Which Acuity parts needed to just remove lateral slop on shifter?

[Victorofhavoc]

Yeah that might make sense to do, in case it's effective enough to address my preference on its own. Much cheaper than replacing the whole mechanism. Good idea.

I have the bushings and I'll pay attention to it next time I drive it.

I do know my slop isn't anywhere near as bad as the acuity video. They seem to really crank on it to prove a point, and it's not even in the car.

On a fun note, no one knows slop like Peugeot 206 drivers know slop. Gates? None to speak of. You push it into gear and the shifter bounces back two inches . It had 4 times the clutch feel of the its though

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[ABPDE5]

One thing you could try if you're really determined to get more feedback, etc. is the Hybrid Racing shift cables from the FK8.

Disclaimer: I don't know if these fit the FL5 / DE5.

Reviews from FK8 indicated they were much stiffer than OEM and introduced a lot of NVH, so maybe they do a better job of conveying gate feel, too?

 

[ashmostro]

I do know my slop isn't anywhere near as bad as the acuity video. They seem to really crank on it to prove a point, and it's not even in the car.

Mine definitely is as bad. Maybe there's variance across cars.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Mine definitely is as bad. Maybe there's variance across cars.

Fair. The ones I've driven have had several other variances (body panel alignment, rattles, clutch pedal wiggle, rattles, leather "tightness", and of course rattles come to mind).

Okay, just hopped into the car to play with it. Yes, there's a good amount of slop when in gear or when in neutral. It's not as bad as the video, but probably 60% of that. Keep in mind I have the acuity linkage bushings. I don't believe they did a thing for this play.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I do recall noticing early on how sloppy it was, but after the bushings (factory) broke in a bit there was a lot more feel from the gates so I believe it just fell out of my brain. The fancy shift knob I got from lathewerks only added to the feel so I've stopped noticing entirely. Now that it's been pointed out again, I'll do my best to forget it .

I still believe the shifter is good to great. The clutch on the other hand is one of the worst. I have a slew of parts sitting in my garage to try and address the clutch feel, but that was before I started taking everything back to stock. Looking back, before doing anything else to the car I should have focused on the clutch first...

 

[ashmostro]

Hahaha man this stuff is so subjective because I absolutely love the clutch feel. So funny!

And I appreciate the update on the play with your shifter bushings. I really do think the whole unit needs to be replaced to achieve what I want. Ugh, there goes another 500 bucks.

 

[Spart]

I don’t know your general experience, nor how long you've had the car, so I apologize if this is offensive. This is one of the best factory shifters I've had, and I've had many. Unless something is wrong, it should not need any work. The spring is loaded perfectly for the 3-4 gate, and shifts should be very pleasing with no "misalignment". Shifters are different, and I've spent time and money on high quality short and sport shifters that were no better than this one. Just my two cents, but you need to do what's best for you.

I apologize if this is offensive, but have you never driven a RWD car?

The shifter in this car is worse than almost every RWD car I can think of. Like, get in a Miata someday. Or a Dodge Challenger, or a Camaro, or....

I would say on the spectrum of cars I've owned and driven the shifter is just average for a FWD cable-shifted setup. It's kind of bad among Hondas even, most older Hondas have much lower shift effort. Moving the shifter around on this car feels like it's in molasses compared to (say) an Accord V6 6MT.

I mean, there is a reason why Acuity probably makes money hand over fist with the components that they produce.

I think a fluid change may improve this quite a bit, but I'm waiting to put a couple thousand more miles on the OE fluid before I change, ensuring things are nice and broken in before I waste a fluid flush job.

 

[elh0102]

I apologize if this is offensive, but have you never driven a RWD car?

The shifter in this car is worse than almost every RWD car I can think of. Like, get in a Miata someday. Or a Dodge Challenger, or a Camaro, or....

I would say on the spectrum of cars I've owned and driven the shifter is just average for a FWD cable-shifted setup. It's kind of bad among Hondas even, most older Hondas have much lower shift effort. Moving the shifter around on this car feels like it's in molasses compared to (say) an Accord V6 6MT.

I mean, there is a reason why Acuity probably makes money hand over fist with the components that they produce.

I think a fluid change may improve this quite a bit, but I'm waiting to put a couple thousand more miles on the OE fluid before I change, ensuring things are nice and broken in before I waste a fluid flush job.

