Testing new Pfadt shifter

[SSOOCH]

Here are some more pics for your viewing pleasure.

[CAMAR0]

Installation:

The installation went fairly smooth with a few exceptions. One must note that the V6 has a centering spring that needs released before you can drop the shifter down through the body. You can hear some popping in mine now because I yanked on it too hard without releasing it as I had no idea it was there. Due to the design of the Pfadt shifter the driveshaft and chassis bracing does not need to be removed. This cuts a significant amount of time and stress out of the install. Simply reinstall the shifter from the inside of the car. Go below deck and grease the pivot point, reinstall the bearing and o rings, and slide into position.

Driving:

The shifter gives a much more firm feel for the V6 transmission. The AY6 is still a clunky beast but the Uber does its best to tame it. The Uber shifter is extremely light which works to its advantage. The reduced weight helps to offset the loss of mechanical advantage due to the shorter shift. Overall the effort level of the shifts feel similar to stock. I have had minimal noise from the shifter while driving. I have driven a stick about 80% of my life and have never held the stick in the manner that the Uber requires. To drive with this shifter will feel extremely foreign initially. Its kind of like when you get contacts and had glasses all of your life. Despite the fact the glasses aren't there you still repeatedly reach to push the glasses back up. For the first week I kept grabbing for the top of this small shifter. Surprisingly it does not feel that awkward to grab it like a typical shifter ball. I wouldn't do it everyday but it can be done. I would highly recommend this shifter to someone looking for an alternative to the typical Hurst style options. With this part being made of a composite / plastic Pfadt should have the ability to price it as they please and knock out a large chunk of the competition that carries the heftier prices.

If anyone has any questions let me know and I'll do my best to help.
Thanks again Pfadt for this great opportunity to test this awesome product!!!

[CAMAR0]

Pfadt Uber in 1080p!!!
(FYI, If you want to see the HD click at the bottom embedded videos and choose 1080p)

Stock Shifter Removal


Pfadt Uber Shifter - Initial Shifts


Pfadt Uber Shifter - Shifting with boot installed


Pfadt Uber Shifter - Regular driving


Pfadt Uber Shifter - Quick clip / recording shifter sounds

[CAMAR0]

This thread is going to be gigantic with all of the pictures and videos we've all taken of the installs!!!

[PfadtRacing]

hmm...post disappeared. weird. Anyway.. GREAT JOB GUYS! This thread is fantastic.

Jordan, can you explain why the lowering of the x-member wont work in this situation, as with other shifter installs?

And as per your recommendation, we will add the #60 Torx bit to the install instructions.

Also, what do you guys think the rattling is all about? What comparisons can you draw from the Hurst, which apparently rattles, and the Pfadt unit? I drove with this unit in our Camaro all weekend, and honestly did not notice a single time it rattled. This may just be cause I wasn't paying attention to it. But some others have also said they didn't get any rattling so I'd love to figure out when it DOES rattle, why, if possible.

[TCao]

Thanks for the opportunity to be a PFADT development member.

The design goals for the PFADT ultralight shifter are quite different from the OEM shifter. Whereas the OEM shifter is a multi-piece design, the PFADT unit is a one-piece design, machined from Ertalyte thermoplastic round stock. The OEM shifter consists of an lower shaft subassembly which is attached to the upper shaft subassembly by a molded hard rubber isolator to eliminate vibration/noise from the manual transmission. the total weight of the OEM shifter with shift knob is approximately 1.9 lbs. In comparison, the PFADT prototype ultralight shifter assembly is approximately 0.8 lbs.



The PFADT shifter reuses the OEM plastic bearing race, rubber washer, and O-rings.



