When we first put my pacesetter on (medium-low setting) it felt stiff and a little noisy, but the throws were worth it. Nice, short, and precise. Now, about 2 months later, it's true colors are showing.

It has become irritating moving it into first when coming to stops, and often becomes a chore. It is also refusing to move into 1st and 2nd gear (at a stoplight when in nuetral) more and more often. The noise has gotten worse. Alot worse. When I move the shifter in and out of the gears when the car is off, you can hear the metal scraping and rubbing, almost like a grinding noise. It's very noisy during driving as well. The shifts have also become significantly stiffer, and it doesn't smoothly move into each gear like it used to. 1st and 5th gear are usually the biggest pains.

Overall I am dissappointed with this STS. The design of the Maxima's linkage bars prevents it from having short throws while keeping the buttery smooth/quiteness. I fear I am wearing out my synchros badly, and am going to significantly lengthen the throws next week to take pressure off everything. Hopefully this will quiet things down significantly, and make shifting smoother and cleaner. Unlike Porches and other top notch cars, the Maxima cannot have short clean throws while keeping them quite and smooth. The shorter you go, the louder and stiffer things get, and the faster things wear.

Anyone thinking about buying this STS becuase it shortens the stick height and can reduce throws "Up to 80%", beware. If you set it on the shortest setting your going to wear and tear that thing apart in a matter of no time. If you do buy one, make sure to set it higher than midway!

 

"driver error"

i didn't read your thread.. but i am calling "driver error" from early

 

not good

i was just thinking of getting one

it thought OBX or something like that was the one with the problems?

How does the Stillen STS compare to the Pacesetter ?

 

No major problems here. Once in a while, I have problems going into 1st while rolling. I'm at the lowest possible setting.

In the beginning, all the gear would be REALLY hard to get into, but as time passed, they become smoother and MUCH easier to get into. I'm using Redline MT-90.

 

I love my SMC STS. It's set to the lowest setting. Sometimes I can't get into reverse, I have to roll forward a little bit, then it will slide right in. Kinda embarassing sometimes but it's worth it.

 

I have the Pacesetter STS and kinda have problems getting it into 1st at a stop or a slight roll.

When I first got the car it had a cut stock shifter and was even harder to get into 1st.

I always just assumed that I couldnt get it into 1st cuz I had a wearing out tranny. I dont really have a good reference point since I've never driven this car (or any 5spd Max) with a stock shifter. So I dont really know how it should feel.

 

STS's for our cars are more or less same. The shorter your throw and the shorter the rod, the more problems you have. I don't think you can blame that on Pacesetter... I think the quality is just fine and a very good deal considering the price.

 

i guess no sts for me then. how about from a 96 max up?

 

Since you have it on the lowest setting did you leave off the heat shield by the cat or did you bang it out to make it fit? Jus asking I wanna make mine lower.

 

Never had REAL problems with mine. Somtimes i do have hard time going into first on the roll but how many times will you put in 1st during the roll?

 

Did you bang out a dent so that the STS doesn't hit the heat shield. I've had mine in for 2 yrs and it's fine. Maybe twice a week it won't go into first and you have to give the gas a blip and it slides in. Maybe the installation was bad.

 

Oh crap, didn't even think of that....could be the heat shield. After me and cbr2 installed it we just slided the shield back into place. The sound I get sounds like rubbing against it. D'oh. Can I dent the heat shield so that it'll clear both the shifter rod AND the cat-converter? Hopefully this is my problem, and the thing that sucks is I gotta let my car sit and let the pipes cool for a damn long time before I can get under there.

And for you guys who are saying that you haven't had any problems, please include what setting you have it on.

MishMosh I know it's not pacesetters fault, they make a fine sts, it's just their advertised deal of 80% shorter throws is a bit of a tall tale.

Kevish, you have it on the shortest setting, but you haven't had it for like a month. Plus your using Redline fluid and I'm using the standard stuff. Give it another month or 2 and you won't have to go to the gym anymore to workout your upper body.

 

Banged out the heast shield. It looks pretty deformed.


Hahaha! Driver error.

 

I just left my heat shield off. The shift boot gets kinda warm after driving for an hour or so. No biggie though.....

 

The same here I never really had a problem with me P/S STS smooth shifter most of the time. but like some of the other guys said it does get stuck in first every once in awhile, but very rarely.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Y2KevSE
[B]

Banged out the heast shield. It looks pretty deformed.




Thank you. Now I will bang the $hit out of the heat shield.

 

Take the damn heatshield off That's causing your problems. Mine's been off for over a year with no problems.


Dave

 

Since we are on the topic of STS... Does anyone have a B&M STS? You can find it @ http://www.summitracing.com
Manufacturer #BMM-45087

Tifosi

 

I do.... and bought it from summit...

 

Take everything apart and file down the white ball. Then make your heatshild bended a little so the STS doesnt hit it.

 

Cool! How is it? Any trouble with it? Installation and usage? Thanks!

Tifosi

 

1) - I like it... can't give u an idea of the comparision of the Pacesetter because haven't driven with one, but i like mine. throws fill like it's between 40/50% shorter than stock. no hard facts on that, just my opinion.

2) - 3+ weeks since install and no problems, fells fine.

3) - Installation was kinda tough since i didn't remove the cat, took about 3.5 to 4 hrs. doing it myself...... usage, well lets just say i do more pleasure driving now, not just the back/forth to work. i had a couple of friends test it out after the install and the things they say after is... it stifer, got to get use to it and i bet you take the long way home now don't you?


my reply to them is

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ThisMax2NV
[B]take out the rotozip and cut a square out to accomodate the shifter mechanism.

