DNA Motoring Short Shifter Kit

[celek]

Wow Talk about a direct copy of Kartboy...
Although I know for a fact he patented his reverse lockout design It is not like Subaru originally made it.

Someone may be in a world of legal hurt

[Manic]

I have to imagine it'll be hard to take punitive action against them. They seem to be one of those huge chinese copy cat companies. Most of their stuff is sold directly through ebay where anything goes.

I'll do a write up after the week to see how well it holds up. It might be a good option for those who haven't dropped a short shift kit in yet.

[celek]

Originally Posted by Manic

I have to imagine it'll be hard to take punitive action against them. They seem to be one of those huge chinese copy cat companies. Most of their stuff is sold directly through ebay where anything goes.

I'll do a write up after the week to see how well it holds up. It might be a good option for those who haven't dropped a short shift kit in yet.

Yes but with proper legal action and pulling sales records you can force payment per copy sold. Especially for a company in the US. Would suck because if Kartboy says I lost $100 in sales per copy unit they sold now DNA could be forced to pay 10's of thousands of $. Then now you are diving into sales records which could in turn become a IRS nightmare if proper book keeping was not done.

Sorry I am a big supporter of the little guy, Kartboy is a 1 man operation of hand made items and self developed Ideas. Not a multi million $ company stealing ideas to make a quick buck on an inferior product.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by celek

Sorry I am a big supporter of the little guy, Kartboy is a 1 man operation of hand made items and self developed Ideas. Not a multi million $ company stealing ideas to make a quick buck on an inferior product.

I've never seen the Kartboy unit. What's special about it over the stock one? I don't recall seeing any patent-worthy features.

[DIM]

Originally Posted by Manic

My curiosity got the better of me.



The kit looks decent enough. The reverse lockout probably needs some light sanding/polishing. It's a soft-ish plastic, not quite like the stock rubbery plastic. I'll try to install this weekend and give it a bit of a shake down.

Is it possible to remove the reverse lockout for a raceseng one?

[celek]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I've never seen the Kartboy unit. What's special about it over the stock one? I don't recall seeing any patent-worthy features.

For one its not made of cheap molded plastic its CNC delrin
Stainless steel not aluminum
and the reverse lockout internally is a different design than OE

[Manic]

Originally Posted by celek

Yes but with proper legal action and pulling sales records you can force payment per copy sold. Especially for a company in the US. Would suck because if Kartboy says I lost $100 in sales per copy unit they sold now DNA could be forced to pay 10's of thousands of $. Then now you are diving into sales records which could in turn become a IRS nightmare if proper book keeping was not done.

Sorry I am a big supporter of the little guy, Kartboy is a 1 man operation of hand made items and self developed Ideas. Not a multi million $ company stealing ideas to make a quick buck on an inferior product.

It's unfortunate that it's the case, but sometimes we the consumers benefit from it. Suffice it to say that the genuine article is probably much better in fit and finish, but I've yet to run into any issues with it so far. As it is with all products, eventually somebody makes a generic copy of it and we end up saving a pretty penny. Obviously, I'm taking a risk with this kit seeing as how it's untested and unproven, but somebody's gotta be the guinea pig and if it goes wrong it's on me. If this drive competition, great. Maybe we'll start seeing a slew of more affordable kits, and Kartboy will have to respond with something that's much more premium and commands the price or a more basic "cheap" version like what DNA offers.

It's the nature of the beast and hopefully the little guy stays in with a fight. Although I doubt we'll see too many people rushing to buy this kit until it can develop a decent enough reputation and track record to contend with Kartboy or any other manufacturer.

[Manic]

Originally Posted by DIM

Is it possible to remove the reverse lockout for a raceseng one?

It doesn't look like it. It's a wholly different design from the OEM one which the Raceseng lockout replaces. In this, the component that actually lifts over the reverse lockout plate is part of the "plunger". In the OEM shift knob, the lockout plunger and the lockout component itself are separate and are connected within the shift assembly itself.

[DIM]

Originally Posted by Manic

It doesn't look like it. It's a wholly different design from the OEM one which the Raceseng lockout replaces. In this, the component that actually lifts over the reverse lockout plate is part of the "plunger". In the OEM shift knob, the lockout plunger and the lockout component itself are separate and are connected within the shift assembly itself.

Yeah, I see what you mean. I might pull the trigger as well and probably just polish the lockout like you said.

[COO86L]

I have a Kartboy shifter and this does look quite similar. But mine has rattled from day dot. Not an issue for me because my car is so loud.

My question for you, if you noticed. The white "bushing" where the shift linkage went through, is that a solid bushing pressed into place or is it like the Kartboy which is just bits of poly that are removable that look like it's a full bushing?

[celek]

Originally Posted by Manic

It's unfortunate that it's the case, but sometimes we the consumers benefit from it. Suffice it to say that the genuine article is probably much better in fit and finish, but I've yet to run into any issues with it so far. As it is with all products, eventually somebody makes a generic copy of it and we end up saving a pretty penny. Obviously, I'm taking a risk with this kit seeing as how it's untested and unproven, but somebody's gotta be the guinea pig and if it goes wrong it's on me. If this drive competition, great. Maybe we'll start seeing a slew of more affordable kits, and Kartboy will have to respond with something that's much more premium and commands the price or a more basic "cheap" version like what DNA offers.

It's the nature of the beast and hopefully the little guy stays in with a fight. Although I doubt we'll see too many people rushing to buy this kit until it can develop a decent enough reputation and track record to contend with Kartboy or any other manufacturer.

I wish I could find the video of the guy that bought a knockoff for his STi and he was in the gas station stuck there because the shifter broke at the weld. Aluminum is not a good metal for a shifter that is constantly seeing strain back and forth. It is too malleable of a material. In the video he had his Kartboy unit he just picked up from the post office but could not get home to install it.

If you follow Tom the owner of Kartboy on FB you will see dumb stuff, Like testing the shifter with a 4ft breaker bar in a vice, unable to break it..
And if you follow his company Page he constantly throws out coupons for the online shopping kart.

[Manic]

Update on the shifter after a week of driving with it. Still working solid. There was one slight instance where I was having trouble getting into 1st and 2nd, but I'm gonna chalk it up to not having the plate adjusted properly. I haven't been able to replicate the problem since.

The reverse lockout did turn out to have the famous Kartboy Rattle at higher RPM, but it was easily fixed by greasing up the lockout spring. So far this short shifter's been working amazingly and it's a pretty ridiculous value. I'm almost completely adjusted to the shorter shifts now and everything just runs like clockwork. Glad I pulled the trigger on this thing.

[Manic]

Originally Posted by COO86L

I have a Kartboy shifter and this does look quite similar. But mine has rattled from day dot. Not an issue for me because my car is so loud.

My question for you, if you noticed. The white "bushing" where the shift linkage went through, is that a solid bushing pressed into place or is it like the Kartboy which is just bits of poly that are removable that look like it's a full bushing?

Just saw this sorry. It appeared to be a solid bushing from what I recall.

As far as the rattle, it's a pretty simple fix. If you unscrew the hex bolt at the top of the shifter, you can access the reverse lockout spring which appears to be the main culprit. You just have to coat the spring in some grease and then reinsert. 100% solved my rattle.

[celek]

Why so cheap?
Here is the difference