I went ahead and purchased the Torque Dampener and B&M last week and just installed them today. I would like to overview performance, and experience on my first few drives.

First, I purchased the Torque Dampener with a LOT of skepticism. The whole idea behind it didn't sound very sound in my opinion given that the car is REAR wheel and not front wheel. Well, that opinion has change quiet drastically. This upgrade reminds me of the grounding cable I installed and the gains are MUCH more noticable. First, the wheel hop I was getting has reduced by a pretty wide margin. Upon executing a few turns with high acceleration the tires stayed planted and didn't hop when doing a burn out. The TCS immediately popped on and my engine cut doing a few burn outs. There is some added sensation in the streering wheel that I noticed when idle but this is very INSIGNIFICANT. The car feels all around smoother when driving around and this is where the reference to the grounding kit really comes into play. High revs really feel smooth and clear. I think for $109 it is a worthwhile investment (I was VERY skeptical again at first).

B&M Shifter... what can I say that hasn't already been said? Easily the best $200 I spent for an upgrade. If you enjoy a notchy shift this is your shifter. The gates are very clean and very precise. I have zero issues with reverse, however, 5th and 6th are a bit taller then I remember but not by much at all if any. Shifts are noticeably faster and more responsive. I think the 33% reduction is right on target. Again, this isn't an upgrade you should pass on if you are interested in really getting faster shifts.

All and all I think the B&M was my favorite DIY upgrade. It was a bit challenging with the bolt underneth (not much room) and this is where I spent most of my time. The Torque Dampener install was a pain in the a$$ too because the brackets in the kit served absolutely no purpose for me. I had to search around to get the right fitting metric screws for the job. I mounted the Torque Dampener on one of the plenum screws and one of brace screws in the engine bay. I'll have some pictures in the future, however, for now a big thumbs up for both of these uprades.

 

3rdpower ...

All right !! Very nice reviews... and I was especially interested on your impression regarding the B&M shifter.

My B&M is going in as I speak... and will post later. Can't wait.

 

Where'd you get the torque dampener?

 

Thanx for the reviews 3rdpower. :thumb:

 

My impressions regarding the B&M shifter are the same as 3rdpower. GREAT !!

My B&M shifter was installed today. After only 1 hour of testing it, I could not be happier. All throws..1-2-3-4-5-6-R .. nice !

Yes, the shifter is "notchy", but not overly so. The short throws and very precise shifting action were just what I was hoping for.

I have no reverse problems.

There is no additional vibration or rattle over stock.

There is a little noise around 3,800-4,100 -- but it is small and not bothersome. I tested the shifter through the 0-6,000 RPM band.

Summary: happy dance. This is a great shifter for those drivers who want a shorter, more precise, more crisp, more "notchy" shift.

Can't wait for the Golden Week holidays coming up here this week starting April 29... and then May 1-5 ... to really test it out.

 

The Torque dampener is by Pro-1. It can be found here for $100. The concept is very simple and while the product "looks" cheap in the picture I could careless about making my engine bay look like a show. I like noticable gains and could care less if my torque dampener has a huge brass color blue coil and shock.

No pun intended for the folks looking at the 5Zigen. I just don't think $340 is worth the money for the name and the looks.

Again, worth while upgrade...

Engine Torque Damper Buy here

 

maybe more people will talk less trash to me about the torque damper w/ more reviews

 

Yeah Moog! No Nut Crackin'! Hahaha - thanks for being the guiene pig! Great little product for the money. :P

 

Side - Torque Picture

 

filed area

 

final product

 

You have it mounted to the shock tower bolt? the torque damper I mean.

 

Yeah, I mounted it to the shock tower - couldn't find a suitable place any where else. Just one of the bolts and no brackets used of course.

 

Hmmm...maybe I'll move mine then. Mine is mounted w/ the supplied bracket to the hood sensor bracket.

 

I'm a firm believer of LESS is BEST when it comes to simplistic mods.

Enjoy if you do. If you need metric bolt sizes let me know M16 and M8 I THINK!

 

3rdpower,

Does the torque damper improve the shifting too by taking some of the engine vibration out? How hard is the install ie holes to drill etc?

 

The car feels less torquey, by this, I mean when accelerating things just feel grounded. It's a very interesting sensation. If you thought your car didn't feel very fast before this will definitely make it feel even less fast. It stiffens up things so when you are reving you can tell that the engine is stiff.

As far as installation goes - straight forward no extra drilling. Find a suitable place and install. You may not be able to use my install methodology because I have an aftermarket shock brace by Crawford

 

Hmm...maybe I'll put one on each side of the engine.

 

Shifting has changed because I installed the short throw. Not as much noise in the shifter now from the Torque Damper and the new Shifter

 

I'm thinking of getting this mod too but what do you exactly mean by "notchy" ? Thanks.