I'm looking into purchasing a short shifter and wanted to get everyone's opinion on which one they think is better overall (taking the price into consideration as well):

- Kartboy short shifter ($90 US)
- TWM 2nd Gen short shifter ($129 US)
- B&M short shifter ($140 US)


Which one do you think is the best?

 

in MY opinion? B&M....I just happen to like the design, the one piece construction...and the very high quality of the shifter.

 

The other SS that is not included in that list is the Pacesetter SS.

It is like $85 and it is adjustable so you can set how short you want your throws to be.

 

kartboy and the bushings, thats the way to go

 

Kartboy lever & bushings, stock ****

ain't it cute?

short, notchy, just right

 

thanks guys, looks like Kartboy is winning the race so far... I already have the Kartboy bushings, so I'm really considering going with their shifter. However, I'm still leaning a little towards B&M. Which one of the two has shorter throws and is smoother to shift (my father also drives my car so I wanna be sure it won't be too hard for him to shift as he has arthritis).

 

I think the Kartboy shifter is way too short, in my opinion, you get just as short a thow with B&M, but still have some height in the lever. My wife didn't want a really short stick, so we went B&M. Works great excellent quality.

 

too short? that's funny

that's like saying your car is too fun to drive, or handles too well

no, this is one case where having a short stick is a good thing

it's really sporty, any other shifter now looks like it was transplanted from an F-250 or something

 

In true driving fashion you want the shift **** as close to the steering wheel as possible so you don't have to take your hand away from the wheel for very long, that is why in race cars they tend to make the shifter longer or go to paddle shifters. Making your shifter a stubby little thing will increase its distance from the wheel. If the center tunnel was way up like in a Miata, a shorty shifter is cool but IMO it does not work as well on the Protege. To each their own, but I am glad to hear the B&M shifter does not shorten the length of the shifter itself.

How difficult are the short shifters to install?

 

I got the kartboy, i cant say much about the others b/c i never drove with them. The kartboy is very low, maybe too low.I also have their ****, but i found it harder to shift with, maybe my hands are too big I put my stock **** back on. The bushings are great though. The B&M seems good to me, just as short of a throw, and a lil more hieght.

 

gets my vote. I tried both Kartboy and B&M and preferred the B&M. Little taller and easier to shift than the Kartboy. Not much diff in the throw between the 2.

Also found that with the lower height of the Kartboy, my hand does not fall to it naturally as it does with the B&M. It might have to do with how long your arms are or how tall you are.

I also agree that having the shifter closer to the steering wheel is a plus.

 

i haven't tried the others, i got the TWM because it looked the shortest and i like that look
throw doesn't really matter to me, i can move my arm pretty fast if i try

 

I removed my Kartboy. It was too low. Maybe my arm is too short, but it was not a comfortable position. I left the bushing in and installed the stock shifter. It is longer, but way smoother.

 

B&M > TWM.v2 > Kartboy

B&M and the TWM.v2 are both 1-piece. TWM has bearings at the bottom instead of the stupid little plastic bushings. But B&M has the bronzoil pivot bushing which makes it the sweetest.

My MP3 shifter is already too damned low but has long throws. Short throws with a taller height would be great. I suppose that would mean going with the B&M but it's very expensive in Canada and my tranny is already at less than its perfect behaviour.

 

I don't think I'm oddly proportioned, and where the Kartboy puts the **** feels just right to me.

Do a test, grab the lever below the **** about 2" above the console and see if you can comfortably shift from that height.

Honestly, I love the Kartboy. If I could vote again for it I would.