Short Throw Shifter....a do?

[CitySuby]

Fellas,

About to order a 2011 premium wrx. Very curious about the short throw...never driven one...few questions...

1. How much shorter is the throw. Is it half the length?

2. Are we talking an Inch out of gear, Inch into gear?

3. Heard some fellas on here talking about another brand they prefer.....Is the Suby one as good?

4. Does anyone have the short throw and wish they didn't? and if so, why?

Sorry for the amount of ?'s, just trying to understand the good and bad.

[Trunkmonkey56]

There are a few different variations in what u can buy. The factory installed options is expensive, but good. It replaces the shifter, bushings, and the linkage. I would recommend going to the dealer and playing with one that has it installed to see what you think. Im not sure how much it actually shortens the throws. The aftermarket one's replace only the shifter itself, and any bushings you buy. Installation is easier. Generally it reduces throws by about 30-40% depending on which you buy. It also will drop the height of the shifter 1-2 inches as well. Im actually curious about how many bushings you should buy with the aftermarket shutters to get a good performance feel while keeping it good for daily driving?

[CitySuby]

thanks trunkmonk,

I should have probably said that I dont race, Im using it for everyday driving to get in and out of Manhattan and up to Vermont on the weekends in the winter. Not sure I need it, but like the idea of it......could really use a test drive with one

[Trunkmonkey56]

I had aftermarket one's on both my 03 and 06wrx and with just the shifter, and bushings that go in the shifter itself, it felt sporty without being difficult. They offer more bushings as well that I don't have experience with, and I never had the factory option, so I'd like to hear other opinions

[poly_poly-man]

Call me silly, but I would actually suggest that you keep the shifter and replace the bushings - if the modern wrx's are anything like the older ones, it'll tighten up the motion (keep it from being so sloppy), but without changing how much the shifter actually moves. This will probably be my first or second mod for this car.

[WRCross]

2010 WRX w/short throw shifter. Works fine and I would not appreciate a longer throw. My friend that has a standard shifter tried throwing my shifter around and says that it does not feel very different, just a little different.

Gary

[mrwakeboard]

Fellas,

About to order a 2011 premium wrx. Very curious about the short throw...never driven one...few questions...

1. How much shorter is the throw. Is it half the length?

2. Are we talking an Inch out of gear, Inch into gear?

3. Heard some fellas on here talking about another brand they prefer.....Is the Suby one as good?

4. Does anyone have the short throw and wish they didn't? and if so, why?

Sorry for the amount of ?'s, just trying to understand the good and bad.

I will let you know, picking mine up with the short shifter on Tuesday. Only thing is there has been a few post on this site saying Subaru had run out and aren't planning on offering it anymore for this year?? I had a 6 speed for my Honda S2000, the short throws really didn't bother me for commutes but I like to actually drive and not talk on my cell phone. Another good reason to buy WRX, bluetooth!! I heard the Kartboy one is good but it seems a little more for hardcore driving, not sure. The stock 5 speed for the WRX feels a little sloppy to me but the clutch is perfect! Hope the SS makes it that much more fun to drive

[EJ257]

Short shifters are a great modification.

Aftermarket is cheaper, and will give you more gains than the OEM short-shifter.

I have the Kartboy lever, Kartboy front/rear shifter stay bushings, and TiC shift linkage / pivot bushings. This is the way I wish the car came stock; almost every person who has run through the gears on my car has gone home and purchased the remaining bushings they didn't already have.

[Trunkmonkey56]

Thanks for your input. Sounds like I'll go with the kartboy package

[sjcurtis]

I have the old style Perrin adjustable short shifter and the Perrin shifter bushings. Its about a 30-40% reduction in throw and its the same height as the oem shifter. It feels great and is very easy to go through the gears as a daily driver. A freind of mine has a 09 wrx with a Agency Power shifter and it has a 30-40% reduction in throw but it is about an inch shorter than the oem shifter and is kind of hard to get into gear just daily driving but it feels great at the track.

[Trunkmonkey56]

Interesting. I believe the kartboy is advertised as being 2 inches shorter than stock. Goes to show how people like different things. Im not sure if the perrin one works on the newest models.

[anxiouz]

I haven't heard of anyone who got the short shifter say they disliked it. So you can't go wrong IMO.

My advice would be to just try the car out stock and if you have any complaints about the shifting, get a short shifter at that point. And they don't change anything with gearing...they just make the gear changing distances decrease. So let's say going from 3rd to 4th is a 4" throw...the short shifter make make it just a 2.5" throw (or whatever). So that means you can shift quicker. And typically the shifts are smoother and less ambiguous. That's all.

Plus, I ordered my car WRX last week and they wouldn't let me get the short shifter kit...Subaru is totally out of them and won't let people even order them on cars right now from what I was told. So I will need to go back for one later if I really want it. Since the dealer was basically saying No to taking my money for it, I do believe them.

[ElVerde]

I have about 500 miles on my 2011 with a short throw. I test drove a 09 without the short throw before ordering my car, and just ordered it with the Subaru Short Throw on a recommendation.

I've gotta say...I have no complaints with the shifter whatsoever. The throws are noticeably shorter than the 09 I test drove, and I don't feel much of the vagueness I hear a lot people complain about in the 5 speed. The clutch on this car is perfect, and I love the short throw over the factory shifter.

If you can get it, 250 bucks for a factory installed and waranteed shifter is easily worth it IMO. As you said, Subaru is currently out of them. I've only heard good things about the Kartboy unit, but I can't vouch for it personally.

[AmateurX]

I haven't heard of anyone who got the short shifter say they disliked it. So you can't go wrong IMO.

My advice would be to just try the car out stock and if you have any complaints about the shifting, get a short shifter at that point. And they don't change anything with gearing...they just make the gear changing distances decrease. So let's say going from 3rd to 4th is a 4" throw...the short shifter make make it just a 2.5" throw (or whatever). So that means you can shift quicker. And typically the shifts are smoother and less ambiguous. That's all.

Plus, I ordered my car WRX last week and they wouldn't let me get the short shifter kit...Subaru is totally out of them and won't let people even order them on cars right now from what I was told. So I will need to go back for one later if I really want it. Since the dealer was basically saying No to taking my money for it, I do believe them.

I'm in the same boat. 2.5 weeks to go on the delivery & I get an email from the dealer saying my car won't come in with the STS that I ordered. But, I've given it some thought, and decided to drive the car for a while before I get all pissy about the lack of STS. I figure I'll install one at a later date if I really feel it's necessary. Therefore, thanks to CitySuby for this much-needed thread.

[Chader]

I may be in the same boat. Ordered 9/13 when the car was already in port. I haven't been notified yet, but I fully expect to be told that they are out.

I originally wanted it for a STS and the ability to stay in D-stock for AX. The more I think about it... I may just ditch stock class so I can add F&R sways, a Kartboy shifter, and maybe even the AP when it is out.

It seems like more fun to have a car that is fully tuned for every drive rather than held back for a just few AX races per year.