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Old 04-27-2008   #1
Kracka
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Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

First of all, thanks to Scheides for opening up his garage for me to work on my car and lending a hand with the install.

Great price, good quality, PITA install, and they really need to include install instructions! All said and done the shifter feels great, but the installation didn't exactly go smoothly. I got the kit on sale from Modern Automotive Performance for $59 which I think is a great deal since thats $20 off their regular price.

http://www.maperformance.com/store/p...cat=977&page=1

The kit included aluminum shifter base bushings which were very good quality and fit perfect. The kit also included 2 new white plastic bushings for the balls that attach to the shift cables, but they were really poor quality so I highly recommend reusing the stock ones (used a flathead screw driver to pry them off the stock shifter). I also had to buy a new upper pivot ball bushing from the Mitsu dealership for $14 since I didn't want to cut my stock shifter in half. I used heavy-duty marine grease on the pivot ball and the the shift cable balls.

The short-shifter comes with a removable counter-weight which was nice and really helps the shifts feel very smooth. The pivot ball is adjustable and has 2 settings. On the less aggressive setting the shifts are a bit shorter and the knob sits higher than stock (I was not impressed with this setting). I tried the less aggressive setting first because the more aggressive setting can not be used unless you hack up the plastic shifter base some which I did not want to do. I almost pulled the shifter out and returned to stock but I decided to stop being a pussy and just "clearance" the shifter base with a RotoZip. Fast forward a bit after everything was clearanced (with plastic chips and shavings all over the interior of my car and wreaking of burnt plastic) the shifter feels great on the aggressive setting. I am closer to my goal of getting my shifter to feel like the one in my S2000 (stock shifter w/countersunk knob). The shifts are now tight and precise. The throws are definitely shorter and the knob sits a bit lower than stock, but I can still shift with a 20oz bottle in the cup holder.




Last edited by Kracka; 04-27-2008 at 05:37 PM..
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Old 04-27-2008   #2
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Damn you! Now I want one! This short shifter makes me want one for my Evo. I always thought the evo shifter was short enough, and heard that short shifters for evos were a waste because of the ambiguous feeling they left, but coupled with the solid base shifter bushings and underhood shifter bushings, they make for a DAMN nice shifter setup! I can't wait to get my own.
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Old 04-27-2008   #3
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

I was a bit nervous at first since I too have heard what you mentioned but figured I would give it a try anyway considering the price. After getting it installed and driving it around a bit I really like it and am 100% happy with the feel of the shifter/shifts.
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Old 05-30-2008   #4
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

What bushings and what not would i need from mitsu? or whatever needed for install? thanks!
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Old 05-30-2008   #5
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

No bushings, you need:
Upper pivot cup (part # MR246296 Retainer+gearshif)
If you look in the above pic, this is the plastic piece that the shifter is fed through. Stock one is kinda stuck on it.

And I might also suggest getting TWO:
part # MR232147 tiny cups for ball ends
These are the little plastic cups on the bottom end of the shifter and the part that sticks out the side. They connect to the shifter cable linkage. Some are supplied with these SS kits but the ones that came with hughes's kit sucked the fat one!!

(mitsu part numbers....got these from hughes so if they're wrong, blame him! )

Last edited by scheides; 05-30-2008 at 08:58 AM..
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Old 05-30-2008   #6
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Thanks for posting those Scheides. Get some brass shifter cable bushings while you're at is so your shifter is as good as it can be: http://speed-source.net/ The shifter kit already comes with new shifter base bushings so you're good there.

Last edited by Kracka; 05-30-2008 at 09:32 AM..
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Old 05-30-2008   #7
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Hell yea! For about $60 you will have a nice tight shifter setup. Do a front motor mount while you're at it and your NLTS shifting will be insane.
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Old 05-30-2008   #8
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Quote:
Originally Posted by scheides View Post
Hell yea! For about $60 you will have a nice tight shifter setup. Do a front motor mount while you're at it and your NLTS shifting will be insane.
Probably closer to $90 once you buy the eBay shifter, the shifter cable bushings, and the new Mitsu upper pivot cup and two new ball bushings.

