TWM Short Shifter No Longer Available? Alternatives?

[LarryKingsShoes]

Greetings!I was looking around at short shifters and noticed that the TWM Performance model is no longer available. That seemed like the best option because of the price and ease of installation. I emailed them to confirm whether or not it will become available in the future. I have my fingers crossed that it will but I'm not holding my breath for that to be the case.Are there any alternatives that I could consider? From what I've read about the TRD short shifter, it seems that it requires a lot more modification to get it installed. If I understand correctly, there is no reasonable way to undo the modification. I wouldn't expect to want to swap back but the mere thought of it not being reversible scares me off.The only other brand that has come up in my searches has been Ralco. I haven't seen any posts regarding that brand on GenVibe so I don't know what to make of it (particularly when it comes to what is involved with the install). The description mentions that the throws are reduced by up to 40% (same as the TWM shifter). The height reduction isn't noted but I would hope that it is similar.Are there any short shifters available that I may be overlooking? I would prefer that the mod be reversible if needed. I'm not necessarily looking to make a purchase immediately, I'm just considering my options at this point. Any advice is appreciated.Also, for those of you that have short shifters installed, would you consider it to be worth the time and money? My dad has a Corvette and we installed a short shifter. I didn't get to drive it before the install because I was too young and inexperienced. I did, however, get to drive it a few years after and the short throws made shifting seem effortless and efficient. Based on that experience, I would consider it to be a worthwhile investment but I'd love to hear about your experiences.Thanks!Justin

[star_deceiver]

Here's the non-reversable mod I used on my old '05 Sunfire.... Cut down the stalk about 2".... Fabricated and altered the end of the stalk to accept the non-threaded knob... Saved about $130 on the short throw shifter that offered only a 28% reduction.I thought about doing that to the Vibe but as it's easy to upshift faster then the engine can lose it's revs, I really don't see the point.Then again...... I could go this route

[LarryKingsShoes]

Haha, that would be a sweet mod!You make a good point about the engine's RPMs falling in line with the shifts. The longer throw might be beneficial, in that regard. I hadn't even considered that as an issue. I have no real complaints about the current shifter but I can't quite shake the urge to swap it out for something more sporty.I get reminded of my sister's old Saturn Vue when I shift in the Vibe. The Vue, as I recall, had a slightly longer stride but being in the Vibe reminds me of that. Aside from the Corvette, all of the standards that I've driven have had what felt to be very long throws, though not to quite the extent of the Vibe. The short throw was such a fun experience that I long to go back to that. It is probably just my mind playing tricks on me. The Vibe's throw distance isn't anything to complain about, I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

[06pvibe]

I would do it just to alleviate the plasticy feel of the OE shifter. The fact that the TWM replaces the whole base mount w/a sturdy metal piece must be a major improvement. The only problem is the cost. @ $300 it was a bit pricey, IMO, but then again you get what you pay for.If they discontinued it, I wouldn't expect them to re-issue any time soon. Only 11% of Vibes sold were/are manuals, and most owners probably couldn't care less. It was probably due to lack of sales that they deleted it from their catalog.

[LarryKingsShoes]

Good point on the number of manual trannies out there. I figured that since they had already done all of the research and design, it wouldn't be too hard to have another made. I heard back from them and they are permanently discontinued. It was upsetting at first but then I realized that I was looking at the MWR short shifted previously. That one is still available and is only $160. That is a much more reasonable price.I'm not sure why it took so long for my searches to lead me to the Monkey Wrench Racing shifted. It looks to be very similar to the TWR. I'm quite happy to have found it again because now I have a reason to perform the upgrade. I'd also like to do the brass shifted bushings for improved precision. People seem to be happy with the upgrade. They aren't very expensive and it doesn't sound like it takes that long. That's good enough of a reason to convince me to do it.

[06pvibe]

I did the bushings on our Vibe, and you're right! They're not very expensive or hard to do. I took the time to make sure everything was as clean and rust free as I could make it, and used silicone grease (waterproof) on everything that was not directly exposed. It took me a little while to figure it all out, plus we had just gotten the car and I was exploring under there. In short, I was taking things apart that I really didn't have to for access and clearance.Final product/opinion? Eh, it was worth it I guess, but frankly there wasn't much noticeable difference either. It still feels too loose and plasticy for my liking.Links to these sites, please? I know where to find TWM. Had one in my Mazda3 for over 4 yrs now.

