Has anyone had any experience with shift gates ?

ex:


Do shift gates like these actually help with shifting or is that just marketing jazz? I am a newbie manual driver, so I need as much help as I can get, though I also like the way these look.


EDIT: Here's my photoshopped pic of what I would be trying to do, all problems mentioned below aside.



Sorry for the crudity of the pic, I had to remove the shift boot by hand using photoshop, so it's not really great. But you get the idea.

Thanks


Modified by kotetu at 8:41 AM 5/9/2003

 

i wouldnt mine havin one...but it wouldnt help shifing unless u really cant drive worht a ****.

 

Something like that would be very hard to make for the Prelude. It would be a pretty complicated piece from my knowledge of the OEM shifter assembly.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4bidden &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Something like that would be very hard to make for the Prelude. It would be a pretty complicated piece from my knowledge of the OEM shifter assembly.</TD></TR></TABLE>
make a new shifter assembly and use a shift gate, advertise it on eBay as "Ferrari and Lamborgini style shifter for HONDA PRELUDE" so many riceboys would buy that, you'd be rich

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Boosted97Lude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
make a new shifter assembly and use a shift gate, advertise it on eBay as "Ferrari and Lamborgini style shifter for HONDA PRELUDE" so many riceboys would buy that, you'd be rich</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's a damned good idea.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Something like that would be very hard to make for the Prelude. It would be a pretty complicated piece from my knowledge of the OEM shifter assembly.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't think it would be very hard to make though, since it's just a plate we are talking about. To my knowledge, this plate merely replaces the shift boot, and causes the stick to have a more or less set path that it can travel.

Is there something more complicated about it that I am missing?

 

Well, I was more thinking along the lines of doing it below the boot so you dont see it. The 4gen shifting assembly is horrendous looking, so you wouldnt want to run without a boot. It could mount via the 4 bolts that secure the base plate to the chassis. It would then have to be raised as high as possible without interfering with the console/boot to make it actually work. It has to go high because the lever pivots from a plane that is just about level with the mounting bolts. So youre talking raising it about 3-4 inches for it to even be able to work. With that said, I dont think one would be necessary in a Prelude.

 

4bidden,

I was thinking more along the lines of having it showing like this:



Exactly like the Auto SS plate in the prelude, but for a manual. What do you think?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kotetu &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">4bidden,

I was thinking more along the lines of having it showing like this:



Exactly like the Auto SS plate in the prelude, but for a manual. What do you think?</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's cool, but imagine yourself going buck wild when u spill something or drop something in there!!!

 

i agree.. plus how well do we think the plastic console would hold up against the metal beating on it under hard shifts? i think it looks cool though.

 

those are both good points. ^_^

 

I doubt it'd work on most Honda gearboxes. There physically isn't enough space between gears to put a gate . . . .

For example, on the H22, take a look at how far the shifter moves horizontally between 2nd & 4th gear. Less than an inch at the top of the shifter. And at the bottom where you'd place the gate, there's much, much less. I wouldn't be surprised if the shift column actually overlapped it's original position between 2nd & 4th.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Daemione &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I doubt it'd work on most Honda gearboxes. There physically isn't enough space between gears to put a gate . . . .

For example, on the H22, take a look at how far the shifter moves horizontally between 2nd & 4th gear. Less than an inch at the top of the shifter. And at the bottom where you'd place the gate, there's much, much less. I wouldn't be surprised if the shift column actually overlapped it's original position between 2nd & 4th.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is the point I made up above. That is why I said the plate would need to be raised quite a few inches up from the actual mounting spot.

 

check out my first post with edit... This is what I am trying to do, just put it on the top, like the 'shift gate' plate is on the SS.

 

Go out to your car, shift from 2nd to 4th, and observe how much the base of the shift column moves laterally.

 

i have developed a shift gate for my 4th gen BUT!!! there is not enough space between the gears horizontally to make it an actual gate. instead it looks like a piece of metal with little triangle things in the top and bottom.

worth it?? ?

 

if anyone is serious about making one of these or would like to talk about the how's and whats of a shiftgate. let me know

 

There isnt much to it but it is not a worthy mod for our cars. If it was, someone would have done it a long time ago. If youre in it for the bling factor you could do it I'm sure. I could have one made out of polished aluminum and have it sit flush against the console in a 4gen. I dont think it would be worth it though.

 

If they made them for the ITRs, there would be a lot of people out there without bent valves right now.

I assume Ludes have the same problem, with people trying to go from 3-4 and instead going from 3-2.