Not sure if I've made this public or not yet, but the cheap $29 shipped eBay short-shifter is the EXACT same as the Fidanza and B&M. I've purchased them all to just confirm this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-05...spagenameZWDVW
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Old 06-07-2008   #9
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

We installed one in Scheides' car earlier today! I'll let him post his impressions.
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Old 06-07-2008   #10
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

All I gotta say is WOW. $31 shipped for the short shifter, $23 in parts from mitsu = $54. This is officially on my 'short list' of mods that should be done to every Evo, right after full exhaust, mbc/gm bcs, intake tune, front engine mount, and rear sway bar (i.e. basic modded evo).

There's a bunch of ways you can setup this shifter to suit where your hand falls, and the install (once you have done it once ) is easy, mine took about 30 minutes. Throw is reduced by at least an inch in front and an inch in back, full throw front to back is about 3" (SHORT!). I was super worried about the vagueness inbetween gears, but grabbing various gears is very intuitive and very easy.

The kit includes lower shifter bushings to stiffen up the whole shifter assembly. Add in under-hood bushings (on the other end of the shifter cables) and a front motor mount for furious, clean, quick, snick-snick shifting action, especially when coupled with NLTS!

I would not have bought one of these if it was not *identical* to the fidanza SS. Worth every penny.

Out with the old:




Quick cut with the rotozip (sorry, blurry):


In with then new:




If you own an evo, go buy one of these. Right now.

Last edited by scheides; 06-08-2008 at 04:33 PM..
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Old 06-08-2008   #11
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Alright, I caved...
Just bought the eBay short shifter. Under hood bushings are on order as well...
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Old 06-08-2008   #12
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Awesome!
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Old 06-08-2008   #13
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

woot!
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Old 06-16-2008   #14
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Kracka and I installed my eBay short shifter on Saturday. It really is absolutely awesome.

I was concerned about lowering the height of the shift knob as I prefer the shortest route from the steering wheel to the shifter to bang of quick shifts. However, the shifter is adjustable so you can set the angle of it. I angled it towards the driver and it's in a great spot.

There is more effort involved in putting it into gear, reverse can be especially tricky. It's not unmanageable and actually feels a bit more solid and deliberate than before.

I forgot to measure the overall front to back distance between the two but the short shifter is significantly shorter than stock.

Overall, for the price ($31 eBay shifter + $17 upper pivot mount = $48) this is a great mod that really adds a lot to the driving experience.
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Old 06-16-2008   #15
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

These looks pretty nice. I have one on my 1g and I love it. No hack job here! It was my first mod, and I got ripped off on it.

I honestly love Fidanza. They have great customer service, I was having issues with receiving the wrong friction plate for my flywheel, I called up MAP's guy down at Fidanza and he sent me a new friction plate that was correct for my application. I had another issue where the dowel pins were removed from the flywheel I had bought used, I noted to them I bought it used and without any questions, they sent me dowel pins, $free.99.!
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Old 09-08-2008   #16
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

I drove Scheides car with this short shifter this weekend! It was awesome. I want one for my car now... Problem is I can't find this kit on ebay anymore!!!!! Anyone else find it??
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Old 09-08-2008   #17
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Oh shit, price increase!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Short...spagenameZWDVW
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Old 09-08-2008   #18
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

I saw that one.. but wasnt sure it was the same... shitty... thanks!
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Old 09-08-2008   #19
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-...=p4506.c0.m245]

$38 shipped, not aweful...
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Old 09-08-2008   #20
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Re: Fidanza short-shifter (Evo VIII/IX)

Still worth every penny and way cheaper than brand name aftermarkets selling the same product. Hell, the shifter bushings alone sell for $25-35 or so depending on brand.
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