Designed my own short shift plates

[anavrinIV]

Weather has cooperated a bit today and I got a chance to install the setup. Twice actually, details....


First, initial impressions before install:
-The adjustability is cool, I like messing with things and this will give me plenty of options. I had plenty of knob/weight/plate setups on my gen1 before I finally settled.
-Unique design with the plate acting as its own weight, not sure how this affects things but it's different
-The weight setup makes things a bit more complicated with the hardware...not difficult but also not as simple as threading a bolt into a block

2 initial gripes (small ones)
-The hardware is mostly standard. I would prefer all metric to match the car for commonality. This isn't an actual issue just a personal annoyance
-The finish is already wearing a bit after just one install. Fixable in production.

Install is straightforward just like all plates, pop off the cable, unbolt the weight, tighten new ball into place, install plate, replace cable. 5 minute job. No complaints here, went as smoothly as any.

Only current related mods are a Cobb shift knob and JBR solid bushings. I like the Cobb knob because it's delrin and stays temperature stable. The bushings so basically nothing IMO but I already had them so I swapped them in.

With my initial settings I tried to emulate my previous plate and weight combo, JBR plate on shortest throw with stock weight. Of everything I tried this was my favorite.

I set the plate to the shortest throw (supposedly 30% according to @Turbo_Steve with both plates. Took it for a drive.

IMO, the shortest setting was too short. Like, miata short or shorter. I always thought throws this short would be nice but the car gave little feedback that it was in gear at all. Throws also took more force than I wanted and the feeling was both stiff and notchy..not great. Half way through my drive i swapped to the stock knob and things improved, shifts still took a bit more force than I wanted but the notchiness wasn't as bad.

Went home and changed it up quickly, moved the ball to the longest setting, removed both weights, and went back to the Cobb knob. Second test drive.

This one I like. A lot. Shifts are about where they were with the JBR plate on its shortest throw setting and are notchy but not in a bad way, they feel more "aimed". Removing both weights solved the heavy feeling. Setting the throw longer definitely shortened it up from stock but feels much more confidently in gear than the shortest setting.

These impressions are after a few minutes of driving each setup. I'll do plenty more driving over the coming days and weeks and will update accordingly.

[Turbo_Steve]

Originally Posted by anavrinIV Weather has cooperated a bit today and I got a chance to install the setup. Twice actually, details.... First, initial impressions before install: -The adjustability is cool, I like messing with things and this will give me plenty of options. I had plenty of knob/weight/plate setups on my gen1 before I finally settled. -Unique design with the plate acting as its own weight, not sure how this affects things but it's different -The weight setup makes things a bit more complicated with the hardware...not difficult but also not as simple as threading a bolt into a block 2 initial gripes (small ones) -The hardware is mostly standard. I would prefer all metric to match the car for commonality. This isn't an actual issue just a personal annoyance -The finish is already wearing a bit after just one install. Fixable in production. Install is straightforward just like all plates, pop off the cable, unbolt the weight, tighten new ball into place, install plate, replace cable. 5 minute job. No complaints here, went as smoothly as any. Only current related mods are a Cobb shift knob and JBR solid bushings. I like the Cobb knob because it's delrin and stays temperature stable. The bushings so basically nothing IMO but I already had them so I swapped them in. With my initial settings I tried to emulate my previous plate and weight combo, JBR plate on shortest throw with stock weight. Of everything I tried this was my favorite. I set the plate to the shortest throw (supposedly 30% according to @Turbo_Steve with both plates. Took it for a drive. IMO, the shortest setting was too short. Like, miata short or shorter. I always thought throws this short would be nice but the car gave little feedback that it was in gear at all. Throws also took more force than I wanted and the feeling was both stiff and notchy..not great. Half way through my drive i swapped to the stock knob and things improved, shifts still took a bit more force than I wanted but the notchiness wasn't as bad. Went home and changed it up quickly, moved the ball to the longest setting, removed both weights, and went back to the Cobb knob. Second test drive. This one I like. A lot. Shifts are about where they were with the JBR plate on its shortest throw setting and are notchy but not in a bad way, they feel more "aimed". Removing both weights solved the heavy feeling. Setting the throw longer definitely shortened it up from stock but feels much more confidently in gear than the shortest setting. These impressions are after a few minutes of driving each setup. I'll do plenty more driving over the coming days and weeks and will update accordingly.

