Short Throw Shifter - no name vs. "Brand"
 

Aside from the usual suspects (JHM, etc.), what is the verdict on no name short shifters (about 1/2 or less of the price (JHM: $250!)?

I would like to shorten the throw (expect to help me match revs better during shifts), but not able/willing to spent $250 on it.

What are the alternatives?

Had a no name short shifter and it was the biggest piece of **** in the world, had to slam it in reverse and was very difficult to find the right gear, very sloppy. I now have a jhm shifter and it is the bees knees!! Trust me and wait and spend the money, it's worth it!

Like the feel of the stock shifter. I did a "hack" DIY short shift on my ex-'01 S4 in about an hour. Took off the boot. Stuffed the shift well with rags. Cut an inch and a quarter off the stock shift rod. Used a die matched to the knob threads. Re-installed boot and shift knob, and found I loved the stock shifter even more for the cost of a die. There is a mathematical equation to figure out how much the throw is reduced by a shortened lever.

My memory is slowly failing, but I think the die was a 12mm x 1.25" and the throw was shortened by about 30%. Please cross check it. :)

What you did was to make it more difficult to move a standard shifter due to less leverage. A short shifter moves the pivot point below the stick higher, increasing the distance from the ball/ linkage at the bottom to the pivot. A short shifter can have a lever that is the same length as a standard shifter and it will require less throw (shifter movement) to go from gear to gear.

My 2.7t has a good quality short shifter and it allows for smooth finger tip shifting while keeping my forearm planted on the arm rest.

D'Oh..whether you shorten the top lever above the fulcrum/ball or lengthen the bottom lever you make it more difficult to move the shifter forks. Aside from the decreased angularity of the longer bottom lever (negligible because the stock shifter bottom length is already sufficient) with an aftermarket shifter, the stock top lever/longer bottom lever of an aftermarket short throw shifter isn't any different from shortening the top lever of a stock shifter.

The aftermarket shift levers are often made of different materials, perhaps metal balls, etc., rather than the OEM production shift levers but in BOTH cases the homemade or aftermarket shift levers must trade off leverage for decreased throw.

Here is link to JHM. Might want to do both short shifter and shift linkage upgrade.

http://jhmotorsports.com/shop/catalo...cd78cc950ff29e

What 'good quality short shifter' do you have?

Yup. Just physics. Leverlengths to Force ratio: L1xF1=L2xF2

Too bad your car is not a little newer. Then your BEST alternative would be to buy the BRAND NEW shifter kit I have from UUC Motorworks.

I would let it go cheap, but it's for 02/01 and up A6/S4/RS4 cars.

You could always do the old Toy Guy or Piggie SS Mod. It just changes the pivot point of the shifter by relocating the linkage mounting hole. I did this a few years back thinking it would be a temporary solution but it feels great with a 30% reduction in throw so I have never upgraded to an aftermarket SS. There were several threads about this some time back. You don’t have to mill it down like this guy did, just relocate the pivot location 21mm and swap out the bearing to the new hole. Shouldn’t take more than an hour really. Best part is that it doesn’t cost a dime and if you don’t like it for any reason then it is fully reversible.

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...php?p=12747890