My last street/track car was a Porsche GT3 with sport shifter, along with a Z06 two BMW M3s, and two Porsche Caymans. So yes, I have owned and driven several rear drive cars. The shifters in all of them were very adequate. If I focused singularly on the quality of the shifter feel, were any of them perfect? Probably not, but none got in the way of some pretty decent track times. There are just too many other things going on to be distracted by a less than perfect shifter feel (assuming it's not awful).

 

[ashmostro]

Well, I went ahead and ordered the stage 3 kit, lol

And guys, all this is about preferences. No reason to get in camps and defend them. There's nothing to defend.

 

[ABPDE5]

I apologize if this is offensive, but have you never driven a RWD car?

The shifter in this car is worse than almost every RWD car I can think of. Like, get in a Miata someday. Or a Dodge Challenger, or a Camaro, or....

I would say on the spectrum of cars I've owned and driven the shifter is just average for a FWD cable-shifted setup. It's kind of bad among Hondas even, most older Hondas have much lower shift effort. Moving the shifter around on this car feels like it's in molasses compared to (say) an Accord V6 6MT.

I mean, there is a reason why Acuity probably makes money hand over fist with the components that they produce.

I think a fluid change may improve this quite a bit, but I'm waiting to put a couple thousand more miles on the OE fluid before I change, ensuring things are nice and broken in before I waste a fluid flush job.

I think the key here is a shifter that uses direct linkages, as opposed to cables. Plenty of RWD cars also use cables. You do not get the same level of feedback with cables as you do with direct linkages.

 

[ABPDE5]

Well, I went ahead and ordered the stage 3 kit, lol

And guys, all this is about preferences. No reason to get in camps and defend them. There's nothing to defend.

Stage 3 kit is great, imo.

The bushings help with feedback, and Acuity's shifter is much more precise (re: slop), and it allows for a lot of configuration re: throw / gate spacing, etc. I felt the throws on this car, stock, were way too long, for me.

It's not cheap, but it's a well-designed piece of kit, and Acuity provides excellent instructions.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Well, I went ahead and ordered the stage 3 kit, lol

And guys, all this is about preferences. No reason to get in camps and defend them. There's nothing to defend.

This is the internet and Murica!

If you don't like what I like then you're wrong and should be deported

Joking aside, you have a healthy way of looking at it.

 

[Spart]

My last street/track car was a Porsche GT3 with sport shifter, along with a Z06 two BMW M3s, and two Porsche Caymans. So yes, I have owned and driven several rear drive cars. The shifters in all of them were very adequate. If I focused singularly on the quality of the shifter feel, were any of them perfect? Probably not, but none got in the way of some pretty decent track times. There are just too many other things going on to be distracted by a less than perfect shifter feel (assuming it's not awful).

BMW seems exclusively focused on nerfing shifters in all of their cars.

Porsche shifters are just backwards FWD shifters most of the time. Cables and all. They're very overrated.

The Z06 - factory Corvette shifters aren't great, but an MGW cleans them up nicely. It's still a remote shifter, but it isn't cable operated at least (uses a solid rod linkage) and that gives a MUCH more mechanical feel.

None of this stuff compares to a proper, direct-mount shifter. Right into the trans. No linkages.

I think the best shifter I've ever felt in my life was on a Viper. I can't remember what short throw the guy had in it, but I'm certain it wasn't an MGW. It was just so precise and felt perfect.

 

[elh0102]

I think the key here is a shifter that uses direct linkages, as opposed to cables. Plenty of RWD cars also use cables. You do not get the same level of feedback with cables as you do with direct linkages.

Generally true, although some cable shifters are pretty darn good. I guess I've always considered the shifter feel to be an anesthetic issue, as opposed to the feel generated by steering, suspension, tires and brakes, which impact the driver's handling of the car.

 

[ashmostro]

For some, including myself, the shifter is the second most important part of the driving experience (the first being the steering wheel and the third being the brake pedal). I'm an advanced run group track day driver and still the intuitiveness (or lack thereof) of the shifter feel does influence lap times for me. Especially when you don't have 100% confidence in the felt "location" of each gear.

YMMV

 

[elh0102]

For some, including myself, the shifter is the second most important part of the driving experience (the first being the steering wheel and the third being the brake pedal). I'm an advanced run group track day driver and still the intuitiveness (or lack thereof) of the shifter feel does influence lap times for me. Especially when you don't have 100% confidence in the felt "location" of each gear.

YMMV

If your shifter is a hindrance to consistently being in the right gear at the right time, then you are 100% right to do something about it. Folks approach driving techniques differently, and priorities vary.

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