So,
I am working on making a H pattern shifter cover to replace the fugly shifter boot, I preferred something more like the audi r8 design. I finally got around to removing the shifter boot to find out our shifter is one very beefy piece like god damn is it thick, unfortunately this makes my endeavor a bit more complicated, and further complicated when I noticed that at their is a rubber bushing actually inside the thick part of the shifter rod) which I assume is for vibration given our shift is a direct shifr with no linkages) I must say I have never seen a shifter quite like this before. Great, alread knew I was going to need to do a **** ton of grinding the get a uniform shaft thickness now looks like this is going to be a lengthy process. I will post updates as it goes along and photos hopefully this can help other people who may want to attempt this.

 

i think you will ruin the shifter by grinding on it. iirc its thick like that for weight. could possibly wreck your trans too

 

Most cars with the H gate cover have fairly long shifters. I think the 8's shifter is a bit too short to work well with a H gate cover.

 

Im not to concerned with ruining the shifter itself there are enough parts rx8s around me to get another one. I dont need to remove to much of the thick part of the shifter to make it work, maybe 30% and I should be able to keep the rubber damper as long as its not hollow inside I don't see any issues there. I could always add weight back to the shifter further down, but what about less weight could cause a problem? The comment about potential transmission damage is a bit concerning as I would prefer not having to rebuild it, what makes you think it could cause damage?

 

iirc the shifter is weighted for a reason and the trans in an 8 is already delicate. they are know for syncros so less weight may mess with gear engagement but im no expert

 

Well I mean if I think about it logically less weight would mean less force would need to be applied to move from point a-b so I could see it speeding up gear to gear engagement and maybe added over shifting, so added wear on the forks. I could always install a shifyer stop to compensate for that as I was considering it anyway. If I do run into issues my back up plan is to make a sliding style cover kinda like what you see in autos where a thin piece of material is held between a top and bottom layer of thick material that allows it to slide around freely, but I prefer anything over the shift boot, i can't stand the look of them. I know it probably seems like alot of effort for something that doesn't have any gains but I do enjoy custom fabrication work and that feeling you get when you're at a car meet and someone goes woow dude where did you get that, and you get to say I made it.

 

good luck post some pics if you do it

 

Heavier shift ***** are easier to get into gear (more momentum at the end of the shifter). Good for ergonomics and feel on the street.
Lighter shift ***** are better for racing when you're trying to shift as fast as possible because it makes it less likely that you'll push the shifter too far. Which is important for the RX-8 transmisison because it doesn't have any fencing to prevent pushing the shifter too far.

 

Hey guys, so it turns out our shifter is 2 pieces, the shifter has a rubber bushing attached to it than the top part slides over top of the bushing. So I cut of the top section and cut a piece of steel round to use as the part between the 2. Now I just have to weld it up and we will be good to go. Then I will just have to fab up the H gate style cover and we will be golden. Not sure on the material I will use yet.

 

Is this a track car?

You will feel enormous amounts of heat radiating around the shifter area without the boot acting as an insulator. Not to mention the noise, which the double boot and wool mesh isolates.

 

No it's not a track car I just enjoy the aesthetic look of a H gate style shifter cover over the shifter boot and also we have to rubber insulators that seal the opening in the transmission tunnel, but I can always install wool insulation under the shifter plate if it comes to that. I like making my car unique and my own, and I have no problem spending some time doing troubleshooting and doing r&d to make things work that I want. I'm always willing to atleast give something a try because the worst outcome is I fail but I learn from those failures which assists me in other endeavors.

 

Inspirational.


Best of luck.

 

I get it welded together tomorrow, unfortunately I've had to fast track this project a bit due to needing to get my car back on the road, so I have not been able to determine the angle needed to center the shifter, stock it has a gradual curve, but that got cut out when I removed the taper, so for now I won't be making a plate to cover the assembly.

Once I have some more free time I'll will have it adjusted, rewelded, and fabricate the plate. Still trying to determine what material would be best suited, it's really just cost vs material stength. A metal alloy would probably be best, but that comes with material and machining cost, fiberglass would be inexpensive but I don't think it will hold up that well if the shifter caught on one of the slots, I'm thinking a thicker piece of like pvc might work well, the thickness will give it some strength, the cost will be low, and it will be easy enough to machine out the pattern myself. What do you guys think?

 

got a friend with a 3d printer? im not sure how well plastic will hold up the the heat tho. metal is also gonna get hot

 

I think I see what direction this is going... and it's not good.

 

So, I got the shifter welded today, it looks pretty good, not as pretty as a professional tig weld would have been, but still lookw good. The curve in the shaft is actually there on the stock shifter, it's just not as visually noticeable because of the thickness.

Tamas what exactly do you mean, when you say you see where this is going and it's not good? I've tested the strength of the weld, and applied more force to it than will ever be applied from shifting. There's been nothing done that couse result in an catastrophic damages. What's the worst case scenario, I have to buy a new shifter.

 

All installed, going to make a few more adjustments in the future, the section I highlighted in yellow will need to be trimmed down more to allow it to have clearance between it and the top plate, but it's completely do able. The shifter did end up angled a bit to far right, not significantly enough to impact anything it just does sit at 90° closer to like 85° but considering I had next to no time to get this ready for welding and measure by eye I think it turned out very well.

 

I thought of the fabrication of such a plate out of PVC and similar plastic... somehow I don't have a feeling that this whole thing will look good at the end. Let's hope I'm wrong.

 

Ok, that's a fait concern as I myself have had the same concerns, but will share my logic on why it shouldn't present a problem at least it regards to the affects of heat. The center console cover for our car is made from abs plastic, which is completely bare and has no form of thermal isulator or protective coating of anytime. Abs has a melting point of about 224 °f. Standard pvc has a melting point of 140°f but most pvc you will find will actually have a melting point of 212°f but can be as high as 500°F. Our car only has 3 seperate parts used in the shifter assembly that act as a heat isulator. The firat is a rubber plate that seals the exterior from the interior, the second is another rubber plater that seals the shifter from in interior of the car, and the 3rd is a very small piece of wool insulation, I've taken a picture of it installed so all can see.

I haven't included the shifter boot itself as its paper thin and won't provide much on the way of heat insulation/dissipation. So as long as I can ensure to used a pvc plastic with additives so it can with heats of +224°f I don't forsee encountering any problems in regards to heat. Whether or not heat radiating through the H gate style plate will be an issue will be hard to determine at this point, but if it is a issue, I do already have a plan of attack for how to handle it if need be.

 

ABS can take some heat, if it gets hot enough to melt it, the shift gate will be the least of his concerns. But at least it's good to prototype and then get the real one done in nylon or delrin.

 

IMO, ABS will probably work okay but it's not going to be pretty without a good deal of finish work and it won't be terribly durable.

On the other hand, ABS would be good for prototyping (since it can be 3D printed) and the ABS part can be used to produce a mold in sand or investment casting which can be easily done at home (look up AvE on YouTube to see his carbonized bread foundry method). It wouldn't be too hard to go from plastic to aluminum. Time consuming to get the casting right and all the finish work but not difficult.

Just make sure that you source actual cast aluminum (since it has silica added to it for better casting). Don't expect good results from melted down soda cans.

 

Any progress on this? Very unique mod

 

I see a snapped shifter in your future. 😉