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JTC Short Shifter Version 2.0 First Review - JTC Sneak Peak - Releases Today 11/18/11

3K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  TegG2 
#1 ·
Review of the New soon to be released JTC Short shifter v2.0:
The first thing I noticed was just how tight the shifter was, in a good way. I noticed immediately that the large metal ball at the bottom filled the inside of the shifter pivot area very well. There was no more slop at all when lightly shaking the top of the knob which the stock shifter so infamously had. The shifts are much more tighter taking away almost 100% of the stock shifter unnecessary movement.

There are two adjustable arms on the shift lever. The left arm adjusts shifter height. The right arm adjusts just how short you want the shifts. The higher up on the arm you go the shorter the shifts will be. This is great since you can have very short shifts, but a long shift arm. I adjusted the short shift setting all the way to the top just to see how short the throws were. Let me tell you they are insanely short at the highest setting. With a shift pattern this tight and small it would time to get use to it. If you want a ultra short shift then let me tell you this is it. Unfortunately with the setting so high the main shift cable is positioned much farther up than stock, which means the metal arm on the end of the shift cable is bent up much more where it connects to the shifter at the front. This adds more tension and restriction when trying to shift, since the cable is no longer straight.

I then set the short shift selection to one notch above the lowest it would go, meaning this made the throw not as short. I expected the throw to be close to stock since it looked close to the stock position, but this wasn't the case. The throws were still very short. This lower position put much less of a stress on the shift cable, and took a lot of the pressure off where it was bending the cable at the front of shifter unit where the cable is clamped in. The shifts became easier, crisper, and the shift lever felt less restricted. Anywhere from the lowest to mid-high position of the short shift setting was comfortable. Just seems the highest felt restricted due to the bending of the cable.

I then adjusted the shifter lever up higher, but still shorter than OEM to get more leverage on the shifts to see how it felt. With the Height of the shift knob increased the shifts it felt even better. I prefer a higher shift lever height though. When it comes adjusting the height it is user preference, high or low the shifter felt wonderful. Unfortunately this is not the case when adjusting the throw of the shifts when using the right side. The shorter the shift setting the more pressure will be placed on the shift cable, consequently needing slightly more effort to shift into gears. This is only noticeable the most the short shift is adjusted all the way up(shortest shifts), but once lowered even a notch this resistance drops off significantly.

Overall this is one of the BEST mods I have ever done to my car. You use the shifter more than almost any other moving part in your car. An upgraded user interaction mod is always worth it, and this is the best short shifter on the market hands down. With the crapy shifter gone, driving became immensely more enjoyable. A short shift adapter does not even compare to this shifter kit. The JTC Shofter very well constructed, and very heavy with a lot of weight on the shift lever allowing for more force behind the shifter when making gear changes.

Also be aware that I did install the MTEC Pivot Ball at the same time as the shifter. I believe it contributed greatly to the complete loss of any free play, rattles, or looseness when lightly shaking the shift lever. A Stainless Steel Moddiction shift knob was also used. It also is very heavy, and the added weight on top of the shift lever helps it pop into gears easier. The shifter and these other parts completely blew away the expectations I had for this shifter. I have had short shifter before on other cars and it always just felt like an upgrade. This is much more than an upgrade, its like a completely different system all together. I am very impressed with the amount of difference there is.

The only negative side to the JTC shifter was the tightness of the shifts and the increased effort required to shift into gears when the short shift is adjusted to the highest setting. I am not noticing the shifter magically pop into the next gear as people have previously described when upgrading to a short shifter. This is usually an exaggeration I would assume. My next addition to the set up will be MTEC Springs & the KTUNE shifter arm. These two parts are the only thing that will help the in and out popping of the gears as well as a better return to center that people associate with it being much easier to shift into and out off.


























More pics of everything installed to come...

I frequent a more RSX specific forum but will do my best to get back to anyone with questions. The Shifter releases 11/18/11. JTC customs only has 2 guys working there so they do take a long time to respond to emails, but should get orders out asap. Though they did use my pics on their site(or asked to) I have no affiliation with them. Just been talking to them a lot and was lucky enough to receive the shifter to test out.

:thumbsup:
 
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