I have the GR short shifter that I ordered through Toyota. It's adequate. Compared a friend's stock BRZ and another friend's Billetworkz short shifter, I much prefer the GR. Coming from a Hybrid Racing short shifter in an FD2 and spending time with a CAE shifter in an FK8, it does leave a lot to be desired though.

Has anyone hear upgraded the rear shifter bushing? Is it worth it?

 

Have you tried the Torque Solution short shifter?

 

Lightweight shift knob

 

Any links to one. I got a Billetworkz one but it is a heavy one?

 

I actually don’t mind the shifter feeling. It’s not as good as my FN2 was but far better than my E46 M3.


Not necessarily your issue however I have seen complaints about shifter feel before and the cause was the reverse lockout not being aligned correctly from the factory. Below a helpful diy if second gear shifts are a bit of a pain

 

Not necessarily your issue however I have seen complaints about shifter feel before and the cause was the reverse lockout not being aligned correctly from the factory. Below a helpful diy if second gear shifts are a bit of a pain



That's the popsicle stick mod I mentioned.
Re 2nd gear: I don't have any problem upshifting into second but I do have an issue downshifting into second. That's actually my biggest complaint about the stock shifter.

 

A lighter knob will allow you to feel the mechanism working inside better, allowing you to feel when the synchros are spun up and ready to slot in the gear.

I’d recommend anything Delrin or Duracon

 

My issue is more the clutch/pedal feel which the MTEC spring allegedly helps. The transmission in this car is just average and thats it. The clutch bite point and feel just dont jive with me. I'll live with it. No car is perfect. . Still having a blast.

 

I replaced my clutch spring with the GK Tech one and adjusted the clutch master cylinder rod to bring the engagement point lower. The combination made a world of difference for me; probably moreso adjusting the engagement point over the spring itself, but the spring allows me to feel where the TOB starts to engage the pressure plate so it's helping be build some better muscle memory.

I've been driving MT cars for nearly 20 years and this is the first one I've driven where the clutch made me feel like a noob. Changing the spring and adjusting the rod helped me feel much less noobish.

 

Same as above. Almost 900k miles driving manuals and this is the only one that made me feel like a learner, including the one I learned on. Got the McMaster-Carr spring and that solved the problem. I wouldn't call the clutch amazing, but the spring made it consistent and solidly in the "not bad" category.

 

I'll add shift knob to the list of choices.
How did that one improve the shifting experience for you?

McMaster has an equivalent to the mctech spring? Not surprised but cool that someone found out which one lol

 

I’ve had a lot of manuals over most of three decades and this shifter is my second favorite of all. Am tempted by a short shifter but give it an A- as is. Only the one in my 2015 GTI felt more satisfying, and that may not be a fair comparison given that car was FWD.

The shifter in my 2019 WRX felt like it was from a piece of farm equipment. Did the job fine, but not much joy. The one in my 2016 BMW M235i was rubbery, and sometimes didn’t slot that well into first. The one in a Forester and in an old Subaru Legacy wagon were also agricultural.

Regarding the clutch, the one in the WRX was too heavy, the one in the GTI was nice and easy, yet I stalled that car several times, which was weird cause I’ve never done that on the 86 and almost never did in any other manual. The clutch on the BMW was perfection.

When I first had the 86 I would have given the clutch a B- overall because of the lack of feel and aggressive push back in the engagement zone. Since I went to the MTEC spring I’d give it a B+. Lowering the engagement zone might push it up a grade.

 

Am tempted by a short shifter but give it an A- as is.

I've never heard of it.

A lot of the American products don't make their way over here unless specifically imported.

tested OEM, changed to Billetworkz short shifter, drove quite a bit till it didn't feel any diff, then went to dealer to drive OEM shifter again to make sure everything is working as is and nothing degraded (also because i had griding so needed to make sure wasn't because of something worst, ended up dealership car had the same grind). Have not tried Torque but Billetworkz really made the drive more enjoyable for me. I then spent another several months changing shift knobs from OEM to duracon knobs back and forth and now ended up with a duracon knob. OEM feels solid but I prefer the mechanical lighter feel when shiftting fast. Slow shifting, OEM heavier knob would give a more premium feel but that's not what I was looking for apparently.

 

Lol man, no offense to anyone but good lord yall act like the transmission clutch and shifter all suck.

They don't.

 

Lol man, no offense to anyone but good lord yall act like the transmission clutch and shifter all suck.

They don't.

I'm right there with you. I don't mind it at all. At least, not enough to start tinkering with random bushings and springs.

 

I dont mind the stock feel at all but I also love to tinker. All I can really say is that shifter feel and shift knob weight preference is a little subjective. I feel like a heavier knob is my preference at the moment. I'm using the GR shift knob currently but I did have a lightweight wood knob installed for 4-5 months.

I did swap out the stock shifter springs for MTEC springs and I swapped out the shifter bushing for Faction Fab's bushing. NOTE the faction fab bushing is not a direct fit on the GR86, I had to 3d print spacers to make it work. I'm waiting on them to revise the design. They say it was tested on a BRZ so its possible they are different and could fit BRZ's possibly.

I feel like both of those items tightened up the shifter a tiny bit but maybe not a huge amount. Unfortunately when I installed these parts I ended up doing the shifter springs one side at a time due to needing to pick up a new socket, anyway I wasn't able to feel a before an after just a gradual one part at a time. This could be all placebo but I think I've had much less failed shifts and grinds from my own stupidity usuasally .
I know the new springs were stiffer than stock and the stock bushing was mostly air allowing for tons of movement compared to the solid polyurethane bushing.

