Hi guys, can you guys recommend a good short shifter for a 1995 Maxima SE 5-spd? The stock one seems too long especially for speed shifting at the track... I would appreciate a few brandnames that I should keep my eyes open for.

Thanks a lot!

 

Pace Setter

 

yep, $68 for a metal stick

I'll probably end up getting one pretty soon

 

Thanks guys! That's what a local performance shop here recommended too... just the Pacesetter shaft... $125CDN (approx. $80US). How does that sound?

 

pace setter is good but BEWARE the ball need to be filed because it oversized but people tend to leave that out. Dont believe if people tell you it will break in cause it wont.

 

STILLEN short throw shifter...
Fits PERFECT. No cutting, drilling...
Direct Bolt On

 

can someone with a short shifter, that is not installed,
please give me measurements for it ? like the height of the two sections, and maaybe the angle in between ? ? thanks ! !

H

 

Is the Stillen short throw shifter better than the Pacesetter?

 

how much does an install cost?
shouldn't be hard but i wouldnt want to go under the car anytime soon.

and whats this about filing the ball? anyone with a PS STS explain it betteR?

 

The $tillen shifter is a lot more expensive (who'd of thought ) but also replaces some of the linkage. The $tillen is not adustable and at the stock height.

 

The shift rod itself is shorter than stock. And the throws are pleasantly short. I dont know how I ever drove my car with the stock shifter. The SMC is really that good. The throws are significantly reduced and I like the fact that the rod height has been reduced also. Shifts are much quicker. The shop that installed mine had a Toyota MR-S (2002) on hand and the throw was just as short. Just be careful with the heatshield for the cat. At the shortest setting the shifter is known to bang against the heat shield. You can use longer bolts and space the heatshield a little further away from the rod or just cut a hole in the heatshield for clearance.

 

The pacesetter comes with the rod and the adjustable ball which is made out of plastic and is bigger then stock. So what you have to do is take a filing paper and filer and file it down so it slides in perfectly in the rubber housing and then metal housing. Good luck.

 

1-1.5 hour labor MAX! I paid $80 for an hour labor at Car Boutique...

 

doesn't a shorter shifter get in the way? i mean how will you shift with the ehh, middle part, dam i'm so dumb...u know what i'm talking about...it's gonna be in the way...arm guard or soemthing....dag man...too much weed

 

regardless of brand - will the STS make shifting smoother or not?

 

190hpKilla seems to be the only that has had a problem with the Pacesetter STS. IMO, install was a breeze and everything fit together perfectly. Install takes about 1 hour assuming your cat to y-pipe bolts/nuts aren't seized.

The Pacesetter is adjustable in height/throw. I've got mine set at 50% of max short throw and it's perfect (~50% shorter throw than stock). You can adjust it to about 90% shorter throw than stock, but the shifter becomes VERY stiff and you put way to much pressure on the syncros. The shift feel is worlds better. It feels like it has real substance. It clicks into each gear. The only downside I can see is it has a little more vibration thru the handle than stock.


Dave

 

Hey Dave B, did you have to modify the plastic ball like others say to do? i just ordered mine from greg and hopefully it will be here soon!

 

SMC shifter? Is that the Stillen? Sorry, I'm not familiar with the abbreviations here.

Is it a short throw shifter?

 

I have a stillen STS and the throw is alot shorter--- a little notchier but more fun in a way.... I put redline tranny fluid in and its nice and smooth now. One downfall to it was that it cost mucho dinero.

 

OBX direct bolt on bang a dent in the heatshield to fit shifter throw is shorter height is about the same as stock. Thread is the same as our stock shifter.

 

Well its not an abbreviation. SMC is the name of the company. I had a phone number for them a while back but I lost it. They make a short throw shifter for the Max. Use the search function, I'm sure you'll turn up a bunch of old posts on this shifter. I've had it for about a month now, and I really like it. The throw is shorter as well as the height of the rod.

 

Pacesetter or stillen, get one, be careful with heat shield

 

FYI: I ordered mine from custommaxima.com a few days ago and said it would arrive in about 4 days but i just called and appearently, they are on back order now and will 'probably' receive some more next week.

 

So is there any truth to the Pacesetter STS needing to be sanded down so that it will fit?

... and is the Stillen STS shorter than the Pacesetter? Someone eluded to it being the same as stock length.

 

On the box it does say that its for up to 96 maxima so I guess it fits fine on those years but mine is 97 so it might be a little different. Check with 5th gen guys they have the same problem.

 

Anybody have any experience with the Neo sts? I just saw it on http://www.asylumms.com/ and was curious. It costs more than the pacesetter but I was thinking maybe it was a complete replacement like the stillen. I was reading someones write up and they mentioned filling the ball to get the oem housing back around it correctly...

 

I had the same problem as he did and there are several other 5th gen guys who have too. Of course there are others who haven't had the problem.

The problem is definitely in the size of the ball. Because the ball (or some of them at least) is slightly larger than the stock ball, it fits much tighter into the original shifter assembly. That means that it does not move as freely as the stock one did and at times, at least with mine doesn't snap back to the middle.

Some said it would loosen up, but I've had mine in for about 1 month and it has not. In fact, it shrinks and swells. When the car is cold, it isn't too bad and will snap back to the middle from 1st gear side but not from R side. When the car is hot, it doesn't snap back at all and takes a bit more muscle to shift.

I'm currently trying to decide between uninstalling mine and shaving the ball down and buying a whole shift kit. I'm not badmouthing pace setter, it is just a matter of getting what you pay for. If you go the cheaper route, realize that you aren't buying a co-ordinated ball and assembly so you might have to put some effort in to make it work right.

 

No, the angle of your forearm will change, but unless the part of your arm above your elbow grows longer, you aren't going to hit the armrest.

 

SMC is a rebadged pace setter. It is not a Stillen.