Uhm, damn! i set the throw to its shortest. Had to cut the heatshield for it to fit. It all went into place pretty well...

so far it's not too bad. The throw is incredibly tiny. Just have to move it a little bit. The original spring was reused, boy it's stretched out alot more. Makes the shifter alot more springy.

I have a problem when i use 1st 3rd or 5th. The shifter stick seems to touch the top part where the shifter leather boot thing is attached to. like the shifter is too foreward. Not a biggy, just a little problem.

It took me like 4-5 freaking hour to do though. My bolts were rusted, and pretty hard to remove. Not to mention playing with the heatshield for like 30-50 minutes. Eventually just ripping a hole in it to make room.

Nice mod i must say Just have to get used to it now.

 

Are you saying the shifter rod is banging the front plastic? That's a little unusual. In any case, I thought mine was a little too short at first, but after a few weeks of break-in, it is perfect. You using the stock ****?

 

Cant wait to install mine. Was shifting very stiff after the isntall?

SuDZ

 

congrats on da install - got any pics???

 

Mishmosh:
Yeah once i put it in 1, 3, or 5, the bar just taps the plastic. Nearest to the ashtray area. Nothing too bad. I'll try and get a pic of that.

SuDZ: Shifting was harder because i wasn't used to it. But after about 10 minutes it wasn't too bad. It was alot stiffer in the sense that the spring is the original. The original wasn't being strched much before. BUT.... since the new stick is really low, and the spring attached to the stick (bar that attaches to the stick), it has to stretched down ALOT more. Making it spring back reall quickly.

It's pretty cool overall though. I feel like i only have to move like an inch to get into each gear... it's pretty cool.

Overall i'm sure you guys will love the shorter shift. Very nice.
I recommend getting a gasket once you remove the front part of the cat.

Hell i recommend getting another for the other side of the cat, and just removing the cat completely, while your doing the install.

My and my bro did it while the car was rolled up on ramps. It was alot harder to work this way.

Oh, a little note: One problem i have right now, and need to get used to... basically when i shift from 2nd to 3rd, usually i'll let the spring bring the stick to the middle and push the stick up and it will slide into 3rd. Uhm, now the spring seems to bring the stick between 3rd and 5th gear, so i'm just slightly off. I have to get used to pushing the stick upwards and left-ish. Again, no biggy...

I'll try and get pics of what it looks like now.

For now, i'm using the original shift ****. I'm surprised it fits, it looked like the pacesetter threads were smaller than the OEM. Ehh, gonna change that too this summer. Get a nice one installed.

 

Mine sits far forward too when it is in neutral. It actually hit my dash when I shift to 3rd. I now have a little crack in my dash from me shifting so hard into 3rd. Oh well, I guess I should stop being lazy and fix it.

 

whew atleast i'm not alone hehe
Something to fix eventually.
Actually what i'd like to do is maybe cover up the hole where the shifter is and try replacing it with.. uhm... you know ferraris, or lanborghinis. how they don't have the shift boot, but instead have the pattern that the shifter will follow? Actually take a look at this pic:

http://carpoint.msn.com/merismus/Gallery/c439053a.jpg

i think it might look pretty cool?

 

Just took a look at mine. The space between the rod and the plastic is small in gears 1-3-5, but there is no way, no matter how hard I thrust forward, that it'll hit. I'm surprised. If the throw set longer, wouldn't it hit even more?

My guess is that Pacesetter may have some production differences. Specifically, the angle just above the ball plays an important roll in how far foward it sits and whether it hits the front plastic fitting. Maybe yours was not angled back as much by a few degrees.

As for shifting, Dave B had a nice primer. Makes the 2-3 pretty damn fast...
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ave+shift+want

 

I will be getting a STS shifter soon, but have not decided on the brand yet. The height of the stock shifter does not seem to bad to me, so I may go with the courtesy one. Dropping the height a little might be good though, can the pacesetter be adjusted fairly high and still reduce the throw significantly? Any other brands that may meet my needs? (besides stealin)

 

actually i like the height of the pacesetter. It feels right.
i set it to it's max, for littlest throw possible. I beleive i'm only moving an inch and a half to change into each gear. Pretty sweet. Theres no gradual "going in gear" effect. It's just simple, out, neutral, gear. out neutral gear. click click click. hard to explain other than like i mentionned above. hehe

 

Hey. So you have the Pacesetter too? I ordered mine a few days ago and should be getting it in sooner or later. Does the Pacesetter hit the dash when going to 3rd no matter what, or does that depend on the height setting of the shifter. Because if it doesn't fit right like I've seen in this post, I'm very hesitant about installing it. Can any provide a little more insight into this? Thanks.

 

Hey guys. Sorry to interupt however, I am not liking the stock shifter in my 97SE. Feels like a wet noodle. Here are my questions:

1) Do they make a good solid shifter with adjustable stops?

2) To improve the shift feel (rigidity) and shorten the shifter throw, what is the best shifter for the money? (without hitting other equipment in the panel.

3) Is it a big install? Inside car work or under car work?

Thanks and i return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

Peace: e3 - spamman

 

No it shouldn't hit the dash at all when in 3rd gear. I installed it by myself so I could not see where the actuall shifter was positioned when i tightened everything back up. If you have someone in the drivers seat postioning the shifter then you should not have any probs.

 

For me the Maxima is a car that offers a nice balance of comfort & sportyness and I want my mods to keep it that way. I like the fact that my arm clears anything in the cupholders and I can rest my hand on the shift **** and play with the radio with the stock shifter. I am not going for an all out sports car feel, I just want to reduce the ridiculously long throws of the stock shifter. After reading through a lot of old threads I think I am going to go with the courtesy one and keep the stock height.

 

Ok. Thanks Matt.

 

it takes about a week to get used to. and it shouldn't hit the dash

 

Hey my car is in your sig pic

 

very true. it shouldnt be hitting the plastic when banging into third. was it installed backwards?