TWM Short Throw Shifter (STS) and Z1 Transmission Mount
 

Back in 1985, I had a Hurst Competition Shifter installed in my 1982 Trans Am with a Saginaw 4MT. It was an amazing mod. And in 2009, I had the custom short-throw mod applied to my 2003 Maxima SE 6MT. It was also an amazing mod. So I knew when buying the G37 that someday I’d be doing the same with this car. The tech is completely different than both of those old cars, but the end result is the same: a tighter, more confident throw pattern. If you’ve never driven a car with a STS before, you’ll just have to trust me on this: it’s cool.

Coolness factor aside, it still took over four years for this plan to work its way to the top of my list. During that time I was reading up on the different options, eventually deciding on TWM. And when it finally came around, I decided to pair the installation with an aftermarket, polyurethane transmission mount from Z1 Motorsports. (Thanks to 4DRZ here on the forum for bringing the tranny mount to my attention. Some good advice, there.)

Here’s the link and picture of the TWM short shifter, $250 shipped direct from TWM:

Infiniti G37 Short Throw Shifter

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/twm_sts_01.jpg


And here’s the link and picture of the Z1 Motorsports transmission mount, $210 shipped direct from Z1:

https://www.z1motorsports.com/z1-pro...nt-p-6580.html

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/t...sion_mount.jpg


And here’s my second attempt at a before/after video, with completely amateur video skills:

Installation
 

Installation of the Transmission mount was an easy 10 minute effort for my mechanic. Support the transmission, unbolt things, lower it a bit, swap mounts, and bolt it back up. /done

Installation of the STS was a larger effort, because of all the interior trim. It took me maybe an hour or more to take the center console down, with help from section IP in the Field Service Manual. Like anything of this nature, once you do it, you could probably repeat the job in about 10 minutes.

Here are a couple of pictures of the interior sans console:

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/sts_01.jpg

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/sts_02.jpg


And here’s a picture of all the console components on my wife’s dining room table (LOL):

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/sts_03.jpg


Installation of the STS was also relatively easy. The most awkward part was access to the underside bolt on the banjo bushing, and removing the large nylon bushing to swap from the old shifter to the new one. All told, I’d say my mechanic puttered around for another hour or so, and then I reassembled all the interior trim back at home. If I weren’t so squirrelly about getting deep under the middle of the car when on ramps, I absolutely could have done the STS myself. The Transmission Mount, not so much. In the end, he charged me $137 after tax. Pretty damn fair, if you ask me.

Here’s a picture of the old parts:

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/sts_old.jpg

KNOB POSITION

The knob is noticeably lower than before. It doesn't feel wrong at all; I have no issues with the way the height feels, and if my eyes were closed, I probably couldn't tell one way or the other. However, it looks a little goofy to me. So I'm not sure where my thoughts are on this yet. I'm still processing.

You can easily see the difference in the video. It looks like the knob is at least 1/2” lower, maybe more. Here are a couple of pics with the console put back together.

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/sts_06.jpg

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/sts_05.jpg


At the moment, I’m researching bolt extenders. The shaft is a metric M10 with a 1.25 thread pitch. I’d like to find an extender with a 1” base and a 3/4” extension. Something designed like this:

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/sts_extender.jpg

[edit]

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and you'll read that I found a custom solution with LatheWerks.com:

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/standoff_01.jpg


SHIFT PATTERN

The shorter shift pattern is amazing. Like, Holy Sheet!!! kind of amazing. Shifts are fast, and precise, clicking into gear in a more mechanical nature than before. It feels good. Really, really good. :NOD:

The OEM shifter goes into gear with a thud, whereas the new shifter clicks right into place. I think part of that change has to do with the banjo bushing. The OEM shifter has a nylon/rubber material in the rotating banjo connection, whereas the TWM knob has a stainless steel bushing with ball bearings. There’s more design consideration going on here, and it just feels better.


PLANNING

At first blush, you might think it makes sense to do both of these mods at the same time… but you really don’t have to. There’s no actual connection mechanically speaking, except for the often-heard logic of “while down there”. Normally, I recommend doing mods one at a time, but for some reason I chose to do these both at the same time. There’s no wrong approach here.

For budget planning, these mods run together really nice: Parts and installation, a couple hundred dollars each month over three months.


