I took and shortened the shaft on the shifter by about two inches. Not exactly a short shifter, but I like it a lot more than stock. TMW is supposed to be coming out with one for our cars soon and I think its gonna be better than the TRD one, but I'm not sure.
Same reason I did not get the TRD short shifter either. I would say that is a (removed) poor design. Looks like someone trying to push a product out the door before doing some good research on it.
http://members.cardomain.com/pontiacvibegt MagnaFlow Cat-back Exhaust Injen CAI TRD Lowering Springs TRD Ground Wires TRD Strut Tower Brace Progress Rear Sway Bar E.S. Motor Mounts
Sorry if my statement could look stupid, but why not just cut the stock shifter and buy an aftermarket shifter who does not need to be screwed and hold with allen screw?
That's basically what I did. I took the shifter assembly out and cut about two inches out of the shaft. I then welded the threaded part back to the rest of the shaft. I bought the TRD shift knob from someone who bought the TRD shifter. This works to an extent because of geometry, but it doesn't shorten the sifht as much as an actual short shifter.
Devlop, I haven't looked but if your welding, couldn't you extend the piece below the pivot to shorten the movement? 25% should only be 1/2" or so.
Vibe GT, TRD springs, Progress bar, STB, Unichip, Borbet E 16x7.5, 225/50 Bridgestone RE750, beefed up grounds and battery bypass capacitors(had em laying around)