KartBoy Short Shifter DIY and Review

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by FRSFirestorm

I fall under the engineer catagory. Sorry I'm being a fact nazi ... but you threw in specificlly at the end.

Fair enough.

[tom@kartboy]

It'll soften up over time. Everything is a little stiff to start out with.
i havent been able to replicate the vibrations you are seeing. let me beat on it a little more on the way home and back to work this week.

tom

Originally Posted by phanguy

did my install last night. i think the one thing i'd suggest in the instructions is maybe explaining removal of the dust boot a little better. i couldn't see it very well so had no idea where to pull from and i ended up tearing it open... but whatevs. other than that it went smoothly. i love how much shorter it is to shift. although a few things now:

1. overall it feels a bit tougher to shift into gears. not a huge deal since there are other parts i want to change and could probably use new fluids.

2. when shifted in second, if my hand is still on the shifter(because i am going to go to third almost immediately) then i get some kind of strange buzzing/vibration. it's an audible thing, i don't really feel anything. not a big deal, just interesting.

3. 6th gear seems to be a bit "crunchy" to shift into.

4. i'm going to dig back into it tonight because i think i didn't put my lockout piece all the way to the left. i think it's the cause of why i can't screw my trd knob all the way as tight as i want. just one more rotation and it'd be perfect, but when i screw that far then it no longer lifts enough to move over. so hopefully that'll fix it.

i think for the most part as long as it does get smoother to shift then the rest of my "issues" are kinda whatever, but overall i'm pretty happy with it.

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by tom@kartboy

It'll soften up over time. Everything is a little stiff to start out with.
i havent been able to replicate the vibrations you are seeing. let me beat on it a little more on the way home and back to work this week.

tom

thanks, but i'll also report back after I've adjusted the lockout piece. I'm thinking that maybe since it's a little closer than it should be that maybe it's sitting against that? I mean it sounds fine if i don't touch the shifter while it's in 2nd... but i prefer to keep my hand on it since i don't normally just cruise in 2nd. haha.

Originally Posted by gonzo

Stock tran fluid? My shifting felt sooooooo much better after changing that shit out. It went back to the way it felt when I drove it off the lot.

I used the mt-85

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?product=50504

yeah that's on my list of things... haha. that and the kartboy rear shifter and the perrin tranny mount. :P

[Fenrir]

I'm getting the same vibrations in my shifter, and I noticed it's pretty loose horizontally. I haven't had the chance to rip the dash back apart to see if anything came loose, but still shifts solid and doesn't seem to be getting worse. I'll try and catch a video of it on the way home today.

[tom@kartboy]

Originally Posted by Fenrir

I'm getting the same vibrations in my shifter, and I noticed it's pretty loose horizontally. I haven't had the chance to rip the dash back apart to see if anything came loose, but still shifts solid and doesn't seem to be getting worse. I'll try and catch a video of it on the way home today.

Were trying a few things out right now to help with the little bit of horizontal play. i went to the dealer and sat in a new car and it had quit a bit of movement. I'm pretty sure its from just having a cotter pin holding the shifter in place VS an actual bolt. Tried a few different wavy washers but that induced some nasty vibrations. Machining a few other parts to test out in the next few days. Will keep you posted.
Tom

[JPxM0Dz]

Originally Posted by gonzo

damn bro, thanks for the science :P

I'm jealous it doesn't rattle like my BPShit lol

Okay, that was uncalled for. But I'm pissed I haven't been sent a "fix" yet >_<

Yeah I had the BPS and never got around to installing it, but continued to pay attention in the thread to the ongoing vibration issues. Got great customer service on updated fixes, but ended up selling it before testing

I recently picked up the Kartboy and have yet to install it and will continue to hold off as I see there may be some vibration issues here also, deja vous

Time will tell...

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by JPxM0Dz

Yeah I had the BPS and never got around to installing it, but continued to pay attention in the thread to the ongoing vibration issues. Got great customer service on updated fixes, but ended up selling it before testing

I recently picked up the Kartboy and have yet to install it and will continue to hold off as I see there may be some vibration issues here also, deja vous

Time will tell...

There appears to be, what, 2 people reporting vibrations? That's a lot less than people with the BPS.

[tom@kartboy]

Throw it in there. We have probably 300 shifters sold so far and only a few have had any sort of noise. I also see that theres a recall/ TSB for noise with the factory unit.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...5&postcount=47

[Fenrir]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

There appears to be, what, 2 people reporting vibrations? That's a lot less than people with the BPS.

Indeed. Shifter still feels phenomenal compared to the stock. It doesn't really bother me because racecar, just something I noticed.

Originally Posted by tom@kartboy

Were trying a few things out right now to help with the little bit of horizontal play. i went to the dealer and sat in a new car and it had quit a bit of movement. I'm pretty sure its from just having a cotter pin holding the shifter in place VS an actual bolt. Tried a few different wavy washers but that induced some nasty vibrations. Machining a few other parts to test out in the next few days. Will keep you posted.
Tom

Awesome to hear. Always hear nothing but good things about your products, and this is the first I've actually bought myself (friend of mine raves about how you were the only people to offer anything decent for the older Mazda Protege's...), and I'm extremely impressed. Customer service above and beyond.

Definitely interested to see if there's a simple fix. Washer would be my first guess, but looks like you already tried that.

EDIT: Made a video before I saw your reply of the horizontal play:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kKXnJVGp7o"]YouTube[/ame]

Originally Posted by tom@kartboy

Throw it in there. We have probably 300 shifters sold so far and only a few have had any sort of noise. I also see that theres a recall/ TSB for noise with the factory unit.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...5&postcount=47

Any info on what the fix/cause actually is with this one? Wasn't able to find the TSB itself for any technical info. Might be something I can just fix myself.

[tom@kartboy]

^^ Says video is private. Were trying out a few small O rings on each side of the shifter. Its helping a bit. I have a few other diameters on the way. let me play with it a little more and i can send some out for test. Really easy install.

Tom

[Fenrir]

Originally Posted by tom@kartboy

^^ Says video is private. Were trying out a few small O rings on each side of the shifter. Its helping a bit. I have a few other diameters on the way. let me play with it a little more and i can send some out for test. Really easy install.

Tom

Fixed.

[JPxM0Dz]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

There appears to be, what, 2 people reporting vibrations? That's a lot less than people with the BPS.

This is true!

Originally Posted by tom@kartboy

Throw it in there. We have probably 300 shifters sold so far and only a few have had any sort of noise. I also see that theres a recall/ TSB for noise with the factory unit.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...5&postcount=47

Thanks for the update, didn't realize how many you guys had out in the field already. Based on this info I'll probably go ahead and do the install now

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by JPxM0Dz

This is true!



Thanks for the update, didn't realize how many you guys had out in the field already. Based on this info I'll probably go ahead and do the install now

yeah i'm not all that worried about the vibration. i'm sure it's an easy fix. install and enjoy!

but also just wondering if you can answer me @tom@kartboy why is it that the shifter feels kinda clunky and needs time to get buttery? i believe you and i'm hoping it'll get that way soon, but i'm just curious as to why it is that way. is it specific to this shifter or would this happen no matter what shifter we would have put in? thanks!

[tom@kartboy]

i sort of notice a little "clunk" when getting into gear. after driving a few hundred miles on it, its gotten better, however i think its inherent to any aftermarket shifter that removes the huge rubber isolator that the factory one has. Its just a clunky transmission. i do have to say it feels a lot better than any subaru transmission thats for sure.
T