[mstrjon32]

I installed the DDM short throw shifter today. It feels really good, nice crisp shifts, no wobble when in gear, very confident feeling as you change from gear to gear. It's the shifter that the car should have had in the first place. It's still not as nice as, say, the stock shifter in an S2000, but it is damn close now. In my opinion, this should be the very first mod done to a Kappa.

Two thoughts on the install. If you wanted to do it "correctly", you could avoid cutting the rubber boot as per the instructions, drill out the rivets that hold it in place, do the job, and then reinstall. It would certainly be a lot more work to take everything apart and get to that point, though. I just cut the boot as per the instructions.

Second, when taking the plastic "seat" off the bottom of the old shifter, there are 6 bearings inside of it that want to come out. I had two of them pop out when I was installing it onto the new shifter. I pressed them back in carefully and then put a lot of grease on to keep them in place as I reinstalled everything. I'm not sure if anyone else has had this experience, but it's something to be mindful of if you're about to do the job.

 

[SallySky]

I installed the short shifter today. Took me several hours mostly due to having a hard time getting the ball bearing piece off the end. I had to call Dave twice (thanks Dave) I managed to lose the spring on top of the white piece somewhere between my bench and the car. Used a magnet but no luck. Dave said not having the spring should not be an issue. The other thing that took forever was to drop the shifter into the hole. After about and hour of unsuccessful attempts I put in two screws to hold the metal piece in place and went right in after that. Its a very different feel for me. Its nice but 5th and reverse I need to get used to. All in all love it!

THANKS DDM!!!!!

 

[wspohn]

I found taking the plastic ball end off much easier if you use a crescent wrench against the large ball of the shifter and then lever against it with a pair of angled needlenose pliers - it gives you lots of leverage against the plastic ball.

The only, or maybe just the best, way to get the ball onto the new lower shifter piece is to place the plastic ballon a firm but not too hard solid surface (I always use the crosscut end of a log) and put the shifter piece against it, upright, and give the top of it a sharp rap with a soft hammer - pops right in.

I agree that having a bolt or two temporarily in the extendor piece keeps everything lined up and mine slid into place the sceond try.

And yes, you do have to get used to it, but once you do, I like it a lot.

 

[wspohn]

The shorter the throw the harder the shift, if it was notchy before it'll be even more notchy now.

I found that it took an hour driving to get absolutely used to the new shifter. Yes, the throws are as short as you can go. No, it doesn't get perceptibly harder to shift, and it seems more positive with less lost motion.

Like this very much. It reminds me of a Rocket gearbox (Ford type E used in Cortinas etc. for racing - I tested it in a Ginetta G4) with a Quaife short throw shifter. I realize that won't mean anything to most of you. I drove once.

 

[Greg]

I finally installed my shifter today, after an earlier aborted attempt when I couldn't get the plastic end off the shifter using the wrench & pliers technique described in the instructions. On my second try today I fixed the old shifter into my workmate, with just enough edge of the plastic grabbing, gave it a couple of taps with a punch and off it popped. When installing it on the new shifter, I put too much grease on the inside before mounting it, so the bearings were squeezed out by the grease when a gave it a couple of taps to pop it back on. I just pressed them back in and everything went smoothly from there. Definitely a tighter shift than before and feels very solid. I like it!

 

[TomatoSoup]

Cross-post... I finally installed my short shift kit yesterday, but instead of cutting the rubber boot, I "followed the road less-travelled" and drilled out the rivets and removed (and replaced) the boot entirely.

One side note here, not in DDM's short-shift kit instructions, is which way to install the new "ball holder" piece. It has pins protruding that are nearer one edge than the other. You need to put it in with the pins nearer the bottom (transmission side). Of course I did it the other way first and bent the top plate tightening it down - then had to flatten it again. Arggh!

More notes and photos are posted on the kappaperformance forum: DDMWorks Short Throw Shifter