I combined the Mugen short shifter with an H-Fit short shift kit. Many have talked about it, but as far as I know this is the first report of it actually being done.
Truth be told, I don't know if it's true or not that this is the ultimate short shifter. But it sure is a short shift! It's not really much stiffer or notchier feeling than the H-Fit by itself, and the effort feels about the same as the Mugen feels by itself. Certainly more of each than stock, but nothing outrageous. Pushing past the spring tension to reach the 5th - reverse gate is a bit of a chore but I believe I'll get used to it.
I also tried the combined kits with a Circuit Hero shift lever extender. Shifts were feather-light, like stock, but unlike stock setup there was a little notchiness. I have a JDM console so it was nice to have the lever way up there within easy reach, but the throw length went up and I decided to try the setup without it for a while. So right now I'm running the combined short shifters with a stock knob and no extender.
How about some shift throw numbers! Here's how I did it. Shift throw was measured from neutral to any gear (they were all pretty equal on any given setup), at the top of the lever with no shift knob attached. The numbers are not meant to be exact but rather to give you an idea of the differences among the setups.
- Mugen: 1-5/8 inches
- H-Fit: 1-5/8 inches
- Mugen + H-Fit: 1-1/8 inches
- Mugen + H-Fit + Circuit Hero: 2 inches
If anyone has stock shift throw numbers please let me know and I'll add them.
Now some pictures. First of all if you are going to try this yourself you should know that the only trick is the judicious use of a ball peen hammer, without which the bottom of the assembly will hit the bodywork directly behind the assembly when you try to engage 1st, 3rd and 5th:
Now here are some shots comparing the Mugen and stock shift assemblies. First of all I did not include any shots of the plastic housing because as far as I can see they are absolutely identical. The entire difference is in the lever itself. Compared to stock, the Mugen is shorter on top by about 3/4 inch, and longer on bottom by about 3/8 inch.
Top of stock lever:
Top of Mugen lever:
Bottom of stock lever:
Bottom of Mugen lever:
