New Product Release - MAZDASPEED 3, GEN 2 Adjustable Short Shifter!

[tikous360]

Originally Posted by jbarone Hard when, while the car is off, running but not moving or down shifting in to 1st?

When the car is running but nt moving

[Zdraveca]

Originally Posted by tikous360 When the car is running but nt moving

Thats the ssp. Take it off and it will be much smoother

[JBR]

Originally Posted by tikous360 When the car is running but nt moving

You can back the throw off on the SSP and make it a bit longer there and do a gate adjustment. See the "How To Adjust Your Shifter" in the support section of our website.

-Jamie

[mrmonk7663]

I got my shifter today. Is this piece supposed to be bent like this or should it be flat?

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1418085498.263278.jpg

[jeopardy98]

Had the same question. I figured it was how it was supposed to be.

[Zdraveca]

Mine was like that too

[JBR]

Originally Posted by mrmonk7663 I got my shifter today. Is this piece supposed to be bent like this or should it be flat? Attachment 184361

The little hoop is suppose to be bent like that.

[mrmonk7663]

Good deal, just making sure. Thanks for the quick response

[JBR]

We have officially run out of these until mid January. 47 sold in 19 days! Many, Many thanks!!

We're still taking orders so keep that in mind if you want one of the next batch of 50.

Thanks,
Jamie

[timmcc02]

Installed mine saturday and took off the ssp. Shifts feel much better. The only issue that may actually be normal is i have a lot of side to side movement when in gear from the shifter. Took panels off today and looked at it while moving it around and everything is tight. Anyone else have this?

[SaveMelMac]

I do have a small amount of play in the shifter if you twist the knob back and forth. I found it's coming from the shifter neck itself from the pin next to the spring that pushes the shifter back up when you push down for reverse.

[UnknownReagent]

Compared to stock and SSP, I have basically zero lateral play in my shifter now. Make sure the white cap that goes in the cable arm is securely attached to the ball-joint that sticks out the side of the shifter. I made that mistake at first and had a huge amount of play until I fixed it.

[covelife1016]

Just installed my 2nd gen short shifter today. It is very tight in gear and feels buttery smooth as mentioned before. However, I have to push down on the shifter for the pin to go under the gate guide for first and second gear. Is this normal or do I need to adjust something?

[JBR]

Originally Posted by covelife1016 However, I have to push down on the shifter for the pin to go under the gate guide for first and second gear. Is this normal or do I need to adjust something?

That is NOT normal. Is the gate guide all the way against the OEM gate? There is some adjustment there. Also, please check all points of the reassembly process ensure it's all correct. If the problem still exists, shoot me some good pictures to jamesbaroneracing@gmail.com so I can take a close look at them.

-Jamie

[Gr8Speed]

Originally Posted by covelife1016 Just installed my 2nd gen short shifter today. It is very tight in gear and feels buttery smooth as mentioned before. However, I have to push down on the shifter for the pin to go under the gate guide for first and second gear. Is this normal or do I need to adjust something?

Check all the linkage over carefully to make sure all of the clips are fully pushed back in.

[covelife1016]

Originally Posted by Gr8Speed Check all the linkage over carefully to make sure all of the clips are fully pushed back in.

Got it. It was the adjustment on the selector cable. Somewhere putting it back in I must of knocked it or moved it off that nipple. Thanks for replying so fast.

[covelife1016]

Originally Posted by jbarone That is NOT normal. Is the gate guide all the way against the OEM gate? There is some adjustment there. Also, please check all points of the reassembly process ensure it's all correct. If the problem still exists, shoot me some good pictures to jamesbaroneracing@gmail.com so I can take a close look at them. -Jamie

Thanks for the help. I had a feeling that something wasn't right.

[Djohns]

Got mine and attempted to install before work. Having a real hard time getting that second cable to pop off. Anyone have any tips or suggestions for that?

[covelife1016]

Originally Posted by Djohns Got mine and attempted to install before work. Having a real hard time getting that second cable to pop off. Anyone have any tips or suggestions for that?

13mm open end wrench is how I popped mine off.

[timmcc02]

So I took mine apart to check it out and found the arm that comes out the left of the ball of the shift rod that screws into it came loose. So I tightened it up and it fixed the play. After driving it about 20 miles its loose again. You think I should use some loctite on it?

