Well I broke down and bought one of those ebay B&M knock-off short shifters and I thought I would give everyone an installation review.
Purchase
As these purchases usually go delivery was prompt and product arrived as expected. I opened the package and everything appeared to be in the package. So I promptly gave the ebay vendor positive feedback for his prompt delivery and for everything being in the package. There weren't any installation directions included but I wasn't too suprised and I had already reviewed the directions for the B&M shifter that I found at Road Race Engineering's Web site. It is amazing, it doesn't bother them to copy the design but they can't copy the directions.
Package Contents
The package contained the main chrome shift handle, the purple/pink shifter pivot, a sleeve bearing you don't see in any of the pictures, some washers and nuts.
Heres the one I purchased but there are at least 3 other sellers selling these.
Hopefully you should be able to see a picture of the shifter at the bottom of this post. You should be able to see all of the parts on this picture and the installation instructions, except the sleeve bearing doesn't show because most of the pictures show the shifter partially together with the sleeve bearing installed in the purple/pink shifter pivot. The B&M install directions don't show this part in the parts list so they may not use this part.
Installation
Installation was a bitch because (a) there were no instructions (b) because the parts just don't fit. It just doesn't seem like it would cost them any extra to make sure the tolerances were correct. They copy the design but not the exact measurements.
In summary the way this shifter works is the purple/pink shifter pivot bolts onto the existing pivot pin (on the car where the stock shifter bolted) and raises the pivot point about an inch and thus reduces the shift throw. There are two holes on bottom of the shifter handle so you can choose between 35% reduction and 50% shift reduction.
There is a sleeve bearing that is supposed to fit inside the purple/pink shifter pivot, this is where I ran into the first problem. The sleeve bearing wouldn't fit so I had to go purchase a 9/16 drill bit to bore it out a little, good thing I alread had a 1/2" drill. You will notice that the directions don't show this sleave bearing or how to install it. Once the sleave bearing fit into the purple/pink shifter pivot I continued to assemble via the directions I found at RRE.
The next problem I ran into was when the purple/pink shifter pivot was tight sliding onto the pivot pin (on the car shifter), it wouldn't slide all the way on and over the shoulder of the pivot pin. I had to drill out this hole again with my new 9/16 drill bit.
The rest of the install went as expected.
Test Drive
I measured the throw before and it was about 5 1/2 inches from first to second gear.
With the new shifter installed and set at the bottom hole (50%) it is now about 3 1/2 inches. The shifter feels really solid but was initially a little stiff but it loosened up after a couple shifts.
Recommendation
The reason I have a dsm is because me and my boys like to tinker with toys and have excuses to use our tools. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that doesn't have the time, tools, place or energy to spend some time on a complicated install. I also wouldn't want to pay a "professional" shop to install this, there time is just too expensive.
Complete Cost
* $37.00 Ebay shifter delivered price
. $21.00 Drill bit set @ Harbor Freight
. ------
. $58.00
* Auction said insurance was optional $2 but at check out I was charged $2 required for insurance
Ebay Vendor Response
When I first ran into problems with the install I emailed the ebay vendor and asked for the directions I didn't get and told them that the parts don't fit together here is the response I got.
"This auction doesn't come with instruction.
We recommand professional installation for this auction."
I would have hated to pay a professional to figure out how to install this.
Your mileage may vary.
Purchase
As these purchases usually go delivery was prompt and product arrived as expected. I opened the package and everything appeared to be in the package. So I promptly gave the ebay vendor positive feedback for his prompt delivery and for everything being in the package. There weren't any installation directions included but I wasn't too suprised and I had already reviewed the directions for the B&M shifter that I found at Road Race Engineering's Web site. It is amazing, it doesn't bother them to copy the design but they can't copy the directions.
Package Contents
The package contained the main chrome shift handle, the purple/pink shifter pivot, a sleeve bearing you don't see in any of the pictures, some washers and nuts.
Heres the one I purchased but there are at least 3 other sellers selling these.
Hopefully you should be able to see a picture of the shifter at the bottom of this post. You should be able to see all of the parts on this picture and the installation instructions, except the sleeve bearing doesn't show because most of the pictures show the shifter partially together with the sleeve bearing installed in the purple/pink shifter pivot. The B&M install directions don't show this part in the parts list so they may not use this part.
Installation
Installation was a bitch because (a) there were no instructions (b) because the parts just don't fit. It just doesn't seem like it would cost them any extra to make sure the tolerances were correct. They copy the design but not the exact measurements.
In summary the way this shifter works is the purple/pink shifter pivot bolts onto the existing pivot pin (on the car where the stock shifter bolted) and raises the pivot point about an inch and thus reduces the shift throw. There are two holes on bottom of the shifter handle so you can choose between 35% reduction and 50% shift reduction.
There is a sleeve bearing that is supposed to fit inside the purple/pink shifter pivot, this is where I ran into the first problem. The sleeve bearing wouldn't fit so I had to go purchase a 9/16 drill bit to bore it out a little, good thing I alread had a 1/2" drill. You will notice that the directions don't show this sleave bearing or how to install it. Once the sleave bearing fit into the purple/pink shifter pivot I continued to assemble via the directions I found at RRE.
The next problem I ran into was when the purple/pink shifter pivot was tight sliding onto the pivot pin (on the car shifter), it wouldn't slide all the way on and over the shoulder of the pivot pin. I had to drill out this hole again with my new 9/16 drill bit.
The rest of the install went as expected.
Test Drive
I measured the throw before and it was about 5 1/2 inches from first to second gear.
With the new shifter installed and set at the bottom hole (50%) it is now about 3 1/2 inches. The shifter feels really solid but was initially a little stiff but it loosened up after a couple shifts.
Recommendation
The reason I have a dsm is because me and my boys like to tinker with toys and have excuses to use our tools. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that doesn't have the time, tools, place or energy to spend some time on a complicated install. I also wouldn't want to pay a "professional" shop to install this, there time is just too expensive.
Complete Cost
* $37.00 Ebay shifter delivered price
. $21.00 Drill bit set @ Harbor Freight
. ------
. $58.00
* Auction said insurance was optional $2 but at check out I was charged $2 required for insurance
Ebay Vendor Response
When I first ran into problems with the install I emailed the ebay vendor and asked for the directions I didn't get and told them that the parts don't fit together here is the response I got.
"This auction doesn't come with instruction.
We recommand professional installation for this auction."
I would have hated to pay a professional to figure out how to install this.
Your mileage may vary.