TRANSMISSION MOUNT

Z1 sells solid aluminum, and solid polyurethane transmission and engine mounts for the RWD G37. I don’t have any experience with using solid aluminum as replacement bushings in a car, but conventional wisdom makes me think it would shake the fillings out of my teeth. However, I do have experience replacing many of the bushings on my old Maxima with polyurethane from Energy Suspension, including the motor mounts. The motor mount bushings mod in that car was my absolute favorite modification, for a whole bunch of reasons.

Because of the Z1 Mount, there is a new NVH that manifests in different ways. There's tautness to the car that wasn't there before. A kind of "pensive" feel to the way the car is vibrating. However, that vibration is extremely subtle and constant, like a humming sensation that you feel more than hear. You feel it at the seat of your pants, and most definitely through the shift knob. Because of this, I swear the car is more responsive to the throttle. While that might be psychoanalytical BS, perception is reality, and this feels snappy. It just does.

Also, the shifter feels like it's connected to the frame of the car, more so than the transmission. Of course, that’s not true. It’s just the way it feels, because there's zero play while in gear. The connection is rock solid. The increase in vibration through the titanium shift knob makes it feel like the knob has come alive in my hand, which is a pretty cool feeling.


DRIVING

Modifications that introduce NVH aren’t for everyone. Because of marketing, we’re predisposed to equate a “smooth ride” as the ultimate goal. And that’s fine if you’re buying a Town Car. But if you’re pursuing an improved, sports car driving experience, then feel for the road and feel for the car is a desirable thing. It’s a personal choice in how connected you want to be with the car. And it’s real easy to go over the line into bone-jarring crazy. So… it’s a balance. One mod at a time.

All in all with this Transmission Mount, the car has a more visceral driving experience than before. I don't think that's a bad thing, but if the needle were hovering between Luxury and Sport, it just moved a couple notches closer to Sport. Right now I'm liking it a lot, but I'm also pretty jazzed up. It will be interesting to see where I am in a couple months.


[edit]

It's been almost two years, and I still have both of these components in the car. I still love using this shifter, and I'm still aware of the NVH from this mount. Still really liking both.


[edit]

It's been almost four years now. I still absolutely love using this shifter, but I'm wondering now if I'd like to go back to the OEM transmission mount. I'm getting old, and the NVH is getting old too.

Subscribed for info.

I'm interested in your thoughts on high RPM NVH on acceleration and deceleration.

As long as there are no nasty habits at 6500+ rpm I'll be adding the trans mount soon :)

I drove around the city, highway and burbs quite a bit this afternoon. This might be a weird thing to say, but as cool as this STS is (and it is cool), if I were forced to pick which mod was better, I would say it's the Transmission Mount. And I am not kidding. There's a difference between bad NVH, and good NVH. This is almost all good NVH. :NOD: The car just feels that much more beastly. I had a whole lot of fun driving around today.

:eekdance:

I say "almost" because there is a rare moment that triggers a rather shocking resonance. The kind of "WTF was that?" moment. I don't know if it's a factor of my exhaust, the engine, transmission, or some combination of everything. And while I'm pretty sure it's on the sudden down-rev from high RPM's, it only happened once today, so I can't say exactly what brings it about. But there is one particular resonance frequency which qualifies as bad NVH.

If I figure it out, I'll talk about it. Until then... meh. So much awesome going on right now.


[edit]

Almost two years later, and this awkward resonance still occurs once in a while. Whatever the conditions are, it's repeatable, although I can't do it on demand. Really is a strange thing, but it happens so rarely that I just modulate up or down with the throttle and the clutch when it does, and forget about it. Maybe once a month kind of thing.


[edit]

5 years later, and that crazy resonance is almost entirely gone after getting tuned. :dance:

OK, this isn't going to happen. :mad: A male-2-female "standoff" (which is the right word) just can't be had in 10mm-to-10mm diameter with a 1.25 thread pitch. I even went to Fastenal, and had the guy call a few of his suppliers. The only way it's going to happen is if I order a 1000-count from some manufacturer in China.

I suppose I could have my mechanic do some creative welding with a m10 coupler and a section of m10 threaded stud... but I'm just not ready to go there yet.

