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B&M Short shifter review....

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Old Jun 4, 2010 | 09:31 AM
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Thumbs down B&M Short shifter review....

Hey guys,

Hopefully this is the right section....wasn't sure if i should put it here, or in the interior section...anyways I'll start of with a quick intro since I'm new to the forum. I'm from Cali and I drive an 05 G35 that I picked up a few months ago.

My quest for my first mod started when I tried a friends B&M short shifter in him new Mustang GT. It was seriously awesome and I decided there that I really wanted one for the G.

So I came onto here and lurked abit to find some information on the B&M short shifter for the G35. As you all know, the majority of people didn't seem to like it, but there were a few people who had a strong opinion towards liking it, claiming people had not installed it properly.

So I decided to give these people the benefit of the doubt and picked it up for $230 plus shipping from bmracing.com. I was pretty excited to get the peice to install it.

4 days later, it showed up at my door and I must say that I was everything but impressed with the quality of materials used and the general construction of the shifter.

I decided to give it a shot anyways.

Here's a quick video I made with my friend as we were trying to install it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ror8lYJmpA


As you can see, the rubber "boot" thing comes close to fitting, but even after wrestling with it for about 30 min, I couldn't get it to fit. On top of that, the whole unit is loose and seems to rattle everywhere...I can only imagine the type of noise it must make once installed...

All in all, there is not much left to say about the product. The construction is garbage, the part does not fit, it's fairly pricey, AND B&M won't be issuing me a refund or any type of help for the product.

I give this product a 0/10

If anyone wants a B&M shifter, contact me by pm...I have one for sale lol

Also if anyone knows of a decent short shifter, please let me know. My goal is to attach a shift **** extension onto it for some track duty, so I really need a GOOD short throw.
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Old Jun 4, 2010 | 11:53 AM
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If you would have searched you would have know they are junk before you bought it.
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Old Jun 4, 2010 | 01:43 PM
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the NISMO or the Stillen are both excellent units, install without incident, and work exactly as advertised. Each of our Z's here has 1 or the other, and both have been flawless
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Old Jun 4, 2010 | 01:57 PM
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Originally Posted by driftinvq
the majority of people didn't seem to like it
Correct. Now you can add your name to the list.
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Old Jun 4, 2010 | 02:03 PM
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I bet you saw my quote about the B&M, mine installed just fine. It does rattle, but the car is loud as it is and it doesn't bother me. Works great and has a great shift pattern. Not sure what happened with yours though.
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Old Jun 4, 2010 | 02:24 PM
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I installed one a while back (not my car) and had to do some sanding with 320grit to get it to fit. No biggy, and we already have a short throw shifter that works well. Most Z's you see on the track have stock shifters, its not a honda civic.
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Old Jun 8, 2010 | 09:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
the NISMO or the Stillen are both excellent units, install without incident, and work exactly as advertised. Each of our Z's here has 1 or the other, and both have been flawless
The problem with the Nismo (not familiar with the Stillen unit) is that it's not even a real short throw shifter. It simply changes the height above the pivot point. Useless IMO

I'm looking for a REAL short throw shifter that will not have all these garbage problems that the B&M has.

Originally Posted by misterniceguy
I bet you saw my quote about the B&M, mine installed just fine. It does rattle, but the car is loud as it is and it doesn't bother me. Works great and has a great shift pattern. Not sure what happened with yours though.
Indeed. I can't live with the rattle. It doesn't seem that complicated to make a shifter that doesn't vibrate and rattle everywhere....Why can nobody do this??? If I'm spending 20k on a car and then $250 on a short shifter, I would rather that it didn't make my interior sound like a 20 year old honda that's falling apart.

Maybe it's just me...

Originally Posted by terrasmak
I installed one a while back (not my car) and had to do some sanding with 320grit to get it to fit. No biggy, and we already have a short throw shifter that works well. Most Z's you see on the track have stock shifters, its not a honda civic.
The point of me getting a short throw shifter is so that I can put a shift **** extension to get a better driving position on the track without getting super long throws from having an extended stock shifter.

