Gang -
I'm looking to do either the Kartboy or Perrin short shifter thing. I have a Prodrive **** on my stock shifter now, and will reuse that. What I want to know is how much vibration the Kartboy and Perrin setups give off, respectively. Does it buzz, vibrate like hell, or not at all? The Perrin uses the stock anti-vibration shaft, which is attractive to me. I'm an NVH phobe. Help me.
-Mirror

 

I tried the Kartboy setup and ended up modifying the stock pieces. Kartboy bushings = increased noise and very firm lever -- IMO too firm -- sometimes it would not go into gear. Lever = vibration (buzz) felt at the ****.

My solution for the bushing: I modified the stock piece by razoring off the 3 internal ribs and replaced these with a piece of hose -- making a solid bushing. Results are mixed -- no increase in noise, better feel than stock, but could be slightly stiffer. And it was a major PITA to install. I am looking into the Energy Suspension bushing as I think the hardness falls somewhere in between stock and the Kartboy/Cusco offerings.

My solution for the lever: I cut and welded the stock lever to match the kartboy geometry -- retains Subaru engineered mass and vibration dampening qualities. Very happy with the results -- shorter throws and no more buzz in the palm. The Perrin piece should yield similar results except it reverses the lever which gives a funky angle to the ****, and **** will be higher unless you cut the lever.

 

I have the Kartboy Shifter and Bushings and there is more vibration/rattling than stock, and it is noticable, but the gains from the mod far outweigh the downside of vibrations.
When I have the stereo off, I can hear the rattling from the lever, which is annoying, but not too bad.
The shifter with bushings is a lot stiffer, but I drove a friend's WRX recently that was stock and it felt sloppy compared to my setup (WRX also).
Things are much more positive with the SS/bushing combo, and I wouldn't go back for the world
= a great mod with some cons, but they're outweighed by the pros!

 

i noticed a little tiny bit more noise and vibration when i installed my kartboy shifter and bushings, but after a couple of times in the car you'll never notice it again. the benefits of the setup far outweigh the NVH increase, which is minimal at best.

 

I don't suppose you have pictures of that, do you?
-Mirror

 

My Kartboy bushings and short shifter buzz in 3rd and 4th gear sometimes, but I think it's due to a slightly bent linkage or shift fork from hanging on for dear life at an autocross. It's probably tolerable to most people in light of the gains. If you're REALLY worried about noise, go with the STi linkage and shifter.

 

No, but I may be modifying another shifter for a friend and will attempt to document the process.

 

I installed the Kartboy shifter and bushing on my 04 wrx and I dont hear any unusal vibartion or noise. But when i did the install i did grind the metal trim as it look like it would hit when i shift into first gear...