 

Cool, sounds good so far.... no trouble like others having hard time getting in gears?

Tifosi

 

I think that because a STS is more for performance/race shifting that you will have an occasional problem engaging of the gears. if your talking about from a stand still, then no more than other stiffer shifters i have driven(Ztt,M3,M5&S4). Whining though gears out in the burbs/twisty roads then yes, i've gone from 2nd to 5th a few times.

IMO, i think when i drive the car like it's a sports-car not a sports-sedan, i travel though the gears smoother and easier. i would say that 3rd gear is the one to get use to. from 2nd it's a quick neutral then pop straight up.

 

I have had my STS for about 6 months now and the only issues I have had with it are getting it into reverse and 1st sometimes, but I had those problems with the stock shifter. Mine is almost as low as it goes also. My heat shield is pretty deformed, but it doesn't rub.

Also did you put the teflon grease on the ball? I know a couple of people have forgotten to do that and it makes it really hard to shift.

 

yup.. when i was installing mine, there was NO WAY it was going in there without filing down the ball. i bought a dremel tool just for that. installed it, no problems, felt a little stiff at first.

now that i'm used to it, it feels just as smooth as stock, and sometimes i forget i have it. I think it set it on about 75% of the shortest setting, and while i know the throws are shorter, i'm so used to it, that i dont even notice it anymore, hehe. maybe that defeats the point of having it.

oh yeah and I also left off my heatshield, cuz i banged it so much that its FUBAR right now. no problems without it, you can hear the exhaust now a little more though.

 

The short shifter dosent heat up or anything? I think Ill just take the heat shield off then.

 

All it does is get mildly warm. No biggie...
As for troubles in 1st and R, yes it definitely does also happen without the sts...

 

I left the heat shield off as well. As mentioned, the shift boot gets kinda warm but it's no biggie. The only problem I have with the PaceSetter is when things get quite warm, the shifter doesn't come back to the central neutral position from the right most position (as if you were about to go into 5th). I think it's from the ball expanding from the heat. It's not a big deal. Otherwise, I have no issues with it, never have any problems going into first even during a roll. I have the ball set at halfway.
Yes the shifts are a little rougher but that's not from the PaceSetter. It's just that as you reduce your throw, you lose leverage. Ever try shifting using the bar under the car? It's damn near impossible The shorter the throw, the closer you are to shifting with that bar. (I apologize for not knowing the technical name of that bar).

 

Guys, all Maxima's do this. My VG 5spd. does this. I can't push it into 1st quickly unless I'm going less than 15mph. Sometimes I have to move the car a few inches so the Reverse gear cluster's teeth will line up. It's normal. I have to double-clutch to get into 1st gear above 15 or so mph because the engine and tranny shafts are spinning A LOT faster than in any other gear. When you push the shifter into gear, you're engaging the synchros. The Synchros are like mini-clutches that speed up or slow down the shafts in the tranny to the proper RPM so that the gear clusters will tooth properly. Going from 2nd to 5th @55mph is asking the input and idler gearset shafts in the tranny to go from 5500-6000RPM to ~2000RPM. That is a big jump, it takes time for the tranny shafts to change speeds that drastically. Learn to Double Clutch and your shifting will be many times easier. Look it up on Google or some other search engine.

 

double clutching always helps out.

 

...how did you ensure you shaved down the ball evenly so it doesn't become weirdly shaped like a golf ball? I assume the idea is just to shave a really thin layer off. It would be an interesting idea to colour the ball with something (magic marker??? ***thinking out loud***). Once you have passed the Dremel bit over that area of the ball, the ink that's been removed will help you keep track of what area has been shaved.

Anyone use a tool other than a Dremel? If I had a tabletop belt sander, I'd use that so I can use both my hands to control the shaving of the ball.

 

i always double clutch. when i get a new set of pedals i will heel/toe/double clutch. it's fun!

 

i just shaved it down approximately... it didnt come out perfectly round, but trust me, it doesnt matter, as long as the damn ball is smaller. my shifts are really smooth now and sometimes i forget i have the freakin STS

i still dont believe how some of you got it in there without shaving the ball down.

 

I'm with you on this. But what I'd really like to know is: where the hell have you been, Justin?? I've been trying to reach you...

You should e-mail me when you get a chance.

 

two things...

1). the noise and banging you hear/feel is from the shifter hitting the heat shield. if you had banged it out (as per the directions) you wouldn't have a problem. i just removed mine altogether and have no problems.

2). you really shouldn't be shifting to 1st gear when coming to a stop anyway. 2nd is more than adequate and then you should shift into 1st after a complete stop. sounds like driver error.

posting a thread about how crappy a product is when as sprite said "it's driver error". that's a real smart thing to do craig :Wall:

guys, the pacesetter and any other sts that i know of for that matter is a great, inexpensive mod that i promise you will not regret. anyone who has one, i recommend driving a stock 5 spd for a day and trust me you will realize how much you love your sts. =)

 

CKNY, I absolutely agree with you! I installed mine 2 weekends ago, it took 45 minutes total. And regarding the heatshield, I don't even know what the fuzz is about? It took me 2 minutes to put a dent in with a hammer and it works perfect. My shifter centers perfectly like stock all by itself, and I have not had a single problem getting in gear, and the more I drive, the smoother it gets. I don't get when people are complaining about the shift gets stiffer as you drive more or when you stop the car it's impossible to get back into first again type deal. And I still haven't replace my tranny fluid with Redline yet. I think the people that complained didn't spend their time on installing the STS and a lot of things like you and Sprite said are drivers' error as well.

Tifosi

 

eh, you get used to it after reading craig mack's posts...

jk kid.