I personally love the feel with only 1 weight plate and the stock knob.

& to answer the question about the hardware being standard vs metric thread. The ball stud I use is only made in 5/16 - 18 thread. So I opted to inlcude 5/16 - 18 nuts and bolts for the plates so as to not have an issue with mixing up hardware on all three locations. I could switch out the long bolts and nuts for M8 hardware in a production version but I have not thought much about that yet.

And yes, production plates will be powder coated. The prototypes are iron oxide coated and then lacquer coated for corrosion resistance and then painted.

We did discover a potential flaw in the prototype as well which I already sent pm's to my testers on. I will just copy and paste the PM below in the interest of full disclosure.



"We may have already found a minor flaw in my design - Nothing to worry about, but the first tester had some issue with the plate contacting some shift linkage in his car.

The solution was to grind away the corner slightly on the top plate as pictured. I would advise grinding it before installing as shown below.



The problem was only evident when shifting into 2nd gear.

Here



My plate does not stick out as far as the jbr plate in this spot so when I was designing it and the fact that I had no issue in my car I didn't think anything of it.

1:1 Scale printout






But I will be revising the design on the plate regardless. And as a tester when a final production version is made I will send you a production plate with a nice fancy powder coat on it.

Steve
"

[udntknw]

Initial thoughts - i thought it looked cool as hell and really liked the adjustable weights. I've been running a Cobb short shifter for a long time now and originally had the CP-e CAI with which the stock shifter weight made contact. i had to get the small Cobb weight as to not damage the intake any more. even after the intake was gone, i was running Cobb intercooler piping which again, limited me to the Cobb weight. This plate with shortened weights allows plenty of clearance to the IC piping.

Install - Install was as to be expected, 5 min install. first run through the gears had me very excited. the throw was much more even than the previous plate i tried. all the gears had solid engagement with the exception of 2nd.... after being sad that i wouldn't be able to test drive it immediately, i had to remove it until i got to work to grind down the corner that was interfering. after grinding the corner just a little bit, everything fell right into place and all gears were solid.

First drive - Holy crap... combined with the Cobb STS (adjusted for shortest throw)... this thing is ridiculous. the throw is incredibly short, yet doesn't feel like anything has to be forced. my normal input is all that's needed to solid shifts. gave her the good old 2-3 shift using FFS (via AP) and BAM, right in. Now, maybe i was very focused on hitting that gear, but i haven't felt a shift like that in a long time. i do a lot of drag racing and I've always held my breath for whether or not 3rd was going in. i also ran a 1/2/3 shift and, hot damn, it felt good.

Continued testing - i will continue to bang gears and try to focus less on the shift to see how it goes. will be hitting the drag strip mid October and that will be the main test. i may even try FFS without using the AP feature. I've always preferred to flat foot it without the assist of the AP.

Keep up the good work @Turbo_Steve; i think ill be enjoying this one for a while.

[Enki]

Sign me up for a production unit.

[monkey.bones.007]

I'm going to take photos of my install on my pu Friday to see if there are issues with clearance. @Turbo_Steve; has said he will be adjusting the production version based off what has been seen. If i have to remove it so be it, but I'll have a complete porno graphic photo install of the plate.

tapatalk, it sucks

[skoski17]

@Turbo_Steve;

I would love to more than rock/test/provide feed back on a car aim more for track orientation and would more than willing buy one from you. I love supporting local tinkering. The application for said plate would be on a 08 MS3 built motor by sp63 with a gtx3076r to back her up aimed for a few different events... Time attack, auto x, and drag. If ever slipstream makes it to the west coast, than that as well haha. Keep up the great work! Either way, I'm following to see the outcome of this thread, very cool!

[Nevershallifall]

I am 100% in for a production version as well.