I'm going to keep looking cause B&M nor NISMO seem to have the answer for me...If anyone knows of something, now would be a great time to chime in lol
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Old Jun 8, 2010 | 09:50 AM
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you've obviously

1. never seen it
2. never used it

it most certainly is a 'real' short shifter, and the reduction in throw is immediate and apparant

think of a see saw - same thing here
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Old Jun 8, 2010 | 09:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
you've obviously

1. never seen it
2. never used it

it most certainly is a 'real' short shifter, and the reduction in throw is immediate and apparant

think of a see saw - same thing here
A REAL short shifter has a relocated pivot point and a lengthened shaft below the pivot point. A simple reduction in shift **** height does not give you a "throw reduction".

Anyways, I think I found the answer to my problems. I'm just waiting on a few answers from the guys at TWM Performance, but this thing look legit:

https://my350z.com/forum/drivetrain/...7-_______.html

I'll probably be trying this out as soon as their first batch ships out.
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Old Jun 8, 2010 | 10:21 AM
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find a car with a NIMSO shifter, and just do the motion from 1-2 and then tell me it's not real

I assure you, it most certainly is real. It is an immediate, night and day difference in travel vs the stock unit. Same goes for the Stillen. I know this first hand because each of our own cars here uses them
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Old Jun 8, 2010 | 10:37 AM
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i never thought our shifts were that long to begin. not enough to spend time or money on installing a short shifter but that's just me. i say return and forget it.
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Old Jun 8, 2010 | 10:48 AM
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Jason - I agree, for a stock car, it's among the best out there IMHO. But, the benefits of installing one really do change the car for the better. It's one of the mods I'm most pleased with overall, and my car has alot of 'em

I never got a chance to try the C's one, and I don't think they are around anymore, but so far, either of the choices I mentioned work great. If it didn't work, I wouldn't bother offering it in the first place.

Last edited by Z1 Performance; Jun 8, 2010 at 10:49 AM.
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Old Jun 8, 2010 | 11:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
find a car with a NIMSO shifter, and just do the motion from 1-2 and then tell me it's not real

I assure you, it most certainly is real. It is an immediate, night and day difference in travel vs the stock unit. Same goes for the Stillen. I know this first hand because each of our own cars here uses them
Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
Jason - I agree, for a stock car, it's among the best out there IMHO. But, the benefits of installing one really do change the car for the better. It's one of the mods I'm most pleased with overall, and my car has alot of 'em

I never got a chance to try the C's one, and I don't think they are around anymore, but so far, either of the choices I mentioned work great. If it didn't work, I wouldn't bother offering it in the first place.
Sorry man, but you really don't seem to understand the idea behind a Short Throw Shifter and how it works. You could achieve the same thing as a Nismo "short shifter" with a shift **** that sits real low.

I spent abit of time in paint to show you what I mean. Hopefully this will clear things up:

Name:  StockvsNismovsrealshortthrow.jpg
Views: 3234
Size:  24.5 KB



Originally Posted by Nexx
i never thought our shifts were that long to begin. not enough to spend time or money on installing a short shifter but that's just me. i say return and forget it.
You're 100% right. For daily driving the stock shifter is great in its throw etc. However, when you put a 4-6 inch shift **** height extension on it for the track, the distance that you have to travel to get between the gears gets pretty long.

Therefore, a REAL short throw shifter will keep the distance the same as stock, or even less if the throw reduction is pretty aggressive.
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Old Jun 8, 2010 | 11:40 AM
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Unlike you, I've used it, and held it in my hand, as well as the Stillen, so I know how both differ from stock on a first hand basis. Till you can say the same, you should avoid assumptions. But, it's your time and money, not mine, so it makes no nevermind to me at all. I'm quite happy with the way both work...and I only had to buy it once.

