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In this discussion, we’ll be diving into what it does in detail and see if it’s right for you.

The sheer experience of changing gears all on your own in something unparalleled in the automotive world. One might argue that modern cars are so powerful that rowing the gears can end up in a mishap if not handled properly. Unlike many who prefer automatics over manuals, the engagement that you get whilst shifting gears is part of the drama that many enthusiasts favor and would soldier on as long as there are affordable cars with stick shifts. 

Thanks to some carmakers, there's still hope for manuals. If you’re an enthusiast, short-throw shifters are not something uncommon. Earlier you could only see these employed in sports cars, but it’s increasingly common these days with OEMs fitting them from the factory; of course, not every car is entitled to this mind you.

If you drive a stick shift, one of the common and relatively inexpensive add-ons you can purchase is a short shifter. While many misconceptions about short shifters prevail, one of the more common ones is “it’s a chopped shifter”. Right off the bat, the fact can be disregarded and we took the liberty of explaining what it is.

In a nutshell, a Short throw shifter reduces the lengths of your shifts for a more engaging driving experience. In this discussion, we’ll be diving into what it does in detail and see if it’s right for you.

The enthusiast in you may not like the sloppy and slow throws from the stock shifter. Even if your car packs a lot of punch, a lazy gearbox coupled with long throws is going to drain all the fun out of the experience.

Fundamentally a short shifter when compared to a stock shifter offers quicker shifts with less arm movement. To put that into perspective, less arm movement results in you engaging the throws faster as opposed to a stock shifter.

In essence, a short-throw shifter amplifies the engagement factor by multiple folds. Instead of lazily shifting gears, employing a short shifter can help with reduced shift times and performance benefits depending on the car.

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As mentioned above, a short-shifter is not a ‘physically short stick’. While you can go ahead and try cutting the shift lever, neither will you get what you wanted nor does it improve the shifts. If anything, you lose a perfectly good shifter.

A short shifter as opposed to a long/ stock shifter works by altering angles inside the shaft. To be more specific, the shaft is an integral part of the shifter that travels between gears. The Shaft moves the fork mechanism engaging the synchronizers which in turn clamps on to the gears. By changing the pivot point, a short shifter reduces the angle of that shaft. By no means is it reducing the length of any physical component.

Think of it as using two spanners of varying lengths on the same bolt. The longer spanner has to travel more to get the bolt undone while the smaller spanner travels the shortest distance.

If you look at a short-throw shifter and a normal shifter side-by-side, the short shifter looks longer than the stock shifter (in most cases). This is done so as to relocate the pivot point to a higher position than it previously was to get shorter throws. One thing to note is that there are many short-throw shifter designs out there but fundamentally the principle they follow is the same: alter the pivot point.

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There are definitely enough reasons to get one but there are some important things that you should know before getting one. Firstly, the shifting is going to need a lot more force than stock. In physics terms, torque is force times perpendicular distance which is lb-ft and if you recall the spanner example, the longer it is the less force it requires to get more torque. Similarly, in the case of the shifter, the shorter the travel is the more force you’ll have to put up to get the same amount of torque.

This can be solved to an extent with a weighted gear knob. A heavier and smaller knob will make your shifts feel more solid, while a lighter and more rounded one will make them easier and more precise. It’s the trade-off that defines a true gearhead from a non-car guy.

Other pros that favor the short shifter are the improved aesthetics and obviously improved shift times. While shift times depend on the driver, some shifters can cut down on throws by 70%. This would potentially help increase acceleration and not to mention the massively improved driving experience

Regardless of what you drive, if the driving experience is all that matters, getting a short shifter is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to get the most out of your car. After all, the whole point of driving a stick is to bring in the engagement and the drama of depressing the clutch and changing the gears at your will, why not enhance it?

Sources: CJ PonyParts, Youtube, Andys AutoSports

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A relatively naive bloke in every aspect other than cars. Ever since he was a toddler, cars fascinated him so much that he only ate when there's a magazine beside him. Although comprehension was a bit far-fetched, pictures were the focal point. Fast forward a few years, he graduated with a degree in automobile engineering and now pens down on all things motoring.