Who has changed their shifter? How much of a difference does it actually make? When I first bought my F56S, I thought the shifter wasn't as good as my RX-8, which had a much shorter, sportier shifter as stock. I'd say I've gotten used to the stock shifter in the F56S, but I see reasonably cheap adapters (if that's the right word) to shorten it. They seem to have pretty good comments/reviews, so I figure I'd ask the community.

Does something like the NM or WMWs short shifter adapter actually make shifting smoother and crisper? Or is it mainly just to shorten the shift length?
What shifter adapter would you recommend (if any)?

Any thoughts or opinions on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I have the NM adapter in my R55 Clubman, and it shortened the shift throw just enough to be noticeable. I also like that I didn't have to disassemble the whole shifter assembly, and it did not lower the shift ****.

 

Our short shifter adapter was designed to just reduce the throw enough to give you back the sporty feel as the stock F shifter just feels a little soft or numb with the long throw.
Works great and is an easy install while being cost effective.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-sh...5-f56-f57.html

 

NM works very well. Tight. Keeps knuckles off of lower dash switches. Did it 4 years ago, still good.

 

I have and love the WMW adapter. My only regret is not doing the Cravenspeed retaining clip as well. I have a slight crunch in 3rd which I attribute to re-using the stock clip.

I also have the Cravenspeed Shift ****, which I grew to enjoy after forgetting how much I paid for it. :-)

I should also add that as a NB Miata owner, I can say with confidence that there is no product on the market that will transform your Mini's shifter into that of a RX-8. That's said, the low cost adapters are an improvement and worth the $$$.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone.
And thanks graff48 for the suggestion on the retaining clip. I'll definitely look more into that.

 

Just placed my order for WMW short shifter and lever bushing. (I also ordered two oil filters to compare and see if they're exactly the same.)
WayMotorWorks, will these parts come with full installation instructions? I'm pretty excited to get the parts and see how it affects the shifter.

Thanks again, guys

 

+1 on the Miata NB shifter compare/contrast
Just had the CS short-shift + clip installed on my F57 2 weeks ago -- yes it's noticeably better than before, but not at NB levels TBH

H

 

I just received my parts today (fast shipping from WMW)! The parts are much smaller than I thought they'd be. And unfortunately, they didn't come with instructions.

It's a WMW short shift adapter and lever bushing. Would they pretty much install the same way as the instructions fro CS adjustable short shifter (https://www.cravenspeed.com/f56-adju...short-shifter/) or NM short shifter adapter (https://new.minimania.com/pdfile/NM_...ft_Adapter.pdf)? I figure they're pretty similar so I'll use those instructions. And I assume the bushing/clip should be obvious when it should be switched.

So I'll see if I have time this week. It not, it'll be my treat this weekend =)

(I keep hearing that the Miata is one of the few manuals that they seemed to actually try on. I was looking into it, but I just couldn't go with a 2-seater.)

 

Combining those two instructions, I installed the short shifter adapter and retaining clip yesterday. Overall, everything worked right and it was good to replace that plastic OEM clip.

If people installed their own, did you find that the end of the adapter/shifting cable touches the carpet? I thought that I installed the adapter all the way in the stock shifter, but it rubs against the carpet a little. The shifting feels okay (and shorter!), but I wasn't sure if it'll cause damage in the long run. Redoing the adapter isn't ideal, but it'd be better to do now that after damage occurs.

 

Just installed the cravenspeed adjustable shifter in my buddy's 2020 JCW the other day. It rubbed carpet when set as low as possible so we raised it a touch to avoid that. What's interesting is that shifter was previously in my car (2015 S) and never touched the carpet when fully lowered. Similarly, my Coolerworx doesn't rub the floor in mine. I know that doesn't really answer your question, but it does raise one for me.... has something in that area changed from pre-LCI to LCI vehicles that is causing this contact with the carpet?

If your shifting feels fine and nothing is binding up due to the rubbing on the carpet, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

Thanks for your input. I'll monitor and possibly open it up at some point just to make sure nothing wonky is going on.
After installing the adapter, I partially regretted not going for a full shifter (like the CS one). But that's the rabbit hole of upgrades...

 

How do you find the difference in the Cravenspeed vs. the Coolerworx? Worth the upgrade?

 

I have my 2019 JCW scheduled to have the Cravenspeed Short Shifter installed in September at Detroit Tuned. Am looking forward to this upgrade. Will post an update after.