Hello all I am looking to buy a shifter for a 02 Z06. From all the searching I did I was lead to believe the Callaway shifter is the best and that the Kirban is basically a Callaway shifter. I drive the car occasionally on the track and once a week. I feel like the stock shifter is "numb" and not as precise as my beater nissan! So please any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Sam

 

^^There have been a lot of posts on this subject. You might want to run a search on shifters.

A lot of people like the new Z06 shifter and have installed in there cars. It will work on all C5s.

Also, look into the anti-venom mod, which reduces the pressure of the detente bolt in the shifter rod linkage.

 

Do your homework. Increase in Performance = Increase in Noise.
Since Noise Level is subjective, it may bother some more than others.

 

I have a Hurst and love it but do some research on here first, you will get all the answers you need

 

I also have a Hurst Ripper topped with an MGW gripper and love it - nice and tight!

BUT I am thinking about trying out the new MGW shifter. MGW makes great shifters and have a proven record...
Check out their new shifter here:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ht=mgw+shifter
or just search for MGW shifter for the other thread with pictures.

Hope this helps you out!

 

I have the B&M #45044 precision shifter and love it. I constantly slam gears and haven't ever missed a shift. With this shifter you can run a stock C6 **** on it as well with it with no modding of it or the ****.

 

Have the same shifter on my car and i also love this shifter. You will see a big difference from a short shifter towards the stock one.

 

Thanks guys, I went with the Kirban. So far it feels good, but is really loud with the road noise.
Sam

 

My B&M has no road noise at all ....A expensive shifter like these shouldn't haver road noise at all. Id wrap that sucker in sound deadener if it did.

 

Satisfied B&M Ripper shifter here.

 

According to this post, you should not install a short throw shifter, or it could cause your transmission to explode.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1889656

 

Kirban
If you do a search you'll find what others have said.
Here's what I have written:
As you probably realize, shifters are VERY subjective things. What one person LOVES, another HATES. Having said this, I LOVE my Kirban!

The way I see it, here's the low down on the Kirban shifter vs. Stock: I will begin with what I see as positives and then highlight some minor negatives (caveat, I do not have any first hand knowledge of other shifters)

1. Stock shifter is NOT horrible. I drove the car quite happily for over 2 years and 15,000 miles with the stock shifter. Were the throws on the longish side? Yes. Was I ever TOTALLY pleased with the 4-5 up-shift or the 6-5 down-shift? No. (Something about 5th never felt as "solid" as the rest of the gears, I don't know if this is true of all M12 transmissions, or just mine, but mine felt somewhat sloppy or vague). But again, I enjoyed driving the car VERY much.

2. The throws of the Kirban shifter are MUCH shorter then stock.

3. My 5th gear "vagueness" is GONE. The 4-5 shift is a much more positive and rewarding feeling.

4. The 1-2-3 up-shifts are like working the pump action on an Ithica shotgun both in feeling AND in sound. The Kirban's shifts are louder then stock. Too loud? No. But again, this is subjective. I like it, and I'm not a noise junkie at all. For example, I'm not one of those guys looking for a louder exhaust or ANYTHING like that.

5. The down-shift from 5-4 was never bad, but now, it's awesome. Noticable improvement.

Now for what I consider some downsides:

1. There is some noise from the shifter at idle. Is it bad? If I could snap my fingers, sure, I'd make it disappear. Am I over it? TOTALLY. Do I hear ANYTHING once it's in gear and I engage the clutch and drive? NO. Nothing. As soon as I drive even 2 feet, literally, it is GONE. Kirban does now include a "silencing" ring, made of aluminum I think, which I believe that my mechanic installed, but maybe he forgot. I do wonder. Do I care? No.

2. Your girlfriend WILL NOT BE DRIVING YOUR VETTE. The shifter is now sufficently stiffer (both north and south, as well as east to west) from stock, that I really doubt many women would feel comfortable driving it. I'm not trying to be sexist, I'm just telling you chances are good that a woman will no longer find the shifter "easy" to manipulate. You have to shift this thing with intent.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I think trying to pick a shifter is a leap of faith unless you can actually drive a vehicle so equipped. I took a leap of faith based off my mechanic's recommendation. I'm very glad I did, my car is better for it. FYI, my mechanic said that he preferred the Kirban because it had "over-travel stops" I'm not sure if other short-shifters have this feature.
Oh, and I purchased mine from Lingenfelter and I believe Doug Rippie (http://www.dougrippie.com/) sells them too.
- Max

 

Yea and eating a peanut butter sandwich while driving could cause my halfshaft to break and engine to overheat as well.

 

Dang, I better lay off the peanut butter sandwiches!