I won't go into too much details on installation as it has been covered in previous posts in this thread. I was able to install the PFADT shifter from the top instead from under the car as the PFADT instruction suggests. First, slide the PFADT shifter through the upper dust boot and through the shifter housing. Get under the car and slide the rubber washer and one O-ring through the ultralight shifter. Then, snap the plastic bearing race on and slide the second O-ring onto the plastic bearing; slide the top O-ring onto the top groove of the plastic bearing race. Make sure when installing the bearing race that the flat side is on top where the rubber washer rests on and the stepped side is at the bottom when it fits onto the retaining plate. Slide the ultralight shifter up into the shifter housing and reinstall the retaining plate and the two bolts. There is not a whole lot of room to work so I would suggest using a swivel head for the 10mm socket to reinstall the two bolts holding the retaining plate. I also used Loctite 242 (blue) on these two bolts and torque is approximately 3 to 4 ft-lb.

I was able to remove the OEM shifter and install the PFADT shifter without removing the driveshaft or the transmission support but it was very tight. From start to finish, it took me almost two hours but I was taking my time (and using jackstands; a lift would help reduce the installation time). Reinstalling the lower dust boot onto the shifter housing was a major PITA. The heat shield edges are very sharp so be careful.





I measured the OEM retaining pin prior to reinstalling to make sure it would fit. The pin diameter is 0.471" and the OEM shifter hole for this pin measures 0.473". The PFADT shifter hole is also 0.471" so it's line-to-line fit (I test-fitted the retaining pin on the PFADT shifter prior to installing to make sure the pin would slide through). The width of the PFADT shifter where this pin goes in is about 0.030" narrower than the OEM shifter.

From inside, the upper rubber dust boot snaps onto the lower groove and the imitation leather shift boot was installed onto the upper groove on the shifter using the provided zip tie. Note: when removing the two factory snap rings, you can use a screwdriver to push them out but put your index finger on the snap rings to prevent them from flying and possibly ending up between the chassis and the heat shield.









After using the PFADT shifter for about a week, I'm starting to get used to the shape of the "shift knob". I don't really care for the OEM shift knob as it is a little on the large size; the PFADT knob is a little on the small size. Since the PFADT shifter can be installed from the top, a larger knob design can be accommodated (the prototype knob diameter is 1.25"; a 1.5" diameter knob may be a better size).

The shift throws are reduced by approximately 25% and the shift efforts are slightly higher as well. There is approximately 3/16 to 1/4" of play measured at the top of the shifter which I consider to be pretty good. Under hard acceleration, the PFADT shifter develops a slight buzzing rattle which I think may be the result of a combination of the play between the ultralight shifter and the transmission shift rod yoke and the lighter weight. The rattle only occurs between 2 and 3 thousand rpms when in 2nd and 3rd gear and goes away when cruising. This vibration-induced rattle also occurs on some other aftermarket shifters. I'm considering tapping some lead weight onto the PFADT ultralight shifter to see if this would eliminate/reduce the buzzing. I made a rough estimate of the resonant frequency of the ultralight shifter and it's approximately 725 Hz. What does your Finite Element Model predict?

[PfadtRacing]

TCao, thanks so much for the feedback. All of you guys are doing a great job on this install and we appreciate what you are doing! This kind of work ensures that we come to market with a refined component, and leave the snafus to development testing!

[Z Madness]

This thread takes a while to load due to the great pictures. Not sure if Pfadt might want to start a new one.

Well, I won't post any additional pictures since there are great pictures already in this post. I had the Hurst short throw shifter in mine so I can do a comparison of both. Also note that I have the V-6 with the STS Turbo so a little different from our SS brothers. I never liked the stock shifter, didn't like the knob or the feel of the shifter. I went with the Hurst since I liked the old school look and wanted the T handle. The Hurst was great but very noisy vs. the stock. I did not add all of the sound deadeners that Hurst included. I opted to try the Pfadt shifter as I am a big fan of their suspension products and the shifter definitely looked like a road racing shifter.

Pretty simple design. Seems the V-6 had a slightly different shift fork and retaining pin so Camaro (week 2 poster) and I had to do a bit of modifications with the dremel. It worked out fine and we gave our feedback to Pfadt. Other that that, the install went well but I had to install the shifter from the top. Luckily I kept my old parts when I changed to the Hurst as you have to reuse all of the OEM parts.

