SHIFT_Leverage: Part IV – Precision Engineered for Goldilocks

Design

A multi-material assembly consisting of a stainless steel threaded base, coupled with a carbon fiber reinforced plastic retainer for the shift boot. Altogether this adds 40mm of height to the shiftknob position, along with 65g of weight. The net result? An optimally positioned knob providing the best leverage and a welcome addition of mass which result in substantially smoother shifts. The shifts are smoother than they ever were with the B&M short shifter kit alone, and the position is just spot on. It's not too high, it's not too low, it sits just right.

Before & After

Left to Right: Before (B&M Short Shifter Kit), After (B&M Short Shifter + SkyZ Design Shift Extender), OEM

Gauging from the above photo of the OEM shifter, the end result is likely an increase in height compared to the OEM shift knob setup. However, due to the short shifter itself, the throws ought to be reduced resulting in improved shifting overall. It's been a few years since I drove a stock 370Z Nismo so it's a bit hard to do an A/B comparison without a fresh look.

End Result

At the absolute least, this setup offers the flexibility of improving the shifter setup without having to remove the already installed B&M short shifter kit in order to take it back to stock. This leaves open the opportunity to easily switch back to a shorter throw height in the future if desired. For example, maybe the ultra short throw height is just fine on the day to day drives, but for track days, the raised height is preferred. This SkyZ Design Shift Extender for 370Z + B&M allows that flexibility.

While I'd like to assume the resulting setup is superior to the stock shifter on its own, I can't reliably conclude this until comparing the two setups back to back.

For now, I'm thrilled that the shifter setup is the best it's ever been.