Now that Pilo has come out with a short shifter kit that is more in line pricewise with what I can justify to the wife, I'm very tempted. However, I've never sat in the drivers seat of a MINI equiped with a short shifter (nor any other kind of car either) and I don't know if it's for me.
Is there anyone around the Las Vegas area, or who is driving to or through Vegas in the near future with a short shifter who would be willing to let me sit in your drivers seat for a couple of minutes? The engine doesn't even have to be running!

Thanks.

 

Its for you, alright. The shifter drastically changes the feel of the car. Motoring is much better with a SS.

 

I recommend the Alta Short Shifter because you can change the length of the shifter at any time with a 3/32nd allen wrench. It takes about 2 minutes.

The other short shifters are fixed. What you bought is what you get. The Alta lets you play around to find a setting that you like best. Also, if you have a spouse that doesn't like the shifter as short (shorter shifter can make it harder to shift sometimes), it takes 2 minutes to raise it back up.

 

Height remains the same but shifting more positive in feel

I got the B&M short shifter which costs about $130 plus labor to install.
Alta is good and adjustable but expensive.

Helix13 short shifter is cheap and works very well but don't expect it to look short, it just shifts more positively. Call Helix13 to find out more and if it will fit your year of MINI.

Had I known more about the HelixSS I would have installed it. Also the Helix SS will not change your shift ****. It looks stock, but just feels improved- kinda nice stealthy mod so I spouse would not notice easily, only the smile on your face as you shift. When asked about that smile you can say it's "gas".

 

Her like or dislike for the feel is not important, she has never been in the driver's seat with the engine running. I'm planning on doing the install myself if I get it and I think she'd notice me being under the car for 1/2 a day or so.
I already have a non-stock shift ****. Went for a CF one so as to stop burning my hand on the chrome after the car sits in the Las Vegas sun all day while I'm at work.
The new Pilo looks very similar to the B&M, and no matter how many people tell me I'll love it, I'm not going to install it until I actually get my grubby hand on one to see how it feels.
8)

 

Come on out to New Jersey and I'll let you take a test drive...

 

Where in NJ??? :smile:

 

Hawthorne (Northern NJ - in Passaic County)

BTW - I'll be at MOT over the weekend so keep an eye out for the EB/W MCS with a Ratfink antenna topper, and Wakko and Yakko (from Animaniacs) window decals. Stop by and I'll let you have a spin...

 

I grew up next door...Fair Lawn.

 

Hey Fair Lawn... Wayne here (at least for 26 years)

Just chiming in on the short shifter subject. We just installed the Helix short shifter in my MCS last week and I am loving it. I agree with Minihune. It's a nice stealthy mod because nothing inside the car looks any different. The throw is way shorter and for the price, you can't beat it!

 

Jeez - shoulda known you'd drop by here Jerseygirl! gonna miss ya at MOT! Wow, I beat you to a mod!

Native of Haledon - been in Hawthorne for 2 yrs.

greatgro - Still in Fair Lawn? Know Joker's Child? I'm there every week...

I've got the Rogue Short-Shift kit. Like Jerseygirl's, it is stealth. No height change, but boy does it make a difference.

 

Hey Pipe! Yeah, maybe next year. I'm sure you'll do a great job representing the fine North Jersey people up at MOT.

You've probably beat me to most mods. I haven't really done a whole lot to the car as far as performance goes.

Look forward to meeting you at some point in the future. :smile:

 

My dad still lives there. I live in Stirling, next to Chatham and Basking Ridge off of Route 78. But I'm in Fair Lawn on the weekend about once a month. My wife's family lives in Passaic/Clifton area and they have a pool so we're there a bit more in the summer months.

 

"The new Pilo looks very similar to the B&M..."


you got that right

 

I think it looks more like the Megan Racing shifter:

http://www.meganracing.com/products/...asp?prodid=218

 

which happens to be the one they sell on ebay for $25 with $8 shipping.

i thought the pilo shifter was "developed". and by developed, i wasnt thinking "sourced and sold for 2x what they're charging for it on ebay."

either pilo racing got the shaft on vendor pricing, or we're just getting charged 2x more.

pilo racings: http://www.piloracing.com/cgi-bin/st...PILOSHORTSHIFT

ebay's: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

feeling only slightly ripped off.

 

I get a kick out of the text on Pilo's website:

They are only offered in one model by Pilo and isn't Pilo the "tuner" for whom this is has been specifically designed?

 

Funny, but the "tuner" is us - dudes (and gals) that are heavily into performance mods on their car. :smile:

 

he could at least have come up with his own description... oh well.

mine is on it's way. thinking it is going right back when it gets here.

should've figured this out before i ordered it, but the b&m was like 2x more than this one. bleh.

 

I think the blue bushings might be a slightly different color.

And what is "billet steel"?

How about an alloy number and hardness/tensile strength...surely that was investigated in the development phase

 

Looking at the price for the E-Bay version my guess is this is a cheap, China made, knockoff of the B&M shifter. No way could you make a quality shifter and sell it for $25 and still make a profit. I am all for parts at a decent price but I'd steer clear of this one. Buyer be ware!!!!

 

Billet means that it was turned out of a solid block of "x" material. As opposed to cast, forged or stamped.

 

billet is a mis-used word with the mis-user trying to make use of some supposed cachet meaning implying higher quality.

metallurgial texts are also murky, but I found this def:
"Billet: A square form of semifinished steel that later is rolled into a finished product such as a bar." pretty general purpose, eh?


now what is a "bar'? round, square, hex, half-round, rectangular all work, but hollow sections don't.

 

Are the full kits like the B&M type that replace the entire shifting mechanism better than the ones like the Helix that only replace the bottom of the shifter connection?

Who is making a short shift kits for an 04 MCS besides the Helix one listed here? Is it just a matter of time before they will be readily available for 04 models

 

i think alta makes one (for 04). check out randy webb's site and i think outmotoring carries it too.

dont know which type is better; it is probably more a matter of taste than anything. the little add-on types (helix, rogue) keep the shift ball height the same as stock, but shift travel is reduced. they are also cheaper. the replacement types reduce shift travel, and height and tend to be more expensive. alta is height and travel adjustable. it is also the most expensive.