 

I'm not as picky as some of yall I guess...

I don't feel like anything needs adjustment or replacement. 👍

 

With all due respect, guys, this discussion is not about whether you like the shifter or how to improve the clutch. It’s about how to improve the shifter.

Having said that, thanks to everyone who's answered the question!

 

We definitely did get off topic.

I don't have any input on the shifter for this specific chassis, but I did every shifter mod I believe there was (bushings, rear mount, transmission mounts, short throw shifter, etc) for my old GC Impreza. It's been almost 7 years since I owned that car though so I honestly don't remember much but I feel like I do remember it feeling quite notchy but in a good way and very positive.

I do have to ask though: You say you're not satisfied with the performance of the shifter and want to improve it. In what ways are you not satisfied and what is it you actually want to improve on?

 

Installed the STI short shifter. Hardly noticeable change in throws (expected) but it is much tighter than stock. If anything, it's just slightly too notchy, but the pretty big reduction in slop made it worth it. No rattles like I've heard with billetworkz

 

There is nothing wrong with the shifting,shifter,lever,knob or clutch on my 23 BRZ! Just what are you comparing it to? Every car drives different as well as every driver is different. If I wanted to improve it I would start with the loose nut behind the wheel. In other words... just more practice! Get familiar with the car. Anything you change you will just have to learn all over again.

 

Just what are you comparing it to?

dealership car

 

With respect to the OP, this doesn’t address the question directly…..but for my .02, I really like the shifter on this (there was an extra notchiness to the gen 1 that I miss sometimes but overall I think the gen 2 is a significant step forward). Because it’s so good (to me), I’d be reticent to change anything that’s not easily reversed (shift knob is an easy way to tinker). Not a tinkerer by disposition but did order a short shift kit and installed in my 981 boxster because I thought it needed it - that was invasive but 6 months in and I love it. By comparison, I have no motivation to alter this one on the gr86 at all.

As an aside, I have no issues with the clutch action, surprised to hear how many experienced manual drivers do.

 

@Magikbiped
Thank you, that’s really helpful. Especially:

“it kind of sounds like what you are describing, to me, is more likely an issue with the feeling of the transmission gear selector rods, and not the shifter itself”

“in a lot of other cars, especially FWD cars, the shifter is connected to the gear selector via a cable or linkage, which ads a lot of damping to the feeling you get through the shifter as you go through the gears”

--This may well be it. The cars I’m comparing it to are FWD Hondas and Nissans.

“maybe replacing your shift knob with a weighted one might help”

--Based on what I’ve been reading about shift knobs I thought a lighter one would be better because it would improve accuracy. Why do you think a heavier one is the way to go?

 

--Based on what I’ve been reading about shift knobs I thought a lighter one would be better because it would improve accuracy. Why do you think a heavier one is the way to go?

The main reason I say go with a weighted one is because with increased mass comes increased inertia, and theoretically the increase in inertia should help slightly dampen the sensation of vibration and notchiness felt through the shifter to your hand. I believe that a lightweight knob could increase your shifting accuracy and minutely increase the speed you could move the shifter, but that increased accuracy would come because you're able to feel more through it, which means you'd feel the notchiness even more.

I've never actually used a weighted knob myself though, so this is based on stuff I've read on other forums as well as making an assumption based on physics.

 

I wouldn't worry about damage. If the gears are grinding, you'll feel it. I'm used to FWD hondas as well, but even the s2000 shifter felt much smoother. I'm going to be switching out my trans fluid soon so I'll see if that changes anything

Heavier shift knob will definitely help but could take some effort to find one with a weight you like. I bought the Raceseng Ashiko (whopping 725g) and it's way too heavy. Shifting feels much smoother, but the weight kills almost all feedback from the transmission so I went back to stock. Still in search for a nice weighted shift knob

 

@jetvermillion

The stock knob is 197.5g according to my scale. Your Raceseng Ashiko is 3.67x heavier. Based on what you said I think I will try a 450g Billetworkz knob, which would be 2.28x heavier than stock or 62% of the Raceseng Ashiko's weight.

Let us know if the transmission fluid helps! And thanks again for the info.

 

@Magikbiped

I'll try a heavier shift knob (about $100) instead of a short shifter ($400). Thanks for saving me three hundred bucks (for now at least)!

 

@Magikbiped

I'll try a heavier shift knob (about $100) instead of a short shifter ($400). Thanks for saving me three hundred bucks (for now at least)!

Don't forget to update with your impressions after you've driven with it for a while! I've always been curious about getting a weighted knob but never actually got around to trying it.

 

Gear oil. See my latest thread

PSA - If you are unhappy with the shifter, change your...

I changed my tranny fluid out yesterday to redline MT-90.. holy crap what a difference. I have 6200 miles on my car and this is the most return from an upgrade I've done so far. Don't get me wrong, the stock shifter is okay - I just I felt it could be better. Before changing: -Clunky notching...

www.gr86.org

 

Gear oil. See my latest thread

PSA - If you are unhappy with the shifter, change your...

I changed my tranny fluid out yesterday to redline MT-90.. holy crap what a difference. I have 6200 miles on my car and this is the most return from an upgrade I've done so far. Don't get me wrong, the stock shifter is okay - I just I felt it could be better. Before changing: -Clunky notching...

www.gr86.org

Redline MTLV really made the shifting a lot smoother

 

Did the popsicle hack with my OEM STi short shifter and it really made a big difference in the feel. Before it would feel scratchy and coarse getting into first and shifting to second while taking some effort, now it feels very smooth with almost no resistance. Recommended.