Short Shift Adapter Kit - similar to Dave's

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Adding a Short Shifter is just to make the total movement of your shifting arm and hand go a lesser distance. It doesn't improve fuel economy, make the car go faster or lessen wear on the drive train, it just reduces the reach required by your your arm so you aren't flailing around in the cockpit trying to get into gear.

[Rusty Wishbone]

Yep. I realise that. One phrase two meanings - and now a third meaning.

[Fredjohn]

I really have no time for this thread.

Aagh, a fourth meaning.

[inkitin]

I really have no time for this thread.

Aagh, a fourth meaning.

Took me a few minutes but very good!

[Rusty Wishbone]

I really have no time for this thread.

Aagh, a fourth meaning.

Brilliant!

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Please get back on the subject thread. Too much for others to weed through.

[Fredjohn]

Please get back on the subject thread. Too much for others to weed through.

Sorry John got a bit excited at the pun and a bit

Truely back on thread: I have finally decided to get new cables and a short shifter: could you arrange to send one off to me! Once you get this and confirm availability I will PM you my address and friends/family paypal you some $$.

Many thanks

John

[Brit-Car-Nut]

John: I have several of both kits in stock so I can ship within 24 hours of receiving payment.

Thanks

[Fredjohn]

Thanks John. PM sent.

John

[mitreklov]

John,

I have conviced myself I need a short shift kit for my SE.
I believe I have the original cables installed but can't be sure, how would I identify the original 1991 cables over the later S2 or AB cables?

Also, does the short shift kit place a greater strain on the cables and therefore what is the likelihood that the SE cables could fail as a result of fitting the mod? I know that is a difficult one to answer but your guidance would be appreciated.
And finally, if the original cables were to fail at some point after fitting the kit would i need to purchase a new short shift kit to suit the replacement cables? I get the impression you have to make the kits to suit the cable type.

Car is 107k miles old.

Thanks

Tim

[ccb056]

I wouldn't be surprised if the short shift put more load on the cables. Shortening the moment arm and requiring the same moment is only achievable if you increase the force.

If you're on original cables, any sort of extra force can cause them to fail. My originals broke apart as they were being removed. I would strongly recommend getting John's cables if you're on the originals. They're very well put together.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

To help identifying what you have here are a few pictures. I agree with Christian that the older cables are experiencing plastic disintegration and general fatigue issues now.

The forces required to change gears do go up but there is no hard evidence that all cables will fail when installing a short-shift kit.

The improved geometry and fluid motion created by the matching cable set helps to improve the entire shifting experience.

Internal and external friction are reduced significantly by the cable design and the spherical bearings at the cable ends that compensate for the poor cable geometry that is part of the original design.

I really feel you will be happiest if you replace the system instead of just adding the short-shift kit.

stock.jpg

ab.jpg

bob-b.jpg

[mitreklov]

Ok so it makes sense to replace the cables as well to make the most of things.
With that in mind I'll have to hold off ordering until I have the necessary funds to do the whole lot.

Thanks for the guidance, hopefully you'll still have stock in August when I come to order.

Tim

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Tim: Good decision. Better to do it once instead of having multiple labor costs. I will have plenty available in August.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Since there is no way to make a post sticky, here is the post with the prices:

These prices ASSUME that payment will be made via PayPal using the Personal Payment, Friend/Family option.
Otherwise, PayPal will charge me 4.3% which I can not absorb in these prices:

Short-Shift ONLY kits are no longer available except for the Bob Brown cables and my cables..

If you have an AB cable kit, you will have to buy the Modified, Improved Abutment Bracket ($45.00 additional) which addresses the misalignment issues of the AB Cable sets. I will make a special kit for you, but it will take a few days after you order to have it ready to ship. I am sorry, but the few buyers that tried just the Short-Shift Kit found it made the lack of centering even worse.[b][size=150]

I don't know what to offer for original SE cables. The drag caused by the height difference worries me and I don't want people complaining about my kit like they did with the AB Cables.

Please read viewtopic.php?f=48&t=22769&p=297077#p297077 for a better undersanding of the options.

Prices WITH Postage is:
$460.00 + $40.00 Shipping is $500.00 For US Cables Only
$595.00 + $40.00 Shipping is $635.00 for US Cables and Short-Shift Kit

$460.00 + $74.00 Shipping is $534.00 for UK/Europe Cables Only
$595.00 + $90.00 Shipping is $685.00 for UK/Europe Cables and Short-Shift Kit

The prices assume you will be paying using PayPal's Friends/Family option. If not, you will need to add 4% to cover PayPal's retail fees.

