skylineTT

I wanted to give a brief review of my Fidanza Shifter install and operation in case any of you are on the fence about it.

Background: I just picked up my first Corvette, a 1999 "hatchback", last sunday. It's a mint condition example with 58k cared-for miles. I bought this car to keep clean but also to enjoy and lightly modify. This is the first modification I've made to the car, though I have a wealth of experience building other cars so not new to turning wrenches.

That being said, a monkey could do this job.

The install took 30 hot and sweaty minutes but it was a breeze. Follow the standard install procedures and everything will go fine.

The shifter feels solid and precise, especially for the money spent. Fidanza has a good reputation for oem quality so I didn't feel bad about "cheaping out" on it. It costed roughly 70 bucks shipped on Amazon. It is very stiff, especially going in to Reverse. It hits 1-6 pretty cleanly, just tighter than other short throws I've used. Just slap it with your purse and you'll be fine. I imagine the springs will break in eventually so it should lighten up but if you're sensitive or want a very balanced feel between hitting 1st and reverse, you'll likely be shopping for MGW. If you don't mind a little stiffness, you can't beat this for the money.

edram454

yes I installed this shifter 8 months ago and it is stiff but great for the money and fidanza makes quality parts. I am sticking with it. good deal.

ArmchairArchitect

Is this the correct model:

skylineTT

Yes, that's it! Model # 891847

gnharley

I have to ask you guys , did yours come with the correct size bolts ? When I went to thread the supplied bolts in something felt VERY wrong . I measured the four bolts that were in the stock shifter & they were American 1/4" dia. x 20 (thread per inch) 1/2" length , I believe the bolts supplied were 8mm . I ended up having to drill out the base plate on the Fidanza to accommodate the slightly larger 1/4" bolt . Now that all that is done I really love the shifter , feels like the one in my Son's 2016 SS Camaro . I'm the second owner of the Car & I can't imagine why there would have been other than stock bolts in the unit , while taking everything apart there was no evidence that it had ever been apart before , totally untouched , oh , yeah , I do have the 891847 shifter & I got it off Amazon also , scratchin' my head on this one........

skylineTT

Yeah, I'm not sure what the reason was but they did come with slightly different fasteners but mine all threaded in okay and tightened fine. I think it'd be best if the holes were slightly enlarged for stock bolt use as well. I like the larger heads on the stock bolts.

gnharley

It took me a short while to get over feeling that I didn't have the Car all the way in 1st gear & the spring being so much tighter to get over to reverse and the 5th & 6th gate , but now that I'm used to it I really LOVE this thing ! I'm amazed something this good cost so little , I guess it's because it's been in production for a long time , I can't imagine the others being a whole lot better & certainly not worth 3 or more times the price.

skylineTT

Just updating a little here after about 5 months. The shifter is "warmed up" now with the spring softening a little bit so now the shifter feel isn't as tight. Gets in to 1-6+R just fine, shifts great and feels solid. I don't expect to have future issues but i'll keep the thread updated every 6 months or so.

R Jay MacReady

Thank you very much for review. I was on the fence but now I will try it!

Jeffrovette

It shifts well and installs easy and it's cheap to boot but it has a little left right rotational looseness that translates into a rattle under hard acceleration. It's pretty noisy.

Gatorlaw

I recently installed the same on my C5. I haven’t noticed any noise or rattle. The throws are short and concise but definitely take more effort than the stock set up which is to be expected. I just can’t see spending a fortune on something that does the same thing albeit possibly smoother?