MWR Short shifter install and review

[revstohigh]

This thing is awesome ! its like a completely diff trans with this shifter . very positive engagement , it clicks in each gear . absolutely no wiggle room this baby is tight . the entire thing is made of metal and heavy compaired to the stock plastic asymbly
also it sits about 2 inches lower so it looks really sporty too

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step 1 remove shifter knob and boot

step 2 remove bezel around radio

step 3 remove bottom storage compartment

step 4 remove screw at top left of where compartment was

step 5 remove center dial on heat contols , just pull strait off

step 6 remove trim around shifter and heater controll asymbly

step 7 remove power converter wiring harness plugg and place aside

step 8 remove shifter linkage from shifter asymbly

step 9 remove 4 12mm nuts and remove asymbly

step 10 remove washer that holds spring for shifter from stock asybly and install it on MWR asymbly ... it is on top of mwr and bottom of stock one

step 11 swap bushing to new asymbly

i found the mwr asymbly was a little bent where cables snap in (prolly from shipping)so i had to bend it a little bit and thin it out a hair (basically just the paint)

step 12 reinstall in reverse order and enjoy the heck out of it !

felt very very notchy at first and was really hard to get it in gear but after a short drive all is well still a little hard to put in reverse but deff worth it
also the cables arn not at an ideal angle in my opinion but im sure it will be fine they but it beats the cheaper set ups which require cutting out some of the cover and lower dash

the only thing im not loving is that on this set up it feels like the spring is very tight your wrist gets a bit of a workout , im not sure if it is from the way the cables bend , the way the oem spring sits on WMR , or the lack of leverage lol

[tpollauf]

Nice !!! You ain't a kidding that it sits LOWER Your shifter boot looks to be compressed in place instead of stretched like the stock look. Could be a distant future mod for my 09 GT 5-speed Only after I finish my current LONG list of mods which I feel I'll never get completed.

[revstohigh]

Yea I know how that is . ive got over 3 k in parts and im just waiting on a nice enough day to push my MK3 supra out of the garage and get a lil crazy on it .........
rear mount t3 , 55cc inj, AEM fic, full stereo , body kit, my new job leaves me with over 2k disposable monthly income lol next summer this vibe will be a beast !
ive only had it a few months but its getting there

[BlackbeardBen]

Great guide.

Question: Does the short shifter reduce the "shifting in a bucket of rocks" feel that the 6 speed tranny has? Switching to Redline MT-90 helped but it still feels unnecessarily clunky.

[revstohigh]

yup tightens up the whole thing . there is less than a 1/8 inch free play in any direction . and the spring is very strong . there is a very positive click when going into each gear . also from N its a little easier to find the gears on demand .

but be warned the shifter is so short its easy to forget what gear you were in when cruising because its no longer obvious at a glance

[revstohigh]

Update !!!!!! the ridiculous stiffness is fixed . it is no longer difficult to get into gear anymore this thing is like butter !
it was initially very hard to get into first and reverse . i replaced the boot and knob and it was instantly free as a bird . it turns out the stock boot and knob cant handle this thing . the boot is to narrow at about the half way point and the oem knob is much longer than its threads would suggest , which pushes the boot even further down . so now the aftermarket knob and boot don't get pinched in the mechanism any more . the over all knob height is not any lower it just dose not come as far down the shaft.




the boot is a universal honda/acura from ebay $8
and the knob is sickspeed , its a screw on type and was $30 on ebay (i dont mess with those set screw pep boys junky ones lol)


seriously for 160 bucks every one needs one of these !
your welcome WMR lol

[revstohigh]

ps. rather than break out the leather needle and thimble to stitch the oem ring at the base of the boot i opted for epoxy ! seriously i had my doubts to lol but with a few clamps and some 2 part epoxy i did it one side at a time . you have to stretch it just a little put a bead of epoxy and fold it around the ring and then just clamp it for 20 min . i also put a little super glue in for good measure around the edges that were coming up . the end result is that the bottom 1.5 inches of the boot are stiff from the epoxy which prolly helped in keeping it up out of the mechanism . i was a bit leary that the epoxy would come through the sued and look bad but it didnt all is well

you can see from the 2 pics it sits a lot higher and looser now without raising the over all height made all the difference in the world and bonus its the sexiest part of this salsa vibe !

i highly recommend this unit over all the other types including the TRD . they all involve much more work , need to cut the plastic on lower dash out , and after all that your still left with a plastic honeycomb looking base piece it seems mwr changed the angle of piece where the cables are held to avoid hitting the dash with the new longer lever

so in closing if you opt for this unit change you boot and knob at the same time

[thebarber]

MWR short shifter OS just a copy of the old TWM kit, no?

[revstohigh]

im not sure barber i have only been up on vibes for a few months . could be the same one .if discontinued mwr may have ourchased the design, all i know is this thing makes driving like 20% more fun

i was mostly a rwd guy up till recently . my other car is a supercharged mk3 supra ive had it since 1999

[thebarber]

I had a Tam on my 04 XRS back when they first came out. Eventually I found it annoyingly notchy so I sold it. I never even looked into a short shifter for my gt

[revstohigh]

at first this one was really notchy but after the new boot and knob its perfect !

by the way nice vibe . i like the wheels . what with and offset are you running ?
im curious as to what will fit i was thinking 17x7.5 w a 30-35 offset and 235/45/17 i deff want the stance wider but don't wanna tub it lol

[thebarber]

17x8 +48 OZ ultraleggera's 225-45-17 general g-max tires. 25mm rear spacer...no rubbing at all

I HAD OZ superleggera's in 18x8 +35 and 235-40-18 continental dws tires and they rubbed up front on big ups due to offset. Couldn't use the spacers in the back.

