and still keep stock height and stock throws.
I'm just VERY upset that i spent money on the UUC short shifter....It should be labelled the "UUC same as stock" shifter.
just my mean angry .02$ I could be wrong, and i'm sure you all have tons of data to prove to me that while i feel nothing different, i am actually shifting shorter....though it doesn't mean crap if i can't feel it.

djnelsen

for months on the front page of their website there's been a picture of a UUC short shifter pivot ball with vernier calipers on it...with the word "precision" on it....please.....they've been selling sloppy shifters for months while that picture has been up there....now months and many pissed off A4 drivers later they finally fix it.

Precision? Where was the precision all these months? What about everyone out there with sloppy shifters?

It SHOULD be a recall. If I had gotten a UUC shortshifter (I didn't because I was aware of the slop), and there had been slop, I would have been bull****. No way would I have jimmy rigged a ziptie. I would have demended my money back. I'm amazed that no one did this.

(Damon, not a flame against you...I give you a lot of credit for a very clever remedy and sharing it with everyone =)...but you gotta see my point here)

mdwsta4â„¢uroslut

it may not make as big a diference as other companies, but to say that you felt nothing, and it did crap, is an incorrect statement. 20% may not be much, but it does still make a difference, and if you pay attention to the way you shift gears, then you can tell a difference (be it not as much). for the price ($179) i was not angry at my purchase at all, in fact, i was quite happy with it. waiting 3 months for the strat to come out and paying the same price is the clincher. why pay the same price for 15% less reduction? imo UUC would either need to reduce the cost or reduce the % in throw in order to compete w/ the other ssk's that are on the market. again, my $.02

TyWebb

switch back to stock then. i doubt ull be saying the same thing then.

Rich_W

what does the cartidge bearing have to do with the increased ball diameter?

Curious why UUC needs a cartidge bearing when their A4 unit is only a 18.6% reduction in throw? Also, is this a retrofit or a replacement?

I wonder if it will resolve the "squeeky/creaking" noise many have noted the UUC units make?

It certainly seems that UUC is playing catch-up to the Stratmosphere SSs with the 35% reduction, cartidge bearings, 1 cm lower height which is not too low like the Neuspeed unit.

djnelsen

a shortshifter is expensive and a pain to install. It should make a dramatic difference, as my neuspeed did and apparently the strat and B&amp;M do as well.

Based on everything I've heard, very glad I didn't get the UUC.

Object

i'm just very peterbed, i'll stop posting flames...i justed needed to get my opinion out.

Rich_W

Not only does the Stratmosphere shorten the throw 35% compared to UUC's 18.6%.

The Stratmosphere unit raises the pivot mechanism 1cm as well, while reducing the **** height 1cm.