[Turbo_Steve]

Thanks for all the love.

Lets let the testers and myself rack up some miles before we go any further with this project.

Before going to production I would need to talk to the right people on here to either set up as a hard parts vendor or set up a group buy. Msf Is amazing and I can't sell stuff through here unless I follow the proper channels. It's not fair to all the existing paying sponsors.

[Nevershallifall]

That's very understandable. I have been shopping for a ssp for a while so i am sure i can wait a little longer till you and the testers can rack up some real miles to make sure there isn't any other nuances that surface.

A lot of people give me shit because i put a 3 inch extension on my shifter and it did make the throws just a little longer so a SSP would bring it back close to stock or a little shorter again. I love how it feels and the shifts are effortless with an extension and a 600g knob. It seems like this will fill in the gap from its "good" to its "perfect" in my book but only hard data will tell.

[Mattyhawk1]

I'm in for a production unit, good stuff steve!

[anavrinIV]

Originally Posted by Nevershallifall That's very understandable. I have been shopping for a ssp for a while so i am sure i can wait a little longer till you and the testers can rack up some real miles to make sure there isn't any other nuances that surface. A lot of people give me shit because i put a 3 inch extension on my shifter and it did make the throws just a little longer so a SSP would bring it back close to stock or a little shorter again. I love how it feels and the shifts are effortless with an extension and a 600g knob. It seems like this will fill in the gap from its "good" to its "perfect" in my book but only hard data will tell.

With that shift knob setup and a short shift plate you're going to be hell on your transmission.

I ran a couple of very heavy knobs, one of them quite long, and it felt like my transmission just gave up. It was very easy to get into gear but the springs that push the shift lever back to center are not nearly strong enough to move an extended super heavy knob effectively. I'm surprised that I didn't bend a fork or lose a pad or synchros because I was never gentle with my shifting either. When I went back to a lighter knob (miata at the time) on a stratified extender things picked back up, and with a Cobb knob on stock shift lever it snaps back to place like it's supposed to.

this is just one person's opinion though

[SparkySparks]

I use my heavy knob when I am running without my extension and I run a lighter spherical knob when I use the extension in my car. I couldn't imagine using the heavy knob on the extension, I would be too worried about the extra stress it would cause.

If things go to plan I will be leaving work on time if not a little early today so I have daylight and can get pictures of all three different plates I have as well as cable orientation for stock and each of the plates including minimum and maximum setting on the shift hammer. I will also get pictures of them all side by side just to get comparisons.

Really hoping this cleans up my 2-3 shift as that is the only shift that is still an issue for me from time to time. I'm also going to try first installing the plate un-modified to see if I have the same issue as the other tester.

[Nevershallifall]

Its funny you mention that because there is a good chance i will be switching over to the Cobb knob soon because the temperatures this blox knob gets to in the winter and summer is terrible. I was curious how a light weight knob would feel also.

[Turbo_Steve]

Originally Posted by SparkySparks I'm also going to try first installing the plate un-modified to see if I have the same issue as the other tester.

Fyi I already have re-worked the design. IMO 1 car with the problem justifies the re-design.

[Turbo_Steve]

Also on the topic of shift knobs I am designing a custom knob that will be a bit longer than stock, will be contoured to fit the average adult male hand better and will be stockish (only slightly heaver) weight. The grooves are matched to human finger widths btw.

I'm 3d printing a prototype of this right now.

[MS3Shadow]

that shift knob looks nice.

i currently use the JBR Cylindrical Shift Knob that's weights about 538 grams.

[Nevershallifall]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Steve Also on the topic of shift knobs I am designing a custom knob that will be a bit longer than stock, will be contoured to fit the average adult male hand better and will be stockish (only slightly heaver) weight. The grooves are matched to human finger widths btw. I'm 3d printing a prototype of this right now.

What material are you going to go with to keep it close to stock weight?

[anavrinIV]

That knob looks nice but would not work for me. I don't grip around the shifter I'm much more on top of it, hand position dependent on what gear I'm going to. So while the grooves may be spaced well I'd never have the opportunity to use them.

