So Iam also curious...has anyone ever heard of someones transmission react bad (such as popping out of gear) or breaking shortly after this mod. Iam not one who likes to tinker with "detents" when it comes to automatic or manual transmissions. I know how critical line pressure is and how if it is off even just a little bit it can and will effect the longevity of a transmission. I know how this mod works as I have seen the full writeup. What bothers me is lowering the ball out of the grove for the smoother shift. As with any modification there are side effects and trade offs. I was just curious as if this mod "over time" will shorten the life of the manual transmission. I mean my common sense logic is telling me that when it was built there was a reason for having it sit this far into the grove and was probably too have it be firm and not be able to pop out of gear?

 

Then sounds like he bought a Hurst shifter with the factory GM transmission "shift control" base off of a Z06 (M12) still attached to it, as opposed to one from a MM6. Hurst only makes one shifter for the C5 and does not differentiate between Z06/regular C5.

Do you happen to know what's different about it Ed? Stronger, better, faster, all-new-improved, etc?

Tip: I like to put a couple drops of motor oil in that front "lock pin" hole to help lube the shifter rod in the bushing. Take a small dab of black silicone and seal the hole after, so no dirt can get in. If you ever want to re-lube or use the hole in the future, just use a small straight or safety pin to pop your little silicone "plug" right back out. Works great.

 

As you know, the stock shifter is super-easy to get into and out of gears. With no detent and ball plunger, the shifter would probably slide out of gear quite readily. While I would never remove the ball plunger piece completely, backing it off is somewhat like having an actual spring-loaded ball plunger and swapping out the spring for a weaker version.

The stiffer the shifter, the further the ball plunger piece can be backed off without incurring any negative effects. With my BPP super-short-throw shifter, a spacing of about .10-inch is ideal to me. Side-to-side resistence is determined by the spring that you install into the shifter before you install it. Even the lightest spring from the manufacturer is fairly stiff.

In summation, therefore, if you have a BPP, Hurst, or Ripper shifter, you should try this mod. Start with two .05-inch thick copper or brass washers and go from there.

 

I have not seen one stiff shifter yet for any car.

Shifters are not stiff, what makes you think they are stiff over stock is that the geometry of the new shifter is different than the original.

When you make a short throw shifter you make it harder to get into gears by shortening the throw.

Take any aftermarket shifter and throw a 3 or 4 inch extension on it and it will become easy to shift.

 

I know my B&M Ripper is a pain in the *** to power shift and it doesnt help much that I have to push the clutch to the floor to get it to engage with the new clutch!

 

The geometry is what makes the shifter "stiff".

 

Besides eliminating the compliant interface in the shaft, as most aftermarket shifter designers do, they also raise the pivot point and shorten the shaft to reduce the shifter throw, thereby making the action faster and more direct. The shorter lever arm the modified geometry presents requires the force to move the shaft from gear to gear to increase proportionally. Most of us realize that is how performance shifters work.

The amount of resistance the detent creates is desigened to match the superior lever force the stock shifter offers. Re-tunuing to the new shifter geometry actually makes sense up to a point. As Dave explained above, you only want to back it out to balance the increased effort the new shifter creates.

The plunger has limited travel (I was able to depress it most of the way into the screw) and the recess in the mating component is finite so one would only want to eliminate a small proportion of plunger travel to compensate. Also, the spring force linearly decreases with reduction in compression so initial compression is easier.

Retention of the shifter in gear is another consideration but, with the higher force required to move it from gear to gear, there's really no danger of it popping out of gear with small detent adjustments. I have heard of this happenning with stock shifter setups but a worn detent has never been blamed. I'm fairly sure I could cause mine to pop out by over-doing this mod but at .047", with mfg. tolerances taken into account in the system, I'm confident this is well within the operational capability of the setup.

 

Cool for all the responses...Learn something new each day. I think for me and a lot of others is the "feeling in the middle". What I mean by this is...the feeling the stock and even some aftermarket shifters feel like going through the middle or "neutral" position. You get that "hung up" or notchy feeling going pass neutral and into another gear. Really wish it just felt like one nice continuous motion or even that was not obtainable at least a lessening of that feeling. For me if that was fixed and the centering of the shifter existed I would be happy. It's really not the shifter firmness that effects me cause I don't have an aftermarket shifter. Either way the "notchy" feeling I have heard on many occasions.

 

Yes if you take any brand new aftermarket shifter right out of the box and move it around it is not stiff, installing it makes it stiff cause of the geometry change.

Still think it is funny when people say one shifter is stiffer than the other.

 

Yep you're correct. The only difference between the two bases are the rubber isolator bushings pictured are solid bushings in the ZO6. The C5 stock shifter moves a little because of the rubber bushings, the ZO6 is solid with no play.

If you remove the springs in the Hurst shifter the arm just flops around. There are no detents or gates in the Hurst shifter at all.

One thing I did notice when doing the Venom Mod was the detent ball was completely dry. It will push into the bolt. There are also roller bearings in the bolt. Mine was stiff and grinding. I lubed it up with Zep Clear spray grease and it freed up nicely, detracted better and rotated freely. You would assume that the detent would get some fluid on it but it was bone dry. I suspect lubing mine helped overall but with the washers added I'll never really know.

 

Just finished the AntiVenom mod on my coupe. I recommend doing it BEFORE getting an ECS transbrace installed I have a MGW 30% shifter and before the mod the shifts were too hard for my liking...I thought I was going to end up with tennis elbow . Just got back from a test drive and I'm really happy. Thanks Patches for a great write up!

 

Can this detent bolt be removed and replaced from underneath the car? Can it be done on a stock shifter c5, 2001. Thanks

 

Yes and yes.

 

Recently added 1 washer to my Z with the MGW and it was a well-received improvement! The MGW was nice but the AV mod took out some of the "notchiness" in every shift. 1-2 and 2-3 are like BUDDA now!

Definitely recommend this mod as it's super cheap and easy to try out and.. if you hate it, it's easily reversible!

--
VPP

 

I used 2 washers with the stock shifter and it did not affect anything other than ease of shifting. Its a great mod.

 

I really need to do this. There are times feeling the gear shifts is nice, but the ease of shifting in traffic would also be nice.

 

Where did you get the washers? Can U get them from an auto store like advance, auto zone, etc. thanks

 

Yes...

See my web site for details under "Anti-Venom 6 Speed Shifter Modification:"

www.ToqueZ06.com

Toque

 

Using Toque's site I bought mine on the bay for $1.16 shipped.

 

Somewhere on the forum someone listed a Napa parts #, which I used to get mine.