So I cut a section of a plastic pen to about 1/2" in length, and stuck it inside my Titanium shift knob. That sacrifices some thread, but there's still a half-inch, and it seems super solid. Now my shift knob is about 1/2" higher than it was before, which was really, really low (in my opinion).

Hmm. :dunno: Quite a poor-man's hack, but I think it works if you add the phrase "good enough" to it.

so wait... you need to get under the car to do an sts install?
ive done dozens of these on other cars and never had to get underneath..
its almost always one of my first three mods on a ride..

Yes, that's correct. The banjo connection between the shaft and the rod assembly arm (or whatever it's called) has a single bolt that can only be accessed from underneath. It's on the top side of the driveshaft, and the driveshaft is surely what destroyed the boot. I just ordered a replacement boot from my local Nissan dealership for $14. It's the same part they've been using on manual transmission Z's and G's for the last 14 years. Part #32859-CD000.

CZP Performance actually sells it, too:

https://conceptzperformance.com/niss...00_p_11982.php


[edit]

...and here it is from my Nissan dealership's Parts Department, for $15:

http://www.johnclare.com/pics/cars/sts_lower_boot.jpg

I could have told you that you weren't going to find that coupler, since I already went down that path.

Isn't the WCLathe knob have height adjustment? I recall mine did.....

If you want something more than a pen you can slip a couple washers onto the knob and gain some height that way. I'd really recommend living with it for a few weeks before messing with the height and get more use to it.

Dammit. Now I "need" a trans mount.

Yes, I'd say that's right.

The added NVH subtly creeps into the cabin in lots of interesting ways. The car positively growls now. Honestly, I was expecting more vibration than what's actually there. But I wasn't expecting an overall change to the tonal quality of the car... yet that happened, and I like it.

In that respect, the car is slowly turning into a WRX. But heavier, and actually attractive.

:dance:

As for the 1/2" piece of plastic pen trick... I just drove the kids around on an errand, and I have to say that added 1/2" really makes a difference. I'm genuinely less concerned about the height now.

I think I'm settling in and done processing these mods now. This was lots of fun, and exactly why I mod my car.

This is longer than you want but based on your demonstration that the sts lowers the overall height I think it will work perfect for me. It gets here tomorrow.

TWM Performance Shifter Extender | Shifter Extenders Kits

Also was smiling because while you put it way more eloquently than I could have, I completely agree with everything you said about the Z1 mount. Best mod for under $200 possible. I'm thrilled with mine. It took some getting used to but I purposely took back roads and roads with lots of stop lights home Instead of the hwy just to play with it more.

Congrats on your new Z1 mount. Hardly any of the RWD guys in the Sedan forum have done this, and now that I have, I can't understand why more people haven't yet. You, me and 4DRZ... All Moonlight White 6MT's, too. Kind of a coincidence there. :eek3:

As for your plans with the TWM extension... Well, good luck with that. I can't see how that will be a good thing, but I'm subbed to your progress thread to see how it comes out. Your wheels certainly did, so maybe you're on to something here.

I can't understand it either. its not something I'd have really sought out but once I read about it, seemed like a decent idea and $200 is a drop in the bucket for modding a car so figured it couldn't hurt. and now all I want to do is go drive around even more than usual! haha.


as for the extension, I honestly don't have very high hopes. I think 4 inches is too much. but I can cut it and run it through a die to rethread the top and maybe pull 2 inches out of it. I do think for what I want, I need a bit longer than stock..... we'll see. it arrives today so will be removing the factory knob tonight.


can you estimate how far your STS lowered your knob height? I may just go that route (didn't want to really but who knows) to get the overall height less.

4" is insane. IMO it's going to look ridiculous, and you're going to spend $50+ for that lesson. Or-r-r-r-r... I could be totally wrong, and you'll end up discovering it's awesome having a high shifter. :dunno:

Just by eyeballing things, I swear my drop was almost 1", which is a lot more than I was expecting. The tip of the shifter has about 1" of thread, as does the inside of the knob. So as you read in a previous comment, I compromised that threaded hole with a 1/2" section of plastic pen as a spacer. That raised the knob a 1/2". Still shorter than it originally was, but livable now. I'm not concerned about only having 1/2" of thread contact. 1/2" is plenty secure.

And in actuality, it was "livable" before... just looked kind of goofy to me. Right now, it looks less goofy. It's a very subjective thing, with very small changes.