B&M Short Shifter or stick with a shorter shaft??

[Dieselino]

Im trying to decide if I should get a shorter shaft and go with a B&M shifter. I cant stand the stock height, and also it is kinda vague as to what gear I am in sometimes. Any recommendations?

 

[plumcrazy]

i put a shorter shaft and a new knob on and love it. never had a single problem shifting either.

 

[syldogRT/10]

I put on a MOMO ball which lowered the throw and I love it. I think it cost me $50 and is a great improvement over stock.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

The stock height shifter is very unattractive IMO. I ordered a new shift ball from http://www.mgwltd.com/viper.shtml and I really like it. I may end up switching out my whole shifter assy because twice I've hit the wrong gear while shifting under heavy load. Luckily, I haven't done any damage yet, but don't wanna push my luck too much.

 

[ViperJoe]

Removed the stock 6 foot long pipe and put a MGW first strike on the shaft..........schweet!

 

[carguy07]

I was pretty happy with the stock shifter's feel (go figure) so I got Rich's 4" bolt. Works perfect for me and only takes 10 minutes to swap.

http://www.richdetert.com/ViperShifterParts.htm

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Only down side is a little more heat through the boot.

 

[Dieselino]

Ive tried getting ahold of Rich many times. I sent emails and left phone messages with no luck.

 

[anton28]

I have a B&M and i love it. I think its definety worth the upgrade.

 

[ROCKET62]

A shorter shaft will only fix your first complaint about wanting a shorter height for the shifter. If your stock shifter feels vague go with any of the aftermarket shifters and you will not need to guess what gear you are reaching for. I have the B&M, have been very happy, and would say it was one of the best mods I did to my Viper. Also went with a MGW First Strike knob to drop the height.

 

[Mccarlin]

I was going to make a post on this too, what is the concensus for the best short shifter?

 

[ViperJames]

I have the Hurst which was recommended hands down by Chuck Tator. I LOVE IT. I also put the MGW on there. It is perfect, even shifting back and forth between 5th and 6th cruising ont he highway is SMOOTH, something that was non existent with the stock setup.

 

[RAYSIR]

I have the B&M on both cars. The GTS I did B&M second and also took the hollow threaded shift shaft put it in my drill press then tapped it out 1/2" fine and then cut it off 1&1/2". Works great. Still have to do the RT though.

 

[Fast Freddy]

B&M ripper here on both my viper and my vette. the one on the vette is much better than the one for the viper though. but the viper one is still much better than stock

 

[klamathpro]

$282.85 for a short throw shifter! Rich's $25 mod seems more appealing if you aren't racing.

 

[CROM]

Rich's shorter shifter shaft makes the stock shifter actually look half decent by lowering it quite a bit (especially on the 99+). It also makes shifting a wee bit easier.

However, I believe the short shift kits like the Hurst and B&M actually make shifting easier and more fluid. Even after I installed a 99+ shifter and one of Rich's shorter shafts in my 98 the 2nd to 3rd shift was still very notchy and somewhat hard to do quickly.

 

[ROCKET62]

$282.85 for a short throw shifter! Rich's $25 mod seems more appealing if you aren't racing.

..... or EVER aggressive shifting. As the original post indicated - he is not happy with the stock shifting mechanism - so no matter what shaft/knob you use - you will not correct the problem and risk the inadvertant 3:2 or 2:1 incorrect shift.

There was a HUGE difference between my old stock shifter and the B&M.

 

[snampro]

I've been wanting to do this mod for a while, but after reading the "illustrated upgrades" it looks like a pain in the butt.

did anyone on here install the short-shifter themselves?

 

[QUICKV10]

I will be installing the Hurst short throw shifter and mgw first strike knob this week. I'll let you know how it goes, I doesn't seem like it would be that big of a deal.

 

[BlueGTS]

I started with Rich's 3" shaft and the stock shifter and it worked great. I then added the first strike knob now it is too short. I want to order a longer shaft from Rich but can not reach him.

Has anyone reached Rich in the last year? I want another $25 shifter shaft.

 

[RedOne]

$282 for the shifter!? The B&M is readily available on e-bay in the $208 - $218 range...

 

[snampro]

I will be installing the Hurst short throw shifter and mgw first strike knob this week. I'll let you know how it goes, I doesn't seem like it would be that big of a deal.

the stuff that concerned me was all the drilling, including rivets, or unbolting the trans

 

[ROCKET62]

I've been wanting to do this mod for a while, but after reading the "illustrated upgrades" it looks like a pain in the butt.

did anyone on here install the short-shifter themselves?

Yes - hardest part may be getting the center console off over the parking brake handle. Taking your time it is a 2-3 hour job. Directions and "how to" section were very helpful. Some don't like the fact that you have to drill a 3/4" hole to get to one of the bolts - but once its done - no one will ever know it's there except you. If you really don't want to drill the hole - I'm 99% sure you could do it without drilling and a combination of 1/4" universals/extensions/sockets.

If you ever have to guess what gear your reaching for with the stock shifter - you'll be amazed at the difference with a new shifter.

Here's a quick pic with the B&M and the MGW First Strike knob:

 

[carguy07]

I started with Rich's 3" shaft and the stock shifter and it worked great. I then added the first strike knob now it is too short. I want to order a longer shaft from Rich but can not reach him.

Has anyone reached Rich in the last year? I want another $25 shifter shaft.

I think I got mine from him last year. It took me a couple of weeks to hear from him. I think I emailed him a couple of times and was about ready to give up when he emailed me back that it was on it's way. I'll have to look and see if I have any contact info for him. It was worth the wait for me.

 

[snampro]

where are you guys buying your shifters?

what knobs are you using with the B&M?

 

[Viper44]

BlueGTS,
Just call him and leave a message if he doesn't answer. I called him three days ago about 8:45PM Central time and he answered. I then ordered one yesterday from him and same thing, I called him and left a message and my number. He called me back within 2 hours. He said he is out and will be making a new batch of them most likely this week.

 

[jcaspar1]

Is the B & M shifter threaded for the Stock/Gripper/ First Strike knobs?

 

[ROCKET62]

Is the B & M shifter threaded for the Stock/Gripper/ First Strike knobs?

Yes!

 

[99RT10]

I installed the B&M in my '99 a few weeks ago from underneath the car. It took about 1 1/2 hours. I removed the console, used a die gringer to remove the rivet heads, removed three of the four shifter bolts from the top and after dropping the bellypan, I was able to get to the right rear bolt with a Gearwrench and it was as simple as that. No dropping of the trans was needed

 

[snampro]

what is a gear wrench?