Hey minsane,

That quote from us sounds high. The shifter is $139, so the total should only be $309.

--Dan
Mach V

 

Dan...is that the Kartboy one?

 

Any reason you feel you cant do it yourself?

 

get a buddy and do it yourself. Ive never heard of a short shifter install taking more than 30 mins. with directions, it's pie. even without directions, you can figure it out.

don't forget the beers.

 

Hello Everyone:

I just wanted to give everyone an update on the last couple of days and my expereience with MACH V. MACH V was absolutely fantastic to deal with. Dan and his staff are a great bunch of guys. I originally went in for just a short shifter, but instead I had M7 plates installed and a valve cover gasket replaced. More on the short shifter later. Dan will take the time to explain what service is necessary and what is not. He is an honest bsinessman and a pleasure to deal with. They seem to be a fun crowd that enjoy and care about what they do. Customer service was fantasitic and if I decide to do other mods they will defiantely get my business.

I cannot locate the B & M shifter that is correct for my car. I am looking for model 45131. This particular shifter is for 10/2004 builds and later for the R53. My mini although built in 2/2004 requires the newer shifter. I know this because the MACH V staff spent hours taking apart exhaust and original shifter to discover the problem. My car is an odd ball with the newer shifter base. The shifter for 10/2004 and newer has been discontinued by B & M. I have tried many sources, but they do not stock this shifter. Will from MACH V also could not locate this shifter. I will call Detroit Tuned and Outmotoring on Monday. Does anyone have other suggestion on a vendor that may stock this shifter? I just want my adventure to have a happy ending.

 

were you there today? what does your car look like? I stopped in this morning to talk to Mikey about my exhaust

 

Wow. I dropped my car off at 11:30 and went to lunch. I was back at the shop at around 1 PM. I have a green mini.

 

I missed you then. I work right around the corner, so I stop by there a lot

 

minsane
Just a thought if you would like to save a few dollars. The Helix extension is going to end up giving you the same results that you would get from the B&M shifter. The newer generation B&M does not alter shifter height and neither does the Helix extension. The only difference between the two is the bushings for the shifter box that are included with the B&M. Some people use these and some do not for fear of added NVH. By installing the Helix system you do not take the chance of breaking the plastic bushing that surrounds the ball of the shifter body and can only be replaced if needed by purchasing a new stock shifter body.
You can pocket $150 assuming the shifter is $200 and the install is much easier.
Steve

 

Hi Steve:

Thanks for your suggestion on the Helix. What did you mean by NVH?

What I was hoping for with the B and M shifter was along with the shorter throw a more precise "notchier" shift. There have been times when I could not figure out what gear I was going into. Does the Helix provide a more precise feel as well?

Thank you!
Michael

 

NVH = "Noise/Vibration/Harshness"

 

You probably wont notice a huge improvement in that regard (speaking from what I have read, not experience). The MINI uses a cable shifter which is inherently imprecise and a bit difficult to improve on in the way you want. THAT SAID, people have noticed improvement by installing the metal bushing that are included with the B&M kit. One option is to pick up the Helix extender and a cheapo knockoff B&M from ebay (strictly for the metal bushings) and combine the two kits. I know at least a few people have done setups similar to that.

 

Michael
Some Guy has got it right in my book. IMHO If you examine all the shifters available they all use the same basic stock design of the shifter body sitting in a plastic bushing. None of them do anything to improve upon the notchyness of the shifting. What they are all doing is extending the lower lever to shorten the throw of the shift. Some, such as Alta and Cravenspeed, allow you to adjust the height of the shifter and at the same time you are adjusting the length of the lower lever which in turn is changing the length of the shift. For my own personal use I like the stock length of shifter height and do not want to adjust the shifter any lower. Keep in mind that the lower your shifter height is the less leverage you have and the more effort needed to change gears. For my setup I used the Helix adapter and a Whalen shifter ball and feel the effort to shift is close to stock.
As far as the bushings that come with the B&M kit their purpose is to replace the four rubber mount bushings that secure the shifter to the frame of the car. MINI uses rubber to reduce NVH and with that you get a small amount of play when you are shifting in an agressive manner. You can, as Some Guy has stated, buy a cheep nock off on E-Bay and just use the bushings. You may gain a little more rigidity with the solid bushings but also some NVH. All in all it is still going to be a shifter working thru cables and will never be as good as linkage.
Steve

 

Hey guys:

Thanks for everyones input on this. I really learned alot from by failed install to all the cooments that were made. I just have one last question. Doesn't the B and M shifter for 04-06 come with a replacement bushing that takes the place of the plastic?

Michael

 

Michael
If you look at some of the pictures of the complete shifter you will see a large ball that the shifter pivots on. All the shifters are the same in that reguard and they all use the stock plastic bushing. That bushing has cost more than a few people to purchase a new stock shifter body because it was broken upon removal. On the Helix style of S.S. you do not need to remove the shifter from this plastic bushing. This makes your install much easier.
The only extra bushings that the B&M comes with are the four corner bushings that secure the shifter box to the frame. OEM bushings are rubber, B&M are alluminum.
Steve

 

if you want the "notchiness" and more precise/crisp shifting, then you will want to replace the 4 rubber bushings TheItch is talking about. The rubber gives you a lot more play and can be a little sloppy.