My next mod is to improve the shifting of my manual SS.
This comes in two parts. First eliminate the mechanism that forces you into 4th gear at certain speeds. That mechanism is called CAGS. You can buy a CAGS bypass from many sources and they are very inexpensive. I bought the one from SLP and it ties both ends together the best with no wires hanging off.
This installs from under the car on the drivers side in the middle of the transmission. This is tight squeeze.
The first time I installed it I plugged it into the wrong place (doh!) on the passenger side. I was rewarded with a CEL which pointed out my stupdiity.
To diagnose that CEL I bought a code reader/editor from Amazon. The code told me what was wrong and I turned off the code and then reinstalled the CAGS bypass.
Now it is great! The shift pattern light comes comes on but I can pick any gear I want.
Next I wanted to improve the actual shifting. I looked at all the shifters and the install of each. I picked the Barton Shifter. The shifter works as well or better than most of the others at a very low price with exceptional customer service.
The install is a bit of a pain. You have to go under the car (why?) and lowering the transmission is helpful. This also makes the CAGS bypass easier.
I bought the shifter with the steel SS ball and also the stick that lets you install the stock shift knob. I installed the SS knob at first:
I don't have a pic, I borrowed the one above. This is the only pic I have which is really my bass knob pic
This setup is beautiful, but not very practical. The metal knob is freezing in the winter and it rattles to high RPM. There are fixes.
So I went back to the stock knob:
Much quieter, and warmer. But the big knob is noticeably harder to shift.
Also I went back to the stock knob because I have the 2nd gear synchro crunch problem. So when I take it back to the dealer I don't want it to look like i modded the shifter. This has been used in the past to deny warranty claims. :(
Long term I will go back to the pretty SS knob and fix the rattle or i may use the other Barton knob i have which is a composite black 6 speed pattern in the winter and the SS knob in the summer.
It is cool to have choices. Thanks to Barton. Just like ********, you cannot got wrong with Barton!