CAE Ultra Shifter install...

[Anthony]

Some installed photos. Now my handbrake looks MAXIMUM UGLY. Yay.

[jcw99]

Really a neat setup!

[TouchMyHonda]

Anyone with full interior install photos? I want to pick this up, with trying to keep OEM appearance of the counsel as much as possible.

[philooo]

I am curious to know if the shifter is "TOO QUICK" for the gearbox synchro ?

With such a short throw I assume you could shift faster than what the transmission was designed for and end up "grinding' during agressive gear switch ?

Love the look and weight saving !

PS: anthony, time to remove chassis pieces that are there only for trim support like the beam in the middle of the roof. It is only glues to support the headliner, it is of no use to you

[Vracer111]

Sooo... a little issue just happened to my FR-S...seems the pin on the selector rod attaching to the shifter broke and not sure if the rod going into transmission is damaged either, seems wobbly where the second pin on the selector rod attaches to it... current in the process of trying to get everthing off the car...taking lunch break.

Noticed the shifter feel changed while heading out, felt really good to be honest! I was thinking maybe it finally wore in but also at the same time was going to check it out when I got back home to be sure it was nothing serious. Well it was in 4th gear when the shifter stopped working while I was on my way back home from some errands....that was a fun trip home.

[Anthony]

Damn. Keep us updated.

[Vracer111]

Still trying to get the rod off the transmission (without dropping the transmission), but here's the shifter end of things:

[Vracer111]

Pin will not come out...ball peen, sledge, heated the shaft...nothing. The pin is solidly wedged into the shifter...probably was that way from the install. If I can get it out work will need to be done to loosen up tolerances so everything works like it should. So here the shifter sits while I try to figure out the # for the stock part to order. Car dead in water until I can get a factory control rod. Actually I still haz a 1 speed FR-S, so not technically dead...but pretty useless as a daily driver for the time being...LOL

[Vracer111]

Found the rod, it's ~$54...might as well also get new bushings for the transmission side of things while I'm at al too... may try making my own pin for the broken original part and weld it into place in the meanwhile...

http://scionparts.villagetoyota.com/...U00300893.html

[derek1ee]

Anyone having trouble with oversize driveshaft (Al/Carbon)?

I have Driftshaft Ship Aluminum driveshaft and I think the rod is too low and hits the shaft.
@Anthony I know I grind down the rod a while back, for kartboy shifter already, but do you think if you haven't done so, you will still have to do it with CAE and your carbon driveshaft?

[derek1ee]

Originally Posted by derek1ee

Anyone having trouble with oversize driveshaft (Al/Carbon)?

I have Driftshaft Ship Aluminum driveshaft and I think the rod is too low and hits the shaft.
@Anthony I know I grind down the rod a while back, for kartboy shifter already, but do you think if you haven't done so, you will still have to do it with CAE and your carbon driveshaft?

Never mind, checked again and the rod isn't touching the shaft, it's just the rubber boot's resistance.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Vracer111

(fitment is EXTREMELY tight and I could not get it on by hand, required pressing on with a HUGE ammount of force)
...

(NOTE: It will initially seem the ID of the washer is too small to fit on the pin, but it is not - it is just so precisely sized for the pin that there is basically zero error for it being anything but perfectly aligned to slip on, and even when finally on the pin it takes considerable force to push it all the way to the end of the pin - but it can be done by hand.)

Originally Posted by Anthony

Daniel is the one who actually slid the infamous pin through, and he did while I wasn't even under the car. I was preparing the C clamp, and then he just started dying laughing underneath the car. Apparently it practically fell on. I'm so upset we didn't film it lol.

So... I'm guessing the microscopic variations between individual cars from the factories caused Vracer all that trouble, but had no effect on our experience.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Originally Posted by derek1ee

Anyone having trouble with oversize driveshaft (Al/Carbon)?

Originally Posted by derek1ee

Never mind, checked again and the rod isn't touching the shaft, it's just the rubber boot's resistance.

Originally Posted by derek1ee

@Anthony I know I grind down the rod a while back, for kartboy shifter already, but do you think if you haven't done so, you will still have to do it with CAE and your carbon driveshaft?

YES. Ran my Kartboy for over a year without issue after the grinding. Installed my CAE and the grinding was back again, although this time less severe. I kept being lazy and not grinding it further, as well as driving it occasionally either on 20 minute spirited drives for fun or DD-type drives to local car meets. Problem eventually solved itself and I actually forgot that it used to rub.

So... basically... the wear-ring I had on my driveshaft got sliiiightly worse, but is exactly worn away enough to be out of the way by a distance that would have to be calculated at the molecular level.

Shifter still awesome. Driveshaft still awesome. Whole car still awesome. no ragrets.

[Vracer111]

Yeah...should have known I needed to work the pin fitment out before installing it like I did. I'll be going back to stock temporarily once the new factory replacement part comes in. Plan on reworking the failed original rod with a new custom pin, using a brass sleeve between the pin and shifter connection, and tolerance everything so it easily rotates but doesn't have any slop. The shifter is just too awesome to not be in the car...any other shifter just feels wrong in comparison.

[derek1ee]

So I did the install again yesterday, after checking rod to shaft clearance (I didn't have to modify anything and the clearance was fine with driveshaft labs aluminum shaft).

However I find the washer supplied by CAE can be easily slide on, as well as the shifter assembly itself. So maybe if you're experiencing too much resistance then it's putting more stress on the rod?