B&M Shifter - My review
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B&M Shifter - My review
Finished my install.. I posted this article HERE with pics.
Product Review
The 350z has an extremely short shifter from the factory, but when I heard B&M Racing was coming out with an even shorter throw shifter, I just had to get my hands on one. Some have argued that by shortening the throw, you lose accuracy and shifting becomes much harder, but I am not one to go by others speculation. B&M has a good reputation, and claim a 33% reduction in throw. Here we will be testing those claims and evaluating the shifter’s quality, performance, and installation. I was also having trouble with my stock shifter going into some of the gears, and wanted to see if this resolved those issues.
Quality:
The quality of the shifter is excellent. Some very high quality machining went into making the pieces and the tolerances are very close. The kit comes with the shifter lever (assembled), a spacer for the lower joint, new lubricant for the housing, a metal spacer, longer bolts, along with very simple step-by-step installation instructions. The kit is presented in a clean rectangular box and all parts are shrink wrapped in place. The shifter was a perfect fit into the stock location.
Installation:
The installation of the shifter is very straight forward and can be done in 30-60 minutes. A large jack and jack stands is a must (or a lift). A few bolts from the top and 1 bolt underneath the car is all that is required to remove the stock shifter.
I kept hearing complaints from people about having to “grind” away at the shifter housing. These comments had me skeptical, but once I actually looked at what had to be done it was easy and necessary. The throw is shortened by adjusting the pivot point on the shifter. Doing so makes the lower portion of the shifter bump into the bottom of the housing when trying to engage reverse. All that is required is to shave off ~.125in from the square cutout in the shifter housing. You will never miss it and can consider this as weight reduction.
Next is dropping the new shifter back in the slot, aligning all the holes and bolting it in. I tested it and adjusted the top spacer to set the reverse point. Installation is done. Probably one of the easiest installs I have done in awhile.
Performance:
The feel of the shifter is completely different. The stock throw is short, but the B&M throw is extremely shorter. It takes a little more effort to push through the gears, but that is expected due to the shortened leverage. I measured the stock vs. B&M throws to test their claims. The stock throw is ~100mm(3.9in) while the B&M was ~70mm(2.75in). This equates to a 30% reduction just as claimed.
The stock shifter gave me difficulty going into 2nd and 5th rears. When getting on the throttle would often get “stuck” in neutral. In order to get into 5th gear I would always have to make sure to slam the shifter right, then upwards. The B&M has eliminated that problem, and 5th gear comes much easier. Overall, I found that all the gears are much easier to find.
Overall I am very pleased with the B&M shifter. I cannot say whether it will improve your ¼ mile times, because I don’t really race. But I can definitely say, that I like the feel, and finding the right gear is easier for me. The shifts are a little more stiff, but not so much that it becomes a burden. The installation was one of the easiest I have done to my Z and even a newbie should not have a problem.
Product Review
The 350z has an extremely short shifter from the factory, but when I heard B&M Racing was coming out with an even shorter throw shifter, I just had to get my hands on one. Some have argued that by shortening the throw, you lose accuracy and shifting becomes much harder, but I am not one to go by others speculation. B&M has a good reputation, and claim a 33% reduction in throw. Here we will be testing those claims and evaluating the shifter’s quality, performance, and installation. I was also having trouble with my stock shifter going into some of the gears, and wanted to see if this resolved those issues.
Quality:
The quality of the shifter is excellent. Some very high quality machining went into making the pieces and the tolerances are very close. The kit comes with the shifter lever (assembled), a spacer for the lower joint, new lubricant for the housing, a metal spacer, longer bolts, along with very simple step-by-step installation instructions. The kit is presented in a clean rectangular box and all parts are shrink wrapped in place. The shifter was a perfect fit into the stock location.
Installation:
The installation of the shifter is very straight forward and can be done in 30-60 minutes. A large jack and jack stands is a must (or a lift). A few bolts from the top and 1 bolt underneath the car is all that is required to remove the stock shifter.
I kept hearing complaints from people about having to “grind” away at the shifter housing. These comments had me skeptical, but once I actually looked at what had to be done it was easy and necessary. The throw is shortened by adjusting the pivot point on the shifter. Doing so makes the lower portion of the shifter bump into the bottom of the housing when trying to engage reverse. All that is required is to shave off ~.125in from the square cutout in the shifter housing. You will never miss it and can consider this as weight reduction.
Next is dropping the new shifter back in the slot, aligning all the holes and bolting it in. I tested it and adjusted the top spacer to set the reverse point. Installation is done. Probably one of the easiest installs I have done in awhile.
Performance:
The feel of the shifter is completely different. The stock throw is short, but the B&M throw is extremely shorter. It takes a little more effort to push through the gears, but that is expected due to the shortened leverage. I measured the stock vs. B&M throws to test their claims. The stock throw is ~100mm(3.9in) while the B&M was ~70mm(2.75in). This equates to a 30% reduction just as claimed.
The stock shifter gave me difficulty going into 2nd and 5th rears. When getting on the throttle would often get “stuck” in neutral. In order to get into 5th gear I would always have to make sure to slam the shifter right, then upwards. The B&M has eliminated that problem, and 5th gear comes much easier. Overall, I found that all the gears are much easier to find.
Overall I am very pleased with the B&M shifter. I cannot say whether it will improve your ¼ mile times, because I don’t really race. But I can definitely say, that I like the feel, and finding the right gear is easier for me. The shifts are a little more stiff, but not so much that it becomes a burden. The installation was one of the easiest I have done to my Z and even a newbie should not have a problem.
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