hey i've been looking at short throw shifters BM shifters have been recommended and i've seen alot of members with them, but also I've heard the obx short shifters is really good and has been recomended to me by KRRZ350 whose installed quite a few i was wondering if anybody whose drivin on a few has any recommendations for me
thanks casey

 

cut the stock one.. it works pretty good....

 

I've got the same question. I see some cheap ones on ebay even some name brands that are real cheap. The BM comes with its own housing and mount and all that, so I can see the quality in that piece and thats probably what I'll go with. I've heard a STS can actually make shifting less precise...but I've got a shortened stock one and the throws still feel too long.
Probably another one of those things you'll never get a straight answer on because everyone has different experiences. If you dont like it you can always sell it on the org.

 

B&M reduces the throw by 40%. It achieves this by using a shorter design under the floor. If that makes any sence. You cut the top part of your shifter you didn't actually change the linkage under the floor. I have a b&m and I really like it. It can be notchy when really cold out but the shorter shifting is great. Also... it sits a little more forward than the stock unit.
it's just a little noticabe until you get used to it. Also... some of those ebay shifters will not allow you to use your black trim around the shifter as they sit too much forward.
I don't have any experience with the obx units you talked about.

 

I made my own...I cut about an inch out of the height, which didn't do much for the throw, mostly for appearance, and then I added about a half inch below the pivot point. that's where most of the throw shortening comes from. I doubt it's a 40% reduction, but I'd say a good 25-30%, and it was free...
If you have access to a welder and/or someone who can weld, try it out!

 

B&M i love it

 

get one that is adjustable so you can find what you like throw wise

 

if you cut the shifter so that its exactly 7 inches from the top of the ball it works great... the throw is cut in half and is not as notch as ebay ones..

 

I had some issues with this, and I thought I had an STS upon buying the vehicle, only to discover that the previous owner had cut the stock one. Then I bought a "Nismo" STS from Ebay for 20 buck or something like that. I had fitment issues and I had to go to the hardware store a couple of times before it would really fit and shift well. So anyways my advice would be to just spend the cash and get a good name brand one instead of going the cheapo ebay route.

 

B&M is great i have one as well def satisfied

 

your arm moves less... but the linkage underneath still travels the same amount. And you probably increased the amount of force needed to shift.
just my $0.02

 

bingo. thats what I was looking for.

**** it. I'm getting a b&m this is one of those parts I can see being worth the money just because you are using it EVERY time you drive the car.

 

it was between a bm and obx but i think i'm going to take kevs advice with the obx it was only like 50 brand new so ill let you know how it works thanks for the help

 

He knows what he speaks of. The only complaint I have with the b&m is that the ball is aluminum. It gets fricken hot in the summer and freeze you nards off cold in the winter. But when people get into your car and they see that b&m shifter ball sitting there they always ask if that's a real b&m shifter. you put a smile on your face and say hell yeah!

 

i have a b&m...but b&m shift **** ftl (its just ugly)

 

I have a OBX and I hate it. It took me forever to get it adjusted, and still binds a little. Spend some extra coin and get the B&M.

 

dont get the obx you cant use the factory bolt for the linkage... it will never be right. it sits real high and too far forward it hits the trim. i adjusted and fcuked with it for a few weeks than i got the B&M.

 

ok... ur arm moves less and at the same time the shift is quicker... yielding the same result...

try it before you knock it.... honestly the shift now has about the same roughness as the bm shifter....

 

i got a nice looking one on ebay for $25 bucks and all you gotta do is change the bolt that goes on the shifter cause its smaller than the OEM big bolt and i love it, it feels great and all and i cut it so it can sit lower and it does not hit the trim

 

I've installed at least three b&m's and two obx's, and I've driven every one of those cars, I absolutely love the obx over the b&m and it's what I'll be putting in my newest 5-speed hands down if/when I decide to go further than just the stock shifter and lario bushing I have right now, I can flat-foot 1-2 so quick with that stock set-up I have no complaints. I can't speak for the e-bay shifters (asides from obx & b&m, because you can get those there also) Spend less coin and get a shifter that has a better feel imho, maybe it's because it doesn't shorten the throw as much or what I dunno, but I swear by the obx's over the b&m's.

What do you mean by took forever to adjust and it still binds, are you talking about the bottom bolt. I think I know exactly what you mean and the more I think about it might be more prevelant on the obx's, A trick I've found to make the shifters that much better without the nut falling off is to leave it very loose and tack weld it in place, just the tiniest little tack weld. I have used brand new nissan nut & bolt + red locktite and it was either too tight and bound up or still came loose a few weeks later with all those precautions (sorry '99blackmax ), now I just put the tiniest tack welds on them.

I actually think the entire pivot assembly that comes on the b&m's is retarded, there is no need for it, and it makes the install a pain in the ***, they could have pre-assembled that snap ring assembly there as well, but they didn't because they knew it was such a pain in the ***, and the threaded housing + locknuts, a little overkill as well, not that it's a bad thing but just saying. Alot of extra work and money for a shifter that for me personally would cut some driving pleasure and possibly track times down as well compared to the OBX.

 

nothing has to be modified to install the B&M shifter, right?