My signature I'm on eibach sportlines in front and TRD springs in the rear

[revstohigh]

nice ! mine sits almost an inch higher than sig pic now that i got the ST and tokico combo . so i should be fine with a 17x7.5 + 35 in front seeing your x8 +35 with a slightly larger diameter tire only rubbed a little maybe i will even throw a 15mm spacer in back to boot

all i know is these 16x6.5's are killing me lol i need more rubber on the pavement than a 205 !

[thebarber]

Ya, my GT came with 16's and 205-55-16 Michelin hydroedge tires. I liked them on my moms Malibu but on the lighter vibe, they sucked. You need at least 215's on a GT, imo

[revstohigh]

yea seriously traction is an issue for me !
i'm pretty set on a 235/45/17 cause when i upgrade i like to do it once and done i just wanna get the widest offset/width combo that woln't rub in the front

right now any kind of really tight turns causes me to spin just one wheel . eventually ill get the mwr 3.9:1 lsd trans but not untill the boost gets turned up and the compression goes down cause that trans would make a stock gt a dog !

[thebarber]

yea seriously traction is an issue for me !
i'm pretty set on a 235/45/17 cause when i upgrade i like to do it once and done i just wanna get the widest offset/width combo that woln't rub in the front

right now any kind of really tight turns causes me to spin just one wheel . eventually ill get the mwr 3.9:1 lsd trans but not untill the boost gets turned up and the compression goes down cause that trans would make a stock gt a dog !

i wanted wide and light

so the 225-45-17 g-max's are 21lbs each, iirc. 17lbs for the oz's and 13.9lbs for my fn01r's

if you end up needing tires, i can get slightly cheaper prices than discount tire direct thru their wholesale site....

[MrHatchWagon]

You got a link for the seller you got that boot from? It's nice, I want one.

Edit: Nevermind, found one and placed a bid. Thanks for the inspiration.

[revstohigh]

glad i could inspire ! good luck

as far as tires go barber ive been keeping an eye out for a set of used rims and tires w 80%ish tread on Craigslist . it so much cheaper that way save $100-$150 at least in shipping . i just havn't seen a set that i really liked yet that were the right size and offset . im pretty picky when it comes to wheel designs . and its hard to find a 5x100 that isn't a 40+

[revstohigh]

Oh P.S. its quite a bit easier to stay in valve lift now with this shifter cause the rpms don't have as much time to drop now . that is if your left foot is as fast as your right hand is lol

[thebarber]

No need for the SS over here

Discounttiredirect.com (and subsequently the wholesale/vendor wing) have free shipping within the lower 48. If you order rims and tires, they come mounted and balanced...

If you keep an eye out for rebates, you can get some nice tires really cheap. I got $100 off my g-max at labor day which put them down around the price of Falken 912 and Falken pt422 (or whatever the touring tire is)

[revstohigh]

lol im thrifty man im looking for wheels and tires for 3-400 total . which is why im going the used route lol . but if i dont find a good deal in next few months i may get the momo Drone Anthracite

im in love with these wheels
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOMO-Car-Wheel- ... 32&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[maaadtrip]

Very cool, how much was the kit?

I'm in the same 'thrifty' boat as you, hahaha! Currently looking for some winter tires and rims used on the locals. I've got a set in storage but if I remember they were on their last legs...

[DVibe]

Hey are you going to keep your stock shifter knob? I am going to need to replace mine in the near future...

[revstohigh]

mad trip : the shifter was $160 plus shipping and the boot and knob were about $40 all together

dvibe : i have no plans for the oem knob since i cant put it back on even if i wanted to lol

[thebarber]

actually, i need a 6 speed knob if you want to sell it...

[revstohigh]

sorry Barber DVibe beat ya to it lol

[Brandort3]

I've been pondering on doing a short throw system and am unsure. Post a video of you driving it!

[revstohigh]

Dvibe i mailed out the knob a few days ago , should arive soon .

sorry Brandort i am not real set up to take mobile vid at the moment , but i assure you its worth the $160 and 2 hours it takes to install . only drawback is its a little harder to get in first when the trans is cold but ill fix that with a new mwr trans next year for now i just make sure im in gear (foot on clutch) when i come to a stop and its easy to get in gear . my vibe has almost 170k so it really wasn't much easier with the oem unit

[BlackbeardBen]

Mind answering another question of mine?

Does the MWR short shifter need the base bushings off of the stock shifter? I'm trying to figure if it's worth getting replacement base bushings or not.

[Zvibe2004]

blackbeard, no it doesnt, all you gotta do is take the old shifter off and slip the new one over the studs and put the nuts on them, it gives it a good solid feeling shifter, thats for sure

[hotbug1776]

I do love mine, rpm's don't get to drop, which makes for more linear boost with the supercharger.

[revstohigh]

correct no bushings needed . the new shifter is a rather thick metal and mounts straight to the dash .

yea the rpm's deff don't drop as much due to the faster shift

aside from being 20% more efort to get into first and reverse its so much better than the stock in every way !

[Zvibe2004]

totally agree with ya revstohigh, its a awesome shifter, and i just have a base vibe with a 6 speed, no boost or nothin