TRD vs TWM Short shifter

[mblk]

Hey guys, im looking into purchasing a short shifter for my 05 Stivo and would

like all of your opinions and suggestions.

To all those people who have TRD/TWM shifters,

How much shorter is the throw?

Is the gear stick actually shorter or is it just less throw?

Your comments are much appreciated! :)

[lateralus]

Hey guys, im looking into purchasing a short shifter for my 05 Stivo and would

like all of your opinions and suggestions.

To all those people who have TRD/TWM shifters,

How much shorter is the throw?

Is the gear stick actually shorter or is it just less throw?

Your comments are much appreciated! :)

i can't comment on the trd short shifter, but i had the twm in my sportivo. the shifter itself is about an inch shorter, and the throw is a lot less than stock (i'd say around 20%).

it doesn't sound like much, but when going from stock to the twm, there did feel as though there was a massive difference in throw between the two. however, as the stick itself was shorter as well, it also required more force to change gears as you are trying to do the same thing (ie. change gears) over a shorter distance. you do get used to it, though.

although it did feel good and gave the car a sportier feel, contrary to popular belief it didn't actually help me change gears quicker. if i had a sportivo again, i probably wouldn't have bothered with it.

it all comes down to personal preference, but i think due to the type of shifter setup the sportivo has, you would be much better off upgraded your shifter linkage bushes for better feel.

i've since sold the sportivo and bought a 2011 wrx and had a genuine sti short shifter fitted. now THAT thing makes a difference as it's the whole gear shifter assembly and the linkages which are replaced, and not just a stick.

Edited November 6, 2011 by lateralus

[.gorgz]

They both have about the same amount of throw reduction.

However, don't be fooled by the TRD "short" shifter, it's not actually any shorter than the stock one, however it does reduce the throw distance by around 30% roughly. I think how they've done it is, they've made the lever below the pivot ball slightly longer which helps reduce the throw.

So the TRD Short Shifter isn't really a Short shifter.. but more of a Quick Shift Set, as labelled on the box.

Personal preference tho, I'd probably be rocking the TRD shifter, basically because it has a better feel to it, and it's MUCH easier to install than the TWM one, as it already comes in housing, including bushings and everything is mounted, so there isn't much stuffing about.

The TWM one is quite difficult to install as you have to remove the old shifter from it's housing and replace it with the TWM one, so this requires someone with a lot of dexterity, it also intern feels a lot stiffer than the stock or TRD one after assembly if the pivot ball hasn't been greased up enough, so it's a ton of stuffing about if you don't get it right the first time.

I know tho, at the end of the day some people just go for aesthetics and buy crap anyways...

In short, if your serious about reducing your throw than go for the TRD one, if your after something just for looks or some sort of aesthetic appeal, than the TWM one.

My advice is tho, stay away from the TWM one, I'd rather take out the hack saw to mine than install that PoS.

Hope this helps :)

[edit] - The TWM one is also shorter than the stock one, probably by about 3~4 cm tho, but trust me shorter shifters are annoying, if you go to track days you'll notice most of the cars are fitted with quite tall shifters and for those that know the term dildo shifter, (an actual term, please don't laugh) would know what I'm talking about :)

Edited November 6, 2011 by .gorgz

[Kenshin X]

i second what goz said. since changing back to stock shifter and the stock bushings, i found that the TRD shifter was a **** factor. i'm guessing the TWM is even more of a **** factor becuz at leat the TRD shifter had the solid metal bushings to hold the assembly down. the stock shifter has the rubber bushings around the bolts in the assembly so the "locking" feeling isn't felt as much.

however do change your gear shifter linkages to the solid bushings, this help you feel and have more direct shifting. although when i bought my car it was with the trd shifter installed already so i never felt the stock shifting through normal driving until a few days ago.

but entering the on ramp to the freeway, i noticed that the TRD made stuff all difference and is in fact a waste of money. it made me shift at around 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001 seconds faster than stock.

from first hand experience, stay away from the 220 dollar TRD shifter and stay even more away from the TWM shifter.

instead, spend 10 bucks on the solid bushings and some rubber washers and nylon and metal washers and change the stock linkages in the engine bay. they will do the same as buying a short shifter.

remember we are all talking from a practical point of view and some people like me track their cars, but if u wanna go for the "sick-azz" looking short shifter, then go for the TWM... or just hack the stock shifter and get it rethreadded to fit the stock knob