Got rid of reverse lockout / cut shifter shaft down

[trigger_storey]

Finally got the car out from warranty work today and the shift knob came in the mail a couple days ago. I had been wanting to get rid of the reverse lockout anyways so I wasnt limited to the selection that is offered for the reverse lockout. I found a knob awhile back that I liked for the 350z from a seller on ebay named product innovations. He makes all kinds of different knobs for numerous threads and cars. Anyways the one I got weighs about 370 grams so its pretty heavy and feels good when shifting. I also cut the shifter shaft down about a inch cause the knob just felt too high. All I need now is the racingline sts and I should be good to go. It took a few mins to get used to putting it in first when I took it for a test drive but once I got used to it, it was like the reverse lockout had never been there. Anyways here are the pics. Project came out really good. Thanks for looking.

[Blackmobile]

so now you have nothing preventing you from going into reverse while you're driving? i know that you won't actually get into reverse, but now you could be more likely to grind your gears by accidentally going too far left when shifting

[trigger_storey]

Not really. If you have ever driven a car where the reverse is where our 6 gear is then you know it wont go straight into reserve anyways while in forward motion. Same here. Also I dont know how many people grind their gears trying to downshift into first but to each their own. If you can drive a manual with any precison then you wont have a problem. If your the kind of person that stalls out on hills or coming out of parking lots, well then I would say you might want to leave it on so when you or your wife drives you wont have a problem.

[QR25DE]

Ok, so here's the thing, what tells you that you are accidentally in reverse when you put it into first while waiting at a red light or heavy traffic? Nothing. Unless you can feel/see it. Just out of safety sake I would wire an LED or something spliced into the reverse lights up to the dash or by the stereo to indicate when you are in reverse.

What else would suck is if anyone else had to drive your car, IE: the dealer if they had it in the shop, etc.

It's a cool mod and it's very cool you did it, but I would have stuck with just putting on the RacingLine STS and called it a day.

[trigger_storey]

To each their own I would say. If I just put on the racingline sts and called it a day then I would be like everyone else and have nothing that I know I did by myself. The satisfaction of knowing I customized something the way I wanted to. And if for some odd reason I did put it in reverse by accident while at a stoplight, well my reverse camera pops right on and my screen shows me whats behind me. Kind of a dead giveaway that car is about the go in reverse. LED would be a cool mod if I could figure out how to make it light up when its in reverse. Im sure I could wire it into the backup camera somehow but then that would pretty much be double the signal that it in reverse in the first place. Thanks for the feedback. And just in case someone else does drive it, which would only be the dealer since my wife wont drive my car. Then Ill let the tech know the be careful when shifting as my reverse lockout is gone.

[Viper5000]

I congratulate you good Sr. on a MOD well done... I thought about this.. but I actually like playing with the lock-ring...

To say what has been said before.. i would be really carefully about making people know about it when you hand them the keys.... really careful... like leaving notes on the dash careful

[jewelz505]

THAT KNOB LOOKS SICCKK!! i approve!!..i also hated the fact that we're limited on knob selection.

hey, if u dont know how shift your A/C..GTFO of it and trade for a Grand am (pontiacs r all auto). end rant//

[QR25DE]

To each their own I would say. If I just put on the racingline sts and called it a day then I would be like everyone else and have nothing that I know I did by myself. The satisfaction of knowing I customized something the way I wanted to. And if for some odd reason I did put it in reverse by accident while at a stoplight, well my reverse camera pops right on and my screen shows me whats behind me. Kind of a dead giveaway that car is about the go in reverse. LED would be a cool mod if I could figure out how to make it light up when its in reverse. Im sure I could wire it into the backup camera somehow but then that would pretty much be double the signal that it in reverse in the first place. Thanks for the feedback. And just in case someone else does drive it, which would only be the dealer since my wife wont drive my car. Then Ill let the tech know the be careful when shifting as my reverse lockout is gone.

I guess you're right. Yeah backup cam works. That was my only concern. Woot! haha

[trigger_storey]

I can honestly say If my wife ever drove it or I knew someone else was going to be driving it then I would not have done this and I would have just gotten a nice knob from one of the places I saw in a thread on here when I first joined. I already had some experience removing and driving a car without it as I owned a SVT Focus for awhile and I got rid of the reverse lockout on it also. Im not completely done though. Once I get the racingline sts put on I am going to be taking that shifter shaft itself out and cut down more and then having the machine shop use a die and rethread it further down. Id like to take about another 2 inches off and drop it down.

[QR25DE]

Be careful, too short = ruined synchros... lol

[trigger_storey]

Yea I dont want it redicuously short or anything. Jut about where it should be if anyone actually made a short throw shifter for ours cars. I have a buddy who has a sts on his G35...and its perfect. If I could have a shifter like that in my a/c, that felt that firm and precise. Id donate my left nut to cancer research or something. LOL

[QR25DE]

rofl

[obstacle]

was this first pic the one before you cut? or is it already cut?



is that where you did cut? how much was cut off?

looks pretty good!

[trigger_storey]

That pic was taken right after I did the cut. If you take your shift knob off you can tell how much threaded portion is on there. I took half of it off after measuring to make sure the shift knob would still thread on. Im guessing it was right around a inch. I think more could be taken off because the shift knob still had alot of thread to work with but I didnt want to push it. I didnt take any pics before removing the reverse lockout or cutting it down cause anyone can take the shift knob and boot off and see what that looks like. I did the cut and then grinded it down flat.

[trigger_storey]

Cut down the shaft again another 2 inches in the middle and had everything welded back together. I got to say its amazing. Really short and the throw is already short with the racingline sts. Got to say I finally got it the exact way I want it. Now I just need to get my shift boot modified to fit since it is now at this point almost 3 inches shorther than stock and of course the reverse lockout is gone. Ill post pics as soon as I can get a chance to get some pics taken. Just now got all the shifter assembly put back together and middle console all put back in.

[DAAN.]

It looks really good! .. but we must also consider

I would have stuck with just putting on the RacingLine STS and called it a day.

the voice of reason

[trigger_storey]

Well I guess thats where bolt on people vs people with a little ingenuity and imagination differ. I did like the STS but still didnt like feeling like I was driving a mac truck everyday with my 3 foot tall shifter. Ive came from other imports so Ive always loved a true short throw shifter.

[trigger_storey]

Here are some pics of the finished product. This was after everything was cut down, shifter was removed and modified and I welded everything back together and then reinstalled everything and replaced my shift boot with one I had from a 93 Maxima. Came out really good and I couldnt be happier with the height and throw. My own custom version of a Altima Coupe short throw shifter.