General how to make a shortshift gearlever in 20 mins.
- Thread starter tim woollands
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General how to make a shortshift gearlever in 20 mins.
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hi, richie you should have tried the gearchange out the other night at my house, it's just a stubbier gear lever that makes the gearchange throw much shorter and quicker. i havn't got a clue how to turn this into a guide but will give it a try. i used a £5 leather look gearknob off ebay just to check it would work ok and get the length right, now i have done it i will shorten it again and fit a sparco gearknob to match my pedals. ps. richie hows the colour match on the paintwork holding up? 
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Im worried about reverse still
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what are your worries about reverse sharpy? if it comes down to it you could always shorten the reverse lift part too. i just didn't bother as i'm thinking of having a go at the autotesting at the retro show. (unless anyone has a cheap chinq or a 3 dr punto in poor shape for an autotest car thay wan't to donate cheap? ) i will shorten a lift reverse and photograph it and see how it does but you won't get reverse whilst driving i promise you.
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Its possible to shortern the lift up then? I just presumed you couldnt because you havent, ill give itva go aslong as i can retain lift up reverse. Looking forward to choosing a new knob
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you can do anything in life you put your mind to sharpy. i have a spare plastic lift part for you to have a go with. send me a self addresed jiffy bag and a stamp and i will send it to you for free. i will see if i have time to shorten one this week but with a bit of plastic tube some fiberglass and matt black spray i'm sure the job will look great. so just cut down the gearlever then cut down the reverse lift plastic to match it's size, splice the two plastic parts together with a pipe, glue,fill,sand and paint. and roberts your mum's brother. like i say i will do it to demonstrate it if i get time this week but if not you can have a spare plastic lifter i have.
Alright everyone I've went and given this a shot and have been successful! I chopped roughly 50mm off the gear stick and think it looks much better, and the gearchange feels much more positive and direct
The original gearstick marked off - second mark down is where I cut, first one wasn't short enough :devil:
When you're deciding where you want to cut to, place the gearknob next to the stick and to the level that you want it, then put a mark on the stick where the bottom of the gearknob lies, then make your cut 38mm above that mark as that's where the top of the gearknob stops on the gearstick
How it looked orinaly:
How it looks now:
Got to say I really like the result of this! Spent ages on and off searching for an actual short shift kit for the Stilo but this is just as good!
Here's the length I cut off, 50mm there or there abouts
The original gearstick marked off - second mark down is where I cut, first one wasn't short enough :devil:
When you're deciding where you want to cut to, place the gearknob next to the stick and to the level that you want it, then put a mark on the stick where the bottom of the gearknob lies, then make your cut 38mm above that mark as that's where the top of the gearknob stops on the gearstick
How it looked orinaly:
How it looks now:
Got to say I really like the result of this! Spent ages on and off searching for an actual short shift kit for the Stilo but this is just as good!
Here's the length I cut off, 50mm there or there abouts
OP
OP
glad to hear you like it, i'm going to shorten mine a bit more i think. as for the lift reverse like i say i'm going to have a go at autotesting so don't want anything stopping me selecting reverse quickly, with the stilo having the parking assist steering and disc brake handbrake i think it should do well.
Um! Surely making your gear leaver shorter does not make it a short shift, just a short stick. The end mechanism that engages gears is exactly the same length.
All your doing is shortening the leaver, and in theory because your shortened the leaver your now having to put more effort in to change gears because you have less leaverage.
All your doing is shortening the leaver, and in theory because your shortened the leaver your now having to put more effort in to change gears because you have less leaverage.
StiloBoy is absolutely correct in what he states. It is definitely not short shift!
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the principal is that due to the shorter lever your hand moves a shorter distance to change gear and thus it is a shorter shift, i havn't noticed that the gearchange is any harder than it was before but just feels so much better. stilo's are so short on tuning parts in the uk i just like to try new things for free or as near. i am sorry if i mislead you by calling it a short shift my intention was not to do so. :worship:
The gear leaver is indeed moving a shorter distance, but the gear changing mechanism is not, so the shift has not been shortened.
If anything you may be subjecting the mechanism to more wear.
If anything you may be subjecting the mechanism to more wear.
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please stiloboy can you tell me how i am subjecting the mechanism to more wear? i have said sorry for calling it a shortshift it is in principal a shorter throw gearlever. people asked me to show how i did it and i have but starting to wish i hadn't bothered. i would love you to tell me the effects i will cause to my gearchange mechanism?
