I've got one short shift fabricator and one BMW tuner (Fidanza and Dinan) looking into the compatibility of a 335i short shift kit with the F-Type tranny. If a question remains, I will remove my shifter and ship it to one of them for comparison and measurement. There is a possibility that he BMW kit will work, but may require minor modification. If I can bring along some other customers to the discussion, there may be a greater willingness by one of the two sources to work up a batch. Given the cost of the various BMW kits I am estimating a $200-400 price range. The throw will be reduced by 25-33% (from 4.5" to 3.0-3.4") . The actual conversion is a 20 minute job accessible from the cabin. Access to the work area is accomplished simply by lifting up at the base of the shift boot. Depending on the tools needed, it could be a simple DIY job.

If interested, please let me know.

 

Please include me. Thanks for doing the leg work on this.

 

Count me in!

 

I hope that works out for you guys. That would transform the driving experience more than anything I noticed on my test of the MT. It is a very cheap and easy mod with no risk.

 

+1. If we can make this happen, it could be a huge improvement.

 

I'm down.

 

This is outside of my typical mannerisms to do DIY or try mods on anything, but since the shift's throw feels like a big rig, I am double down to try this out.

 

While I'm not totally in agreement with the idea that the throw in f-type is "long" (I'd call it acceptable for a stock car) I'd be interested in a short throw shifter.

And for what it's worth, the shifter in my m235i, which has essentially the same trans as the f-type and the 335i feels longer than the F-type. so if the BMW kit is compatible it might not return a reduction of that much.

 

They are not talking about installing the OEM BMW shifter in the F-Type. They are talking about adapting an after-market short-throw shifter designed for BMWs, which is a very popular mod because many owners think the BMW throw is also too long.

 

Sorry if I was unclear, what I meant was that since the throw of the shifter in my 2 series is noticeably longer than that of the f type, and that they share the same trans, a dinan short shifter may not provide a '25-33%' throw reduction for our cars. Provided that the kit is compatible, etc etc

 

The info I have is that the 135/235/335i stock shifter is a 5"throw (.5" longer than the F-Type). The short shifter I saw installed in a 335i resulted in a 3" throw. It appears that Fidanza will be our manufacturer of choice. Dinan has been slow to respond (I'm certain they are more interested in doing BMW conversions and tunes). Fidanza usually sells only through distributors, but will accommodate a direct group buy. My contact is researching the compatibility with the available kits, but will have me send my shifter in the event he can't confirm fitment locally. We will compare the fulcrums to determine what the reduction will be before we ask anybody to pull the trigger on a purchase.

As of this morning we had 4 takers (now 5). That was enough to interest Fidanza in this project. I think they did a little research and confirmed a wider need.

 

I'm interested, but not confirmed. My previous car had a short-shift kit available, but it led to problems for some and many owners uninstalled them before their linkages broke. I did not install one. My previous previous car had a short-shifter I installed and it was pretty good. I'll need to research this a bit and look at the mechanism.

 

I have not heard of any issues with the BMW shifter kits, but I will look into it more deeply. With what car were there issues?

 

The problem to which I referred was for certain Volvo models. I know the C30 was one. The short-shifter in that case altered the leverage ratio by moving the linkage attachment on the shift lever itself. That angled the linkage a bit too far and led to eventual problems. I think that the linkage was via cables to accommodate the transverse mounted power plant. I'll note that this is what I have heard on the C30 forum and have no direct experience myself.

The car I had before that was a Saab 9-2X, the "Saabaru." It was a spiffed up and rebadged Subaru Impreza. The short-shifter I installed there worked beautifully for many years. It replaced the shift lever itself.

It looks like the F-Type linkage is more like the Subaru than the Volvo, so there may be no cause for concern.

 

Fidanza is launching the sale of its short shift kit for the ZF S6-45 transmission (specifically for the 135/235/335i BMWs) next week. The technical advisor will compare the specific dimensions against information he has on the F-Type. If he sees no conflicts he will send me a kit shortly thereafter for a test-fit. We should have an answer within the next 2-3 weeks.

 

NB: I am no pioneer. They were shot in the back with arrows. I should say I am very interested, and will want to try it... *after* a few others have pioneered this before me. =)

 

No problem. I'll give a full report if I get it done. I need to find a dealer to get it done since removing the shift knob requires a special tool (which they probably don't have yet)

 

Seriously? I mean, really?

 

Maybe there's a trick to it that I don't see. Would be helpful to have access to a shop manual. If you are so inclined, lift the base of the boot and look at how the knob snaps down on the rod with 4 hefty tabs. Lots of grooves just below those tabs that could accommodate a special pry tool without breaking the tabs. If it were a BMW it should require nothing more than a grunt and hefty pull off the shaft.

 

My C30 was a matter of push down, quarter turn to the left. That made aftermarket knobs a problem, but removal was snap. Maybe I'll take a look later this week.