 

pwned

 

The only thing to be learned from this thread is...Some people like the BM and some people like the OBX. However no matter how long of a paragraph one person writes in favor of the OBX (just messin with you kevin) there are still more way people who have problems with the OBX.
I take all the opinionated stuff on forums with a grain of salt. ALL of them, not just the ones that dont rule in my favor.

oh and Cfiggs, dont you already have an OBX shifter? It says so in your sig.

 

what about the cosmo racing (which looks like obx) ?
or the ralco one that cattman & ebay sell (looks like B&M)?

and as far as kevin liking the OBX and others having fitment problems....maybe OBX just has crappy quality control

 

they made crappy exhausts and now they make crappy shifters . sounds about right to me.

I almost brought up ralco but I thought it was the same design as the other ebay shifters. If this is in fact the picture of the shifter then I'm impressed it has its own housing and everything.

from ebay

 

Yeah the design looks like B&M rip off....I'm just wondering if the quality is decent. IIRC Brian Catts hasn't had first hand experience with them, so he can't really give driving impressions. But, maybe he can tell us if any customers have had problems with them...

 

he was speaking highly of them IIRC, but to me the name just sounded cheap so I didnt look into it.

 

glad i found this thread.

i just got a 98 5spd maxima, and just sadly sold my G20, this is my first post on here, and im glad i found it.

i ghetto rigged EVERYTHING on my G (cut the stock shifter) and i want to do it right this time and actualy buy a nice, REAL short shifter. just saying hi to everyone on here,and thanks for the reads.

 

Welcome mang !
Let us know what you end up with and how it turns out!

 

sure, if looks are all that really matters.





Would you like some cheese with your wine? I found the B&M installation to be a breeze. B&M is quality IMO. I love mine and wouldn't change it for anything.

Correct.

B&M FTW!!

 

^^ agreed that cutting the height alone won't do much....but what about adding a half inch under the pivot point?! That's what I did, as well as added a little counterweight, and it's definitely noticeable. Very worth $0 IMO...

B&M would be nice, but need EU and rear beam bushings first

(ps, I'm sending you the tracking info, Wiz.)

 

Don't get me wrong, all of them have to better than stock. The problem I have is that the derlin ball that adjusts the throw is a pain. I positioned the all too low and the linkage would bind up. Then I moved it up a few times, but when you have to remove the cat every time, it gets to be a pain. I figured B&M had it right. I had a 5oh Mustang with a B&M, and it was nice. That was the experince I had with the two. B&M awesome, OBX a pain.

 

what about the fidanza STS stock height and all but just shorter throws??

 

B&M FTW

 

I had heard of this...but never heard of anyone having it installed. (like my clutch, I think I'm the only one who has a fidanza clutch)

any idea on price?

1. I would want an STS to be at least a little shorter so it doesn't look like a truck shifter.
2. cutting the height down DOES reduce the throw a little. without cutting the height, the throw probably can't be reduced as much as B&M because they'd have to lengthen the bottom even more, making it scrape the cat heatshield.

 

this is the one i bought had to change the screw on the bottom but as far as comfort and all it feels awesome gears are nice and short feels awesome i have no complaints about this shifter you reuse everything from your oem shifter except the screw that goes on the bottom i got a screw perfect with a lock washer on on side and another lock washer on the other side with the nut sizes for the hex bolt & nut is 5/16x2 and lock washers 5/16 and with this you have your self a nice STS its almost factoy size but sits upwards like the B&M and NO it doesnt hit the trim when you go into first or anything i cut the shifter a bit so it looks hot now

 

that black chrome will look really nice under the shift boot.

 

^^and it feels great

 

see stuff like that completely turns me off from that product. You are selling a shifter, you should be advertising how well it works and why. Not how pretty it looks and all that cheesy bs.

 

While being upside down.

I have installed many STS's on Nissan's.

I installed a B&M in a U13. It wont fit in the hole from the top. So, you have to enlarge the hole in the support rod. Its a bit of a pain in the *** with a file. It doesn't fit because the bottom of the shifter is a large tear drop shape unlike the stock 'T' shape. I don't like snap ring setup that much either, most people don't even have snap ring pliers. Just do that at the factory. The bottom doesn't have a plastic sleeve or bearings so you need to tighten up the bottom bolt just right. You'll need Loctite on the bolt. Ask me how I know. They include brass inserts and some washers. WTF?! Even with all those it still comes out sub par. It can be notchy and the shifts are too short. You cant really center it either. Oh and the **** that comes with it is 2 pieces that wont stay together. For $150-$200 they did a poor job.

I installed a Topspeed B&M knock off in a P11 and B13. Its the same thing as the B&M just not as quality. It rattles since it isn't as well built. Way better price tag, almost worth it aside from the annoying noise.

I installed a Nismo knock off from ebay in a B13. What a pile. It was used so who knows what it was supposed to come with. It was just a single piece of aluminum, shaped like the stocker. The ball was a bit small leaving some slop in all directions. The bolt hole was also small, therefore you couldn't use the stock bolt. I had to modify all kinds of things to make it fit properly. Shifts are longer than a B&M. Not worth the $8 I paid.

I did not install but LOVE my Pacesetter SMC knock off. Its the same one Custom Maxima used to sell as their own. Its adjustable, shaped just like the stock one so it fits correctly, hell it even has the plastic ball. You cannot beat it. They were about $60-70.

I also cut a few and each time its a waste. It looks better height wise, but the good awful ***** people top them off with make it look like ***.