It is a shorter throw, of course the mechanism on the gearbox and the cables etc are the exact same, but I don't see how this is going to physicly wear it out any faster :s I could explain with a crappy MS Paint drawing how it's shorter but...can't be f*ucked
The angle between 1st (A) and 2nd (B) for instance is 10 degrees and the pivot ball is the centre point, then the further out from that centre point you go then the further distance there is between points A and B, so shortening the distance from the centre also shortens the distance between any 2 points The mechanicals of the gearshift do more work over a shorter throw of the gearstick, but unless you are literaly throwing the gears in with brute force then I don't think you will cause any increase in wear
Obviously with the longer original gearstick you can put more torque/less effort into the gearchange, but it isn't really necessary - on mine anyway - for the gear change to be that long, it was very smooth before and hasn't changed at all since shortening it so I doubt I'm putting extra strain on it, and it looks awesome. :slayer:
The angle between 1st (A) and 2nd (B) for instance is 10 degrees and the pivot ball is the centre point, then the further out from that centre point you go then the further distance there is between points A and B, so shortening the distance from the centre also shortens the distance between any 2 points
The mechanicals of the gearshift do more work over a shorter throw of the gearstick, but unless you are literaly throwing the gears in with brute force then I don't think you will cause any increase in wear Obviously with the longer original gearstick you can put more torque/less effort into the gearchange, but it isn't really necessary - on mine anyway - for the gear change to be that long, it was very smooth before and hasn't changed at all since shortening it so I doubt I'm putting extra strain on it, and it looks awesome. :slayer:
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OP
i'm with you mark. i respect stiloboys posts as he has owned his car a long time and does seem to know his stuff but i have been a mechanic and recovery driver for 23 years, i did my apprentiship on yugo cars which were based on fiats. i raced 128's and stradas modifying them all myself and i have restored alfa's and a lancia delta. i reduced the length of the gearlever on many of these including my 130 tc abarth and then thrashed the living daylights out of it for a further 40k with no gearbox problems (granted most of the rest of it broke.) i feel bad for calling it a shortshift when it is just a shorter throw but i really can't see it doing any harm.
Yeah I agree, it's not for everyone and I guess it's another one of those "don't fix what's not broken" scenarios, but I've taken the plunge as have you and a few other people, I like doing things a bit different if I think it's better or an mprovement over standard, and if it works out it gives more people reason to follow suit knowing it's ok
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you wont wear anything out quicker at all... you cant be, you havent changed the length of any levers or pivots..
you have only changed the length of the stick, if anything making it harder for you to move it. but the cables ect wont have any more force, the extra force you are putting in is just because the lever is smaller. (if it was original length the force exurted on the cable would be the same due to the way a lever works)
you could technically cut it down to the pivot point and it wouldnt make a difference.
you have only changed the length of the stick, if anything making it harder for you to move it. but the cables ect wont have any more force, the extra force you are putting in is just because the lever is smaller. (if it was original length the force exurted on the cable would be the same due to the way a lever works)
you could technically cut it down to the pivot point and it wouldnt make a difference.
Tim... don't worry about other people's negative critisism. You often get this on forums, people just wanting to put down other people's ideas.
As already explained, shortening the operating lever just means it will require a little more effort from you to change gear. It will have no detrimental effect on the internal gearbox selector forks, rods, detents etc. or the external operating cables.
So would I.
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OP
thanks all, i'm not worried about negative comments honestly (if you can back it up.) this is my 18th fiat but my first stilo. i love the forum and the tips are great. it's really speeded some of my repairs up being able to come on here and find a solution instead of spending hours fault finding and cash sorting problems you didn't have. i have a spare stilo i bought for a £100 on the road so it was worth me messing about with mine while i have the spares to put it right if i mess up. i'm sure stiloboy is a really nice bloke and he is entitled to his opinion so i have no hard feelings. i will be getting my car ready for a track day soon and was going to put a couple of guides in about it if you like. i have been challenged by 2 mates 1 has a mk2 golf gti and the other a p reg ibiza gti. both are lighter and more bhp than mine but i have more track expierience (and a spare engine if mine goes pop.) so it should be a good challenge. unless anyone has a cheap abarth they want to sell as a track car?
Sorry mate, not putting down your effort. Just clarifying what a short shift is, or isn't on this case.
My only concern over wear would be the increased (albeit tiny) force in which your need to put into a shortened leaver to change gear. But then I happily stand corrected on that point.
My only concern over wear would be the increased (albeit tiny) force in which your need to put into a shortened leaver to change gear. But then I happily stand corrected on that point.
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