Installed B&M 45163 short shift kit in 370Z yesterday...

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Looking at the service manual, I'm was surprised the stock shifter feels so rubbery because it's not cable actuated, but linked almost directly to the transmission. The feel is not as bad as newer BMWs, but I would love it if it could feel more like the S2000 (perhaps the best shifter in the world). So I have two questions:

Does this kit help it feel more mechanical and less vague?

In the process of disassembly, did you see any rubber bits that look like they could be either eliminated or replaced with solid bushings to give the shifter a more direct feel?

Thanks much - I love me some notchy short shifting, and this mod is high on my list...

The HACK

Surprisingly the S2000 is a cable based shifter (if I'm not mistaken).

The stock "bearing" and stick is where half of the rubbery feel comes from, the other half is how the carrier arm is mounted. The carrier arm mounts on the back of the transmission and does not have a triangulated point that mounts to the chassis, therefore it is allowed to swing rather loosely. If you want to get rid of ALL slop and make the shifter direct, you will need to replace the stock stick pivot assembly (urethane cup with a plastic ball) with a mechanical BEARING design and a more solid upper stick isolator. In the process of removing the knob, it is surprising that the stick assembly itself rotates about 5 degrees due to the rubber isolator used in the top stick assembly. Also you will need to replace two rubber bushings at the front of the carrier to something more solid, like urethane or maybe even a SOLID bearing.

The B&M short shifter will get you about 65% of the way there in terms of direct, mechanical feel.

KillerBee370

I will chime in here since the unit was installed in my car...

The feel is not rubbery like the stock stick AT ALL. Very mechanical and very very precise. The throw is extremely short (which I love) and I haven't missed a gear or come out of a gear since the unit was installed.

No rattling whatsover and so far I am very pleased with this short shifter in my 370. I would go so far as to say that I think it rattles LESS than the stock unit did (in terms of overall stick movement--not noise). The unit makes no noise and feels very definite when you go to shift gears.

I am working on a video now and will have it up soon so that you can get a bit better feel for this unit under different driving conditions.

I recommend it!

The HACK

I think Nissan has done a much better job on the 370Z in insulating the noise and vibration compared to the 350Z.

Anyway, I marked up on the OEM stick where I think it's rubber and where a lot of the slop is coming from. See attached image below.



Compare that to the B&M unit, you can see in this image:



The "brass" colored part in the pivot point is indeed a brass bearing encased in a stainless steel bearing case. I think the reason why brass is used is that the material can be impregnated with lubricant and as the bearing gets used more it releases lubricant to smooth out the shifting, but retain the tight tolerances and precise mechanical feeling metal bearing gives you. You can't see it from this same angle, but the top stick is installed over the lower stick like a sleeve with a hard rubber material as the noise insulator sandwiched between the two stick, then bolted down to prevent any unwanted movement.

If I can get 10 confirmed orders I can probably work something out as a pretty significant discount. Add your name to this thread and when we reach 10 I'll see what I can do. Group buy detail will be emailed to each participant when I work out the details.

Attached Images

oem_stick_rubber.jpg (133.2 KB, 707 views)