[Enki]

Originally Posted by anavrinIV That knob looks nice but would not work for me. I don't grip around the shifter I'm much more on top of it, hand position dependent on what gear I'm going to. So while the grooves may be spaced well I'd never have the opportunity to use them.

I do this as well.

[skoski17]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Steve Also on the topic of shift knobs I am designing a custom knob that will be a bit longer than stock, will be contoured to fit the average adult male hand better and will be stockish (only slightly heaver) weight. The grooves are matched to human finger widths btw. I'm 3d printing a prototype of this right now.

Looks like a se.... well you get where I was going lol. Seriously, my donation!
She is awaiting your beautiful parts!
uploadfromtaptalk1443667623981.jpg

[SparkySparks]

I need to get more pictures tomorrow, ran out of daylight today. I also ran into a slight issue with mine. Because everything has been pulled out of my engine bay a few time and my harness has been replaced the shift hammer actually hits my harness. I have the harness adjusted enough for now but will need to tweak it more tomorrow.

[monkey.bones.007]

Got the shifter plate installed tonight. On my pu it looks like the plate was very close to hitting the shift linkage. I removed the plate and ground down the corner per @Turbo_Steve; direction. This will be fixed if it goes to production. Now onto the fun stuff, the review.

Setup: JBR heavy cylindrical knob
Solid shifter bushings
DM trilogy mounts
Lucas synthetic gear oil with friction modifier

My initial impression was the car shifts much better sitting at a stop and driving than before. Much more direct and it has a notch to it that wasn't there with my jbr plate/weight. This could be due to the weight or the design, I'll adjust weight to see what difference it makes after getting some miles and I'll update. The first drive was actual very enjoyable to rip through gears, it wasn't a long drive, but it was a good drive. Once I'm able to hammer on the shifter I'll update how it fairs when shifting 2nd to 3rd. That's usually the trouble spot. I've also had times where I was not able to get into first for no reason. I'll see if that happens in the coming days. I'm probably driving 2k miles next weekend so I'll be able to get a good impression of how it goes. I'll have 2 of my fellow Nator with me and I'll see what they say when they drive. I must say so far I'm extremely happy with the limited time with it. The shifter feels much more alive.



tapatalk, it sucks

[SparkySparks]

Uhg, life keeps getting in the way. I did manage to get the wire harness adjusted out of the way so that is fixed. I only did some minor grinding to the plate to give it a little extra clearance as suggested. I have yet to adjust the cables from how I had them set before and I have noticed that my shifts are slightly shorter then before and my 2-3 shit is better. I also notice I now have a lock out of 1st like I had before so a slight adjustment to the cable should fix that and make my 2-3 shift perfect.

My car is back at Mazda for a couple of days to finish fixing what the body shop screwed up, once I get it back I will finish getting pictures and do a full proper review.

What plate combo is everyone running and what position on the for the ball-stud? I have mine with one plate and the ball-stud set to the shortest position (farthest from the weight). I plan on going down to no plates when I get my car back. I also wanted to comment on the metric vs. sae, not sure if mine was different but I was able to use a 13mm on all of the hardware just fine.

[udntknw]

I'm running mine with both weight plates. The ball stud in the 15% position (because I have the short throw shifter as well).

[monkey.bones.007]

Update on my initial review: The best thing i can say about this shifter plate is the somewhat floppy limp dick shifting is now gone, I've stopped thinking about shifting because it just happens, and I've not had any lockout or missed gears. With two plates I've been super happy. It has been awesome so far.

tapatalk, it sucks

[Turbo_Steve]

My only complaint is that with 1 weight plate on cold mornings the shifting is a little stiff till the car warms up, but this is a common issue with these cars anyway. I am going to switch back to 2 plates for cold weather and may even see if a 3rd plate for winter is ideal.

[SparkySparks]

Guess I'll try two plates first before going to no plates since everyone seems to like it that way more. I will say for the past almost few days I have enjoyed the way the car shifts, even without fine tuning the cables yet.