Last edited by Z1 Performance; Jun 8, 2010 at 11:47 AM.
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Old Jun 9, 2010 | 11:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
Unlike you, I've used it, and held it in my hand, as well as the Stillen, so I know how both differ from stock on a first hand basis. Till you can say the same, you should avoid assumptions. But, it's your time and money, not mine, so it makes no nevermind to me at all. I'm quite happy with the way both work...and I only had to buy it once.
The problem is that you still don't understand the basics of how a REAL SHORT THROW SHIFTER WORKS. There is no doubt in my mind that you feel a difference with your NISMO and Sillen "short shifters". However, I could get the EXACT same results by taking a hack saw to my stock shifter and re-threading the shaft.

Also PLEASE explain to me what my "assumptions" are. Nowhere did I make any assumptions. Everything I posted is 100% fact and requires only a simple understanding of basic geometry.

If you feel that there is something wrong in my paint diagrams, please enlighten me lol





In any case, I placed a pre-order for a TWM short shifter and an M1 Abrams shift **** with a shifter extender. Can't wait to get it

Last edited by driftinvq; Jun 9, 2010 at 11:10 AM.
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Old Jun 9, 2010 | 11:15 AM
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best of luck to you

all the info is out there if you care to find it
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Old Jun 9, 2010 | 11:23 AM
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i had the B&M unit from pretty much when it was released. version 1 and version 2 (version 2 being the updated reverse nub)

i never had installation issues with it, granted you followed the alignment procedures they suggested and had to file the portion of the shifter assembly on the transmission side to account for the reverse, then everything went fine. slightly notchy to get into gear, but nothing too obnoxious that you couldnt live with.

it was a very short throw vs OEM, some people have complained about buzzing noises under hard WOT, but that sometimes was alieviated by re-adjustment of the gold triangle and changing shift *****. the ball enclosure is self lubricating, so it gets smoother the longer you use it.

i dont understand why you had so many issues with it..

Last edited by Chebosto; Jun 9, 2010 at 11:25 AM.
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Old Jun 9, 2010 | 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by driftinvq
The problem is that you still don't understand the basics of how a REAL SHORT THROW SHIFTER WORKS. There is no doubt in my mind that you feel a difference with your NISMO and Sillen "short shifters". However, I could get the EXACT same results by taking a hack saw to my stock shifter and re-threading the shaft.

Also PLEASE explain to me what my "assumptions" are. Nowhere did I make any assumptions. Everything I posted is 100% fact and requires only a simple understanding of basic geometry.

If you feel that there is something wrong in my paint diagrams, please enlighten me lol






In any case, I placed a pre-order for a TWM short shifter and an M1 Abrams shift **** with a shifter extender. Can't wait to get it

It is my personal car at the shop that has the NISMO adjustable short shifter installed and I am the one who actually installed it.

I think I know where the confusion lies here. For some reason you are under the impression that the NISMO adjustable short shifter achieves it's "fictional" shorter throw length by way of a shorter shift lever than the stock unit. If that is your assumption (which it looks to be based on your diagram above) you are incorrect. I have physically held a stock shifter assembly in my hand while holding a NISMO adjustable shifter assembly in the other and the shift levers are indeed the same length. In fact the only design difference between the NISMO adjustable and the stock unit is the adjustable collar that allows the NISMO unit to be adjusted to one of four desired shifter heights.

So essentially the NISMO adjustable short shifter is doing exactly what you have described within your expectations of a short shifter. It lengthens or shortens the distance from the pivot ball to the top of the shifter thereby increasing or decreasing the shift throw length. I hope this brings some clarification to this matter.

As an added point, installation of the NISMO adjustable short shifter required no grinding, cutting or filing. The only things necessary that were not included were two wrench sizes and some grease (I used white lithium as it was the first thing I saw in our shop cabinet).

Last edited by Kwame; Jun 9, 2010 at 04:07 PM. Reason: Clarification
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Old Jun 9, 2010 | 12:38 PM
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This thread also sheds some more light on what I was trying to explain...

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-...my-review.html
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