SHIFT_Leverage: Part III - They're just Fiddling
Richard Hammond complains about Honda in a TopGear episode on the NSX-R: When they start to change the material of the gear lever boot to be a mesh and the antenna can now be lowered to half height, they're just fiddling.
That describes well where I'm at with this shifter right now. If you've read Part II, you know that the extended height of the shift extender does take some getting used to and could even contribute to a mis-shift.
While the extended shifter position feels great o the canyon roads, and the shifts require zero effort to row, it's just too high when cruising around town. Using the armrest ends up making it just an elbow rest, as an upward angle is required to reach the shiftknob at its height.
So I set out to design a new extender rod. One that raises the shiftknob out of the depths of the transmission tunnel where the B&M kit sets it, up to a reasonable height that is easily accessed from the armrest position without getting too high. Yes there will be some reduction in leverage, but I'm willing to make the trade to improve the 90% of regular road time the car sees.
My tuning philosophy is a balanced approach: I like 'racy' upgrades, but it shouldn't make the car uncomfortable (or un-fun) to drive the rest of the time, because quite frankly that's consistently going to be the most common mode of operation. Even if one were to be going out to the track every weekend, unless trailering you'd still be commuting there and back and thus, still spend more time in a normal driving mode than in a racing one. So, when the car is ready for trailered track days, choose a different philosophy. Till then, make it fun on AND off the track!
Back to the shift extender, choosing the new height took a few rounds to narrow down between the minimum extension height (no extender) and the max one (the current shift extender). Too short and shifts would still be too notchy with not enough leverage added. Too tall and the neutral armrest position wouldn't be easily accessed. After a few rounds, I landed at the perfect height setup, an extender that fits on the B&M short shifter threaded rod, and extends out less than the CircuitHero extender does.
The CircuitHero extender is a lovely and high quality product. The challenge is that it's just not designed for vehicles where a shorter extender is needed. My only other gripe about their design is the lack of any surface feature to torque down or remove the actual extender with since its perfectly round. So I set out to develop my own at the perfect size, while being sure to make it easier to install and remove as well.
A few prototypes in and I've locked down the design, now it's off to production. Stay tuned for installation updates!