Anyone else running it on the shortest setting? The shortest setting? I need to get my wife to shift through the gears while I watch so I can see how close the boots are on the cables. That is my only concern with the shortest setting but I did compare it to my SURE plate and the shortest setting is not as short as what the SURE plate was and I never had an issue (unlike others).

[monkey.bones.007]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Steve My only complaint is that with 1 weight plate on cold mornings the shifting is a little stiff till the car warms up, but this is a common issue with these cars anyway. I am going to switch back to 2 plates for cold weather and may even see if a 3rd plate for winter is ideal.

The lucas 75w90 synthetic gear fluid I put in the car fixed those issues. Since I've only had the stock fluid and this fluid I can't say what others do, but I've never had an issue.

tapatalk, it sucks

[anavrinIV]

Using no weights with the longest throw setting as I thought the short setting was too short.

I haven't gotten in there to grind the corner down yet but I haven't had any problems.

Reverse doesn't always want to go in on the first try but that happened before this plate. I had to adjust the cable at the dash to get the feel right but so far I'm enjoying it. Now that the shifting feels better I may try some weights again, I'm going to be in there in the next couple days anyway so I'll add this to my to-do list. I'll mod the corner then as well.

[Turbo_Steve]

Roll Call

@udntknw @monkey.bones.007 @anavrinIV @SparkySparks

How are you guys enjoying your plates?

[monkey.bones.007]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Steve Roll Call @udntknw @monkey.bones.007 @anavrinIV @SparkySparks How are you guys enjoying your plates?

I just got back from driving to Illinois and then back to Colorado, I had absolutely 0 issues for the entire drive. With my previous plate is at least hit a lock out or have to watch shifting. It is fantastic. I'm super excited.

tapatalk, it sucks

[anavrinIV]

All is going well so far. I haven't shaved down the corner yet, been busy with other things but I'm not having any second gear problems yet.

I don't do a lot of hard shifting at high RPM during most driving so I'm still waiting for our trip to the dragon before finishing that part of the review. So far I'm happy with it for daily driving though

[SparkySparks]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Steve Roll Call @udntknw @monkey.bones.007 @anavrinIV @SparkySparks How are you guys enjoying your plates?

The week that I got to drive the car with it I really liked it, I was suppose to have my car back from Mazda Friday but looks like it will be some time this week before I get it back so I have not been able to do any fine tuning on the cables or try different weight combos. I will say for just throwing it in and not adjusting anything it improved my 2-3 shift but did make my shifting into first at anything other then a stop a little more notchy (need to adjust cable). Every time I have switch SSP or when I did the full replacement I have had to adjust the cable right off just to be able to drive so was a little shocked how close to perfect it was with out adjustments and the shifts are shorter.

[udntknw]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Steve Roll Call @udntknw @monkey.bones.007 @anavrinIV @SparkySparks How are you guys enjoying your plates?

Still loving mine. have gotten completely used to the throw being ridiculously short. still loving that its a seemless addition to my already short throw shifter. havent been banging the gears too hard lately, but the daily driving is incredible. the track is next weekend so i will get good feedback when beating the shit out of it there. Ill still maintain that this is a GREAT shifter plate for sure.

[thrisnospork]

I'm interested in a kit when these things make it to production. I'll even pre-order just take my money! My biggest gripe with my ms3 besides the sloppiest motor mounts ever is 2nd to 3rd shifting, you could say it really grinds my gears.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[follman8r]

Definitely interested. Count me in. I've heard the motor mounts make as huge difference as well but I've been looking for a plate to pop up.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[SparkySparks]

Finally got my car back today, drives so nice, going to do a little adjusting to the cables and try adding the other weight tomorrow.

[Turbo_Steve]

I had 10 sets made up.



Off to powder coat tomorrow.

And a few of these will be donated to the msf raffle giveaway.

[monkey.bones.007]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Steve I had 10 sets made up. Off to powder coat tomorrow. And a few of these will be donated to the msf raffle giveaway.

You will want to win this plate.

tapatalk, it sucks

[aackthpt]

Is there anyone trying this plate who has had the DM plate?