In general, based on experience, does anyone think that stiffer shifter bushings can prevent tranny damage by providing a more positive feel and giving the driver more feedback through the shifter?

Reason I ask is... I know its supposed to take away the soft/rubbery feel of engaging into a gear, but would you guys think that it can in general allow preventing a bad shift? or would it be a little harder on the transmission making it even more prone to damage?

Any suggestions are welcome, TIA

 

I have the Kartboy Front and Rear Shifter bushings and the STi Group N Transimission Mount and and short shifter...
I LOVE it..
the shifts are very firm.

I personally thing it WILL prevent transmission damage because it's a eaiser to get it into the right gear.

I doubt it will cause more damage because it just makes the shift more accerate.
there is less grinding

 

Shifter bushings will not PREVENT damage to the transmission, they just make your gear changes more accurate and solid. They wont prevent you from grinding gears or anything.....if you dont wanna break your tranny.....make sure you know how to drive an AWD Manual car, and dont abuse it. Most of the transmission problems I've seen have been caused by an error between the clutch pedal, and the shifter (aka. Driver error)

-Ted

 

I agree. I dont think busings and mounts have anything to do with the tranny survival. If anything the bushign can HURT a tranny if you misshift, as they will not give. However, you can break the gears in you misshift with stock bushings too, so no real difference if you shift like a champ.

I do beleive, that some shifters CAN cause premature wear of the gears and synchros. If the shifter is not designed properly and only changes the throw lenght, the gears will wear out. You know how they say that you should not keep your hand on the shifter? Same thing.

If you think about it, in Japan, shoft shifters do not really exist. They are always COMPLETE sport shift linkages which change the entire shifting mechanism. And shifters alone are made by just few companies (C'z, etc) and cost an arm an a leg because they are totally redesigned units.

That is my take on that.

As for myself, I too have a Kartboy shifter in my 6MT, but I kept my bushings stock.

 

Thanks for all the responses... Yeah I dunno, I'm still thinking about the relation to it... What GotBoost said about it mainly being driver error, I definitely agree with... and also what Imprezer said about harder bushings not allowing more give (although slight) can accentuate a misshift... All sound pretty logical to me...

chankiu's repsonse was what I was subconsciously looking for... About the possibility that, if anything at all, it will provide a more positive feel, therefore yielding less error from the driver.

With all this being said... are short shifters even a wise choice? I note the route Imprezer took, short shifter + standard bushings... although he mentioned the fact that the short shifters can cause premature wear... In that case, is it wise to just get the bushings for the increased feedback and positive feel, and keep the standard throw length? My only fear is if the tranny will keep up with speedy short shifts and whether gears will initiate properly or not...

Any other suggestions folks?

 

whether or not you have a short shift kit on, don't rush the gearbox. if it takes more than two fingers to get it in gear, you're doing something wrong.

i've got both kartboy bushes, a perrin short shift, and group n mounts with no issues. 40k miles. be sympathetic and your gearbox will last.

 

Thanks! How are the internal noise levels? Lots of excess vibration, or is it a very sublte difference? Would you say that the tranny mounts were worth it as well?