[JBR]

Originally Posted by timmcc02 So I took mine apart to check it out and found the arm that comes out the left of the ball of the shift rod that screws into it came loose. So I tightened it up and it fixed the play. After driving it about 20 miles its loose again. You think I should use some loctite on it?

I presume you did tighten it with a wrench? If that doesn't keep it tight loctite will for sure. I'll add a note to the instructions to use some loctite as well.

Thanks for the feedback.

[timmcc02]

Originally Posted by jbarone I presume you did tighten it with a wrench? If that doesn't keep it tight loctite will for sure. I'll add a note to the instructions to use some loctite as well. Thanks for the feedback.

Ya thats probably for the best just make sure to say blue loctite and not red lol. One more time taking it out of the car hopefully.

[mrmonk7663]

I should be installing mine this coming week. I have the JBR adjustable short shift plate, set in the middle. I intend on keeping the ssp. I haven't seen any reviews yet with the combo installed, so i'll let yall know how it goes. My car is forced to use the SSP due to my blowthru setup. The stock setup with stock weight would contact my intake piping. The SSP on the middle setting works real well on its own, so hopefully the shifter makes it even nicer.

[Djohns]

One last question, I notice that you have white lithium grease, I've been trying to get my hands on some and when I finally get some. It's black. Is it necessary to use white grease? I know that's a stupid question but I just wanna make sure before I go slathering that shit up

[jeopardy98]

So I installed mine today and I love it but when I go over to first it doesn't spring back to neutral. It does from 5th and 6th. Also, in reverse it doesn't spring back. I think the spring is weird. I'm not pulling it back apart though. I can live with it.

[JBR]

Originally Posted by jeopardy98 So I installed mine today and I love it but when I go over to first it doesn't spring back to neutral. It does from 5th and 6th. Also, in reverse it doesn't spring back. I think the spring is weird. I'm not pulling it back apart though. I can live with it.

I saw this issue in our shop car once out of many, many installs it didn't really resonate with me at the time but, here's how to fix the problem you're having.

Loosen the torx screw that holds the gate guide down. If you added the optional screw, loosen it too. Waggle the shifter back and forth and then tighten them back down again. This should resolve the issue with the shifter not returning to neutral. There should be no need to remove the shifter to correct this.

Now, the stalk not coming all the way back up, we think is caused by the thick lithium grease we used during assembly. This issue especially prevalent if the car is very cold and the grease is even tackier. I suspect it will get better with time as the grease breaks down.

Let me know if this solves the problem and I'll add a note to the installation instructions.

-Jamie

[jeopardy98]

Excellent! I'll give it a shot. I did use the optional screw and if it is that easy I will certainly be fixing it up. Thanks! It returns back up just fine. No issue there.

[WFO!]

Originally Posted by jbarone I saw this issue in our shop car once out of many, many installs it didn't really resonate with me at the time but, here's how to fix the problem you're having. Now, the stalk not coming all the way back up, we think is caused by the thick lithium grease we used during assembly. This issue especially prevalent if the car is very cold and the grease is even tackier. I suspect it will get better with time as the grease breaks down. Let me know if this solves the problem and I'll add a note to the installation instructions. -Jamie

Jamie
Im sure you know about Lubriplate.

This is what came with my Factory Mazdaspeed short shift kit from Mazda.

Also included in the B&M shift kits as well as others. Its the only grease to use for shifters in most opinions.






Cheap on eBay.

Lubriplate Aero Lithium Based Grease Lubricant 5 Pieces 3 8 oz Tubes New | eBay

[JBR]

Originally Posted by WFO! Jamie Im sure you know about Lubriplate. This is what came with my Factory Mazdaspeed short shift kit from Mazda. Also included in the B&M shift kits as well as others. Its the only grease to use for shifters in most opinions. Cheap on eBay. Lubriplate Aero Lithium Based Grease Lubricant 5 Pieces 3 8 oz Tubes New | eBay

I've heard of it but I've never tried it. I will get some. Thanks for mentioning it.

Here's a fun fact....

Mazdaspeed and B&M supplying the same grease a coincidence? No, B&M made the Mazdaspeed shifters for Mazda to Mazda's specifications.

-Jamie

[WFO!]

^ Right. Also the Mazdaspeed kits came with a nice pressed steel tool for removing the ball so you dont have to mess with paperclips etc. Thats a B&M thing. They include the tool in other SS kits.