My PayPal ID is john (AT) lotusm100 (DOT) com.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

The last 4 Short-Shift Kits are available for dispatch.

Please see viewtopic.php?f=48&t=22769&p=297077#p297077 for a discussion on the pros and cons of SE, S2 and AB Cables.

[mitreklov]

I just wanted to share with the forum how impressed I am with John's cables and short shift kit. I received mine this week and spent the day fitting them. The quality of all the parts is first rate and coupled with the very comprehensive instructions resulted in a snag free installation. I've just got back from my first run with the new set up and I can confirm it is well worth the effort and expense, as others have said it transforms the driving experience.
Thanks John for all your efforts

I treated myself to a new gear knob too.....

Tim

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Thanks Tim.

If anyone wants JUST the Short-Shift Kit and DOESN'T have original SE Cables, these are the pros and cons of the kits.

S2 cables seem to work better than AB cables - I don't remember seeing anyone complaining about the lack of "self-centering" after they replaced theid SE cables with S2 designs.

I did a lot of experimenting with AB cables (that is what I had on MY car) and ended up resizing the crossgate bushing to relieve the friction. That becomes an issue when you want to add the Short-Shift Kit because there is now extra play in the linkage.

I overcame the alignment issues by raising the cable abutment holes at the gearbox and then slotting the mounting holes to allow the abutment to pivot to better align the cables with the new position of the attaching pins on the gearbox levers.

The shipping doesn't change with or without the abutment bracket because it will fit with the other parts in a small flat-rate box from USPS.

Those of you with STOCK SE cables are kind of at a loss. I know Dave had a Short-Shift Kit of his on his SE for YEARS and never had any problems, but when I installed a set of SE cables, the allignment was really poor.

If you have a car with SE cables, I designed a version to connect to the 8mm pins as found on the stock SE, S2 and AB cables, so attaching the cables isn't a problem, but SE alignment is less than what I consider to be acceptable.

If someone in the US wants to try a kit on a car with SE cables, I will be happy to sell then a kit with a 30 day return allowance if they are not happy with the results. They just have to pay to return the kit to me, I will refund the full amount they paid for the kit and the outbound shipping when I get the kit back. THIS OFFER IS ONLY FOR US CARS - The shipping to an International address is TOO EXPENSIVE for me to refund it. This might dispel my fears about offering the kits separately from the cables (at least for SE cabled cars).

S2 & AB Cabled cars will most likely have to buy an abutment bracket. Chris B (in the US). had just purchased a set of AB cables from DBE and then installed one of my Short-Shift Kits on his car and used my abutment bracket and found it worked great.

So, that is the current state of affairs with the Short-Shift Kits. I know they work brilliantly with my cables and will work well with Bob B. cables since he has spherical rod ends too that allow a lot more mis-allignment to be inconsequential.

I hope this clarifies the issues.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

So, we had a bit of a warm spell earlier this month so I decided to reassemble the test car with a set of STOCK SE cables and look at the alignment issue with the Short-Shift Kit.

I think the cable abutment bracket can be modified to help the alignment.

I slotted the near side (left hand when sitting in the drivers seat or right hand when looking from the front into the engine bay) hole to allow the cable housings to better align with the new selector pin positions. I also added a couple of washers under the abutment bracket to raise it up and also to better stabilize it in the new position.

I will start over with another original abutment bracket and only cut away the bits I finally decided are necessary and I can provide the washers and longer bolts to properly hold the abutment bracket in the new position. I can then provide a template (drawing) that will assist in modifying the abutment bracket as well as a few pictures to make it clearer.

This still doesn't address the fear that the added strain on the cables due to the reduced mechanical advantage of the levers might lead to premature failure of the cables.

The basic Short-Shift kit will not have to change but there will be a slight price increase for the additional hardware that will need to be included - probably around $8.00.

If anyone is interested, I will write up an addendum for the installation guide as soon as I get the final abutment bracket modifications quantified and I can include pictures of the process.

People with S2 or A-B type cables still need to order the redesigned and modified abutment bracket since the cable positions are moved up 6mm and the bracket has elongated holes to better align the cables to the new selector pin positions. There is no way to make those changes by modifying the stock brackets.

Any comments or questions?

[Brit-Car-Nut]

After receiving no comments, questions or suggestions, I gave up on worrying about making the Short-Shift kit work with original cables. I assume it is because most people have upgraded to A-B Cables, S2 Cables, Bob B.'s Cables or my kit.

If anyone wants a Short-Shift Kit for stock cables, you will have to contact me for the current information.