TWM Short Shift Problems? (Non-Speed3)

[Dubcnea]

i wouldn't count on mazda having screwed up your shift lever

[jackf]

Thats not what I'm saying.... Sand cast parts, you have variations due to mold alignment and shrinkage, rough casting marks where the two halves of the mold come together get ground off, then only the areas necessary like mounting, pivot points get machined to spec. I'm a machinist I deal with shitty castings all day.... might be within tolarance... but far from prefect.

[Koikeeper67]

So what was the out come of this problem ? I have been eyeing up these short shifters for while now and want to know if this is a part problem or a bad install

[jackf]

I'm going to try the install again this weekend. No one else besides me seems to have had a problem with the 5/6spd MZ3 kit and seem to love it. So maybe my problem isn't a problem at all and I'm over analyzing it... which has been known to happen Thats why I plan to try it again and give it more than a ride around the block this time.

[Koikeeper67]

Cool keep me posted. Did you ever get any responce from TWM ?

Thanks

[jackf]

Originally Posted by Koikeeper67

Cool keep me posted. Did you ever get any responce from TWM ?

Thanks

No not yet

[jackf]

I figured out that just like the JBarone short shift kit for the Speed3 you may have to fine tune your shifter. The setup and adjustment process is almost identical. If you have a problem try following this tutorial. Making just a small adjustment down the shaft made a HUGE improvement It no longer feels like my cable is dragging, and shift engagement and locating gears is as smoother as butter. TWM Should update their Manual with directions how to do this if necessary and I still do believe they need to counter sink the holes on the adapter plate and use a flat head Allen bolt, instead of the cap head bolts provided. It probably won't cause a problem but I still don't like the head of the bolt touching the boot... but I can live with it.

YouTube - MAZDASPEED 3 How to Fine Tune Your Shifter JBARONE Short Throw Shift Plate

YouTube - MAZDASPEED 3 How to Fine Tune Your Shifter JBARONE Short Throw Shift Plate

[Koikeeper67]

Cool thanks for the update good to hear it is working good now Bad to hear that you didnt get any help from TWM

[TWM Performance]

Originally Posted by jackf

I figured out that just like the JBarone short shift kit for the Speed3 you may have to fine tune your shifter. The setup and adjustment process is almost identical. If you have a problem try following this tutorial. Making just a small adjustment down the shaft made a HUGE improvement It no longer feels like my cable is dragging, and shift engagement and locating gears is as smoother as butter. TWM Should update their Manual with directions how to do this if necessary and I still do believe they need to counter sink the holes on the adapter plate and use a flat head Allen bolt, instead of the cap head bolts provided. It probably won't cause a problem but I still don't like the head of the bolt touching the boot... but I can live with it.

Hi jackf,

Sorry about the delay in our response in this thread. We're trying to keep on top of all of these Mazda 3 and Speed3 threads and emails. Regardless, thank you very much for your feedback. It's strange that you had this problem because we've installed 5-6 short shifter plates into 2010 Mazda3's here at the shop, 3 of which I did personally, and we never saw this problem.

That being said, we've contacted our test car to get it back in the shop for a look at how we could incorporate the cable adjustments into our install manual. It seems to be an issue regarding Mazda's tolerances that may be fine when stock, but are more apparent when you put a short shifter plate on it.

As you mentioned, it doesn't seem to be necessary for everyone but we will definitely be adding a couple of steps in the install manual to get people to check the cable adjustments to get the most out of their shifting assemblies!

Once again thanks for the feedback!

Patrick
Team TWM Performance