That grease is godlike, BTW.

.

[JBR]

Originally Posted by WFO! That grease is godlike, BTW.

Ordered!!

[MOCO MS3]

Drove a friends MS3 with the shifter last night and I can truly say that this one of the best aftermarket pieces I have ever seen or felt. The shifting was smooth, precise and effortless. More importantly, there was no slop in it at all and the confidence with the shorter throws and the precise way it goes into every gear, was amazing.

I have driven cars with B & M, Mazdaspeed, TWM and others, this one is second to none. It felt almost like driving a car with a sequenial gearbox, the down shifts were smooth and precise as well. I cannot wait to get this shifter on track @ Mid-Ohio and put it through it paces and see the results of a couple of days of work!

[mrmonk7663]

Installed the shifter today in my gen2. Instructions are spot on. I added blue loctite to the shifterball you tighten.

I set throw all the way down (least reduction) and neutral all the way back (pulled to rear). I have a jbr adjustable ssp. I set that to minimal reduction.

Shifting is smooth and short. 3rd gear is so smooth and short compared to the rest it almost is hard to tell I even engaged the gear. All gears engage fine upshifting and downshifting. Reverse is normal as well.

Install is tedious but not hard. 2 1/2 hours start to finish including ssp adjustment and quick snack break.

If my new intake setup provides me with enough room I might take the ssp off to try that. I initially had the ssp in the middle position, and while everything worked fine, 3rd was too short that way for my liking.

All in all a great product. For the amount of time and precision it takes to design this thing the price is an incredible value.

Thanks JBR

[mrmonk7663]

Update-The way 3rd and 5th felt with the SSP I did not feel comfortable driving. It is not because it didn't work, it was because you couldn't feel when 3rd and 5th engaged. It was that short. It was at least half as short as 2nd and 4th. So I took off the SSP but retained the JBR shift weight. I left the shifter at the lowest reduction. Now all gears feel equal in shift length and all engage perfect. Next step is to increase the shift reduction by about 10 more percent via the shifter, and I should be all done.

The point of this is, yes you can use the SSP with this shifter. Based on my experience today, however, I would not personally recommend doing it. It is not needed, and only takes 10 minutes to remove. The new shifter has enough reduction ability to meet anyones needs without an SSP.

Update 2- Moved the throw reduction so that a tad past middle. This required more trimming of the plastic than the install instructions said. I think someone else mentioned this in here. No big deal. On future shifters in production it might be easier to radius that corner. Anyway, throw is great and all gears have easy positive engagement. I am happy with where its at. I'm done

I hope my review helps some of yall out there.

[NeoKraSH]

Nice work Jamie! I would love one if I was not currently a broke college student haha

[Djohns]

Installed mine, absolutely love it, used the Lubriplate grease as mentioned above. Only thing I'm having a problem with is I have trimmed A lot off of the plastic piece and I am still hitting it. I'm not sure I can take anymore off. Is it possibly something I did during install? Shifter is set at shortest throw and neutral all the way towards the back. (Towards the inside of the car)

[JBR]

Originally Posted by Djohns Installed mine, absolutely love it, used the Lubriplate grease as mentioned above. Only thing I'm having a problem with is I have trimmed A lot off of the plastic piece and I am still hitting it. I'm not sure I can take anymore off. Is it possibly something I did during install? Shifter is set at shortest throw and neutral all the way towards the back. (Towards the inside of the car)

I doubt you're doing g anything wrong. If you have it set to the shortest throw its actually exceeding what it was designed to do. So, back off a bit and it will clear. You won't notice the throw being a tad longer.

Hope this helps.

-Jamie

[mrmonk7663]

Its possible you did not trim enough. I had it set at the shortest and had no issues. I went to the middle and had to trim more. You can take the cupholder out but place the shifter bezel back on, and reach your hand under there and feel exactly where it hits...that's what I did.

[nb6179505]

stupid question, but i couldn't find anything, I just took the SSP off and kept stock under the hood with the short shifter. The red adjustable piece, I have furthest back towards the back seats, but in terms of height, does the shorter it goes make the throw shorter or longer?

ie the higher up its set, will that lengthen the throw?

[mrmonk7663]

Up is shorter, all the way down is longest throw.