Once in it was noticeably quiter than the Hurst but still louder than stock. Shift effort felt good, even if its slightly longer than the Hurst. Under spirited driving I didn't care for the flex in the shaft. For me, it was just an odd feeling as I shifted firmly into 2nd but felt the "give" in the shifter. Up to 3rd and same thing. I'm used to putting a lot of pressure when shifting aggressively. I didn't notice it much under normal driving.

At high RPM's the shifter did rattle. I noticed it when I was on a dyno and we were making a pull in fourth gear and around 5000+ RPM I started to hear/see the rattling. Usually when I am that high in the RPM's on the street I have my hand on the shifter so it wasn't as noticeable.

Last observation was the size of the handle part of the shifter. I would normally wear a L or XL glove and for me it was just a bit small. I would have preferred a slightly thicker diameter and slightly taller shaft, about an inch taller and about 1/2 inch thicker or so would probably do it for me. It may have been limited by design (diameter at least) in order to install the shifter from the bottom as it was limited by the hole in the frame. Since the shifter can be installed from the top, I hope that Pfadt will look at potentially increasing the dimensions of the shifter grip.

I am very thankful that Pfadt allowed me the opportunity to test their shifter and hope this will aid in the development of the final product. We never discussed pricing but I would say that Pfadt is on the right track.

Post any questions and will try to answer as best as I can.

[PfadtRacing]

BUMP for some more afterthoughts?

[Petersimov]

when can we buy them

[CAMAR0]

The ring in the v6 rubber shift boot must be lower than the ss because mine wont stay in the channel on the shifter. This is letting more noise/air into the cabin. Shift feel is same as when installed. Still getting a slight rattle/noise feedback from the trans at certain rpms due to less dampening of the lighter part.

[PfadtRacing]

This trial run at a Beta Testing program has been very successful! Your feedback has been invaluable. Here is a compilation of your feedback and some of the feedback from our in house test drivers:

• It can be installed from the top
• Buzz from shifter at different RPMs
• Knob too small
• Too much flex under hard shifts
• Fit issue on V6 cars
• Loose fit on dust boot
• Mixed reviews on handle style (most seem to prefer more of a ball shape)

If we missed anything please let me know. With this feedback we have done a revision of the Über Shifter. Have a look!


Click the picture to go to our website where you can view a large version.

We would love to hear some feedback on:

1. "Über Shifter" as product name?
2. Logo on shifter in picture above?
3. What would you expect retail price to be?
4. What do you think of a Beta Testing Program like this?

Thank you to our Beta Testers! I hope this has been an enjoyable experience for all of you.

(BTW: If you are on a Windows machine you can get the Ü by holding Alt while typing 0220. On a Mac it is hold Option while pressing u then type U)

This has been added to our Facebook page!

[Erik@Torq]

Looks great guys!

2 cents from someone who has had 6 different shifters in his car

I have found that the rattling noise isn't coming from the shifter itself, it is coming from the transmission and mounts below. They are just being transmitted through the shifter at a much louder rate due to the one-piece design. One way to reduce this (which you may already have thought of and taken care of on the revision) is a delrin/nylon insert for the pin on the bottom. This will help, but not cure it completely.

I think you should offer both designs, the higher handle and the round ball. I love the higher handle design when road racing as I hold the shifter in a different way then I do on the street, but I understand that the majority of people don't road race so there the round one would be preferred!

/Erik

[TCao]

It's been a great experience as a Beta tester for the first version of the Über shifter. The new version looks great; but like Erik, I prefer the original shape with a larger-diameter handle. I notice the new design has a larger shaft diameter above the pivot so hopefully this will reduce the flex during very hard shift. As for the logo, I would suggest having it laser-etched on top of the ball version and along the side of the road race version. Über sounds catchy for a shifter product name. I would imagine a suggested price less than the hurst kit would be attractive. Thanks again.