Did you end up finding/fixing the problem or are you considering a different STS after the headaches? If you're considering swapping it out due to the issues, I saw a video on youtube the other day of a 370z with the Hurst shifter and it looked pretty good with noticeably shorter throws. Not too aggressive looking and I'm sure you can change the shift **** that it comes with, just a thought

 

So for some reason, the STS alignment issue went away on its own? Very strange. It's like everything sorta broke in. Also, I swapped to a cheap Mishimoto metal **** I got and the rattling went away, so I think it was a loose washer inside the stock ****. Honestly, I'm a bit indifferent now. The throw effort feels a lot more like stock now that I'm using a heavier, taller ****, but I'm thinking the stock shifter was pretty good to begin with.

So my next options are
1) Get a nice expensive titanium **** from Lathewerks or
2) Return to stock

 

At least it's not giving you any trouble now, that's always nice when it works itself out like that after break-in, along with no rattles. Nissan did do a decent job with the OEM shifter, agree with you there and respect that if you go back to OEM with a weighted ****. I thought about just going with a weighted **** on the OEM shifter before I said screw it and got the Coolerworx STS. The OEM clutch pedal assembly is a completely different story though, not sure how the Nissan engineers messed that one up so bad (I see in your sig you have an RJM pedal also, night and day difference right? I drove on the OEM pedal with a stage 3 clutch and billet flywheel for a year which was not too fun lol)

 

Zspeed has some great offerings and products. Joe knows his stuff when it comes to the Z's and G's. I may go that route, been looking for alternatives since TWM is no longer available.

 

Yeah, it's all personal preference. I'll ride it out for a bit longer.
For the RJM pedal, I feel like I have way more consistent shifts. Though I'm probably not in touch enough with the car to remember what the previous clutch engagement felt like.

 

I've had the Stillen short shifter for about a year and I'm very happy with it. No regrets!

 

I had an ebay STS (copy of the B&M, looked like) and my major complaint was that the shift effort went up substantially. Notchy a little, but not bad enough I minded. The extra force needed to shift was causing me wrist numbness, which reflects likely more on me than on the unit. Only rattled at low speed high load (bogging the engine) for about 100 RPM, and not every time, so no worries there. I went back to the stock shifter with a much, much lower **** (just a round leather ball) and that seems to be the sweet spot for me.

I did have to engineer the lockout plate and spacer some to get reverse to work properly. Ended up making a spacer for the 'cover' part out of 1/8 steel that put the reverse bar in the right spot to work as intended.

 

Yeah even with a weighted shift ****, it still takes a little more effort than stock and going into 6th isn't very ergonomic. One thing I also noticed is that I can't press the clutch in fast enough to sync with the shorter shifting so my timing's still off even after a month lol. I'm likely going back to stock. It was worth trying though.

 

That's where I was, but I should have known better. With the RX8s and 7s the shifter was 2-piece stuck together with a rubber isolator - some large force added in rotational shear and you'd have the pivot ball and below, with just a 3: stub on top. Thread that for an aftermarket but heavy **** and that was the sweet spot for street cars. Not the short shifter kits.

For the race cars, the best setup we ever used was one from an RX2 that had a floor-mount shifter (as opposed to transmission hump/armrest height). With some heating and bending the 12" long top portion, you could have the shift ball immediately to the right of the steering wheel midpoint - so time off wheel to shift was super minimal. Sounds counterproductive with the longer shift throws, but it really did make our shifts faster.

 

Aw, that sucks. Shame it's not working out for you.

 

This is exactly where it’s at. And a reason why I’m leaning towards the coolerworx unit. It’s chassis mounted with shorter shifts but most importantly the shift **** is placed higher and closer to the wheel.

I want to try an extension with a weighted **** on the stock shifter first but I’m pretty the throws with be too long for me, alternatively I could try a short shifter to the extension and weight **** and asses prior to dropping $600 on the coolerworx unit.

Throw in the trouble others have with clutch engagement and shift lever timing and I’m all the more confused on what route to take.

 

So is there a *problem* with shifting now?

 

Not for me personally, Ive just seen it come up while researching short shifters for these cars. A lot of people end up going back to the stock shifter and/or a weighted ****. Mostly because of the shift feel, but I’ve seen a few people reference “timing” with the clutch engagement and shifting, similar to what heedtheninja mentioned. I have feeling it’s people just not adjusting to the increased effort required with the new short shifters though.

All of my previous cars have had short shifters and weighted ***** at one point or another. I’ve never had an issue getting my clutch engagement and shifting down.

 

I think there's your answer LOL.

These cars don't have a paddleboat shifter like older Hondas or other cars with cable shifters... it isn't a Miata, but it isn't bad either. If you are shifting so fast that the extra 1" of throw is too much, you are shifting too fast to start with; you'll kill your syncros even with heel-and-toe.

Weighted **** if you don't like the stock one (which is pretty heavily weighted). If you feel later that it's worth $500 to get that little bit more, you can still use the ****. But $500 is better spent IMHO on other mods - tires, swaybars, high flow cats, etc all run in that price range (well, 2 tires probably).

 

My TWM is the third experience I've had with short shifters, and I couldn't be happier.

My second was a hack on a 2003 Maxima, where the banjo bushing on the shifter cable was moved 1" on the pivot arm, which completely transformed the geometry for the better. Rather shocking results. Totally free.

My first was a Hurst shifter & linkage for an '82 Trans Am. That was all kinds of T-handle awesome.

/rambling