[LarryKingsShoes]

Quote, originally posted by "06pvibe" »I did the bushings on our Vibe, and you're right! They're not very expensive or hard to do.I took the time to make sure everything was as clean and rust free as I could make it, and used silicone grease (waterproof) on everything that was not directly exposed. It took me a little while to figure it all out, plus we had just gotten the car and I was exploring under there. In short, I was taking things apart that I really didn't have to for access and clearance.Final product/opinion? Eh, it was worth it I guess, but frankly there wasn't much noticeable difference either. It still feels too loose and plasticy for my liking.Links to these sites, please? I know where to find TWM. Had one in my Mazda3 for over 4 yrs now. The MWR Short Shifter can be found here for $160 plus shipping. I haven't done a lot of research on it yet but I did encounter a thread on a Matrix Owners site and one guy mentioned that he wasn't impressed with the customer service. That was followed by a ton of people saying that they've used MWR a lot and have always been pleased. Customer service aside, I'll still need to do some more reading on the actual short shifter. It looks like it is very similar to the TWM model that was discontinued. Hopefully the installation is as easy; I don't feel comfortable tearing apart the old one (or is it the dash?) just to install the new one, as many have reported was necessary for the TRD.That's cool that the bushings weren't too difficult to install. It's a shame that you didn't notice more of a difference. I've heard that properly lubricating the parts goes a long way, and it sounds like you were thorough about that. Either way, it sounds like you didn't have to wrap too much time and money into the project. On that basis alone, I think I'll perform the upgrade when/if I install a short shifter. Any little improvement would be worth it, in my opinion, if I'm already going to be spending money on an upgraded shifter. MWR has the Speed Source bushings for Toyota ZZ engines on their site for $26. I could get the entire package shipped for just a hair over $200. I may shop around but that doesn't seem like too bad of a price for the bushings. An added benefit would be that it would mean that I would get both parts at the same time; I could do both projects back to back.Looking at the MWR site, they don't specify any numbers for throw reduction or height reduction. I assume that it will be similar to the TWM at 40% (if it's less, I don't really mind; anything would be an improvement). I'm also hoping that there is at least an inch of height reduction. The TWM stated that it was about 2.5" so if the MWR is built to those specs, I'd be a happy camper. I guess the only way to know for sure would be to contact them directly, which I may have to do so I put my mind at ease.

[06pvibe]

I got mine for about half of that. Many places offer them from sellers on eBay to amazon.com.Why not do one, then the other? It's usually better to do one mod at a time when possible. Then you would be able to better tell the difference between them so if something doesn't work out, you don't have to guess which is causing the problem.

[LarryKingsShoes]

That's a good point. I'll look around. I could buy the bushings and perform that upgrade over Thanksgiving break. I won't be able to buy the MWR shifter until sometime in December, anyway.I emailed Monkey Wrench Racing about the specs. I got a reply within minutes but, unfortunately, he didn't have any numbers to offer. I asked if it was similar to the TWM and he said that theirs is not quite that big of a reduction. I'm not terribly concerned about that, especially considering the cost and availability. He did mention that the installation shouldn't require any modification because it's an entire assembly. That pretty much sold me on this one. There are a few posts on MO that mention having to borrow parts from the old shifter (same as the TWM, apparently). Those are older posts so I'm not sure if MWR changed the design or if it is just expected. Either way, I'm sure it will still be manageable. I'll do some shopping to find a good deal on the bushings so I'll have something to do over break.

[06pvibe]

Hmmm. I just did the same thing and got a rather smart-assed answer. My e-mail and his reply:Quote, originally posted by 06pvibe »RE: MWR-407006þI don’t have a stock shifter here for comparison measurements.Thanks,Matt @ Monkeywrench2287 E West Maple Rd Ste BCommerce Township, MI 48390Phone: 248-624-9820Fax: 248-479-0775FYI-To see item pricing or shipping options and charges please add items to your cart and click 'check out'Sorry, we cannot declare lower values for international orders. From: Richard Boettger Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 5:01 PM To: Info User Subject: MWR-407006Hi, I was hoping to get further information about your product MWR-407006, MWR Short Shifter - Toyota Matrix 2003-07, such as: 1) What is the estimated throw reduction? And 2) What is the lever length reduction from OE? Thanks in advance for any/all info offered. {Signature removed}Pretty lame answer if you'd ask me. But you're right!! The shifter does look pretty good, especially for the $$$.

[LarryKingsShoes]

Wow, that was blunt. In one of the threads on Matrix Owners, a guy asked about organizing a group buy and the person from MWR openly mocked him for even asking about that. That may have been an exaggeration but it is unfortunate that the customer service can go to such polar extremes.On the other hand, another user on that forum mentioned having had a problem with his short shifter and they sent another one out almost immediately, without having him even send the faulty unit back first. Hopefully there won't be a need to get in touch with their customer service department after the purchase but, if necessary, it would be nice to know that they would always respond in a professional and respectful manner.It would be nice if they would have measured the difference to at least have some approximate specs to list on the site. If they don't feel like answering the same questions over and over again, it would certainly help to put the answers on the website.It would be tough to find a better deal than that, though, so I'm willing to put the issue of customer service aside. It seems like they'll come through for you when you need it -- one an hope that is the case, at least.

[06pvibe]

I mean they claim that it is their own shifter/product, therefore someone had to contract it, engineer it, R&D it, produce, market and sell it, but they don't know anything about it? I'm sorry but I don't believe it for a second. Something, and I don't know what, but something is wrong here.They act like quinticential A-hole Honda guys.