Best (de)Modification ever - Hurst Billet Plus 2 back to OE SS shifter *video inside*

[acammer]

* * * Don't like a long read - just watch the video, it's short and sweet * * *

It's not often that I enjoy putting anything back to stock - but the single best thing I've done to this car since I bought it was put a stock OE GM SS shifter back in the car. It finally shifts right, after driving me nuts for the last year.

I bought the car with a Hurst Billet Plus 2 already installed in the car. I have more stick shift performance cars than I have fingers, and this was the first one I've ever ground a fast 1-2 upshift. And it wasn't a one time occurrence - any time I would go for a natural hard and fast 1-2 I would get a grind and locked out of the gear. Embarrassing, slow, and exceedingly frustrating. I had to make a deliberate effort to learn, and remember to clutch, then shift, in this car. Any time I didn't have that in the forefront of my mind when making hard pull, and I'd grind. I really started to wonder if there was something wrong with the transmission, or my driving.

I changed the fluid to Redline D4 ATF in the fall of 2016. This reduced the notchiness a bit and helped the cold shift feel, but didn't do anything to help the hard/fast shift grind on 1-2 and 2-3.

This spring I decided to take further action and installed the Ideal Garage clutch master cylinder, with a remote reservoir. The theory behind this modification is to open the clutch faster as some guys would get a high rpm grind attributed to a little clutch drag when cycling a fast gear change. The modification helped, but I would still grind 1-2 when shifting hard and fast the "natural" way I always have.

I decided to take the next step and eliminate the short throw shifter as a variable. I didn't really think it would make a difference, but boy was I wrong. The reduced noise and smoothness I expected - the Hurst was a rattle trap, especially when chugging along in 6th gear, and it was also notchy and sloppy. The OE unit is dead silent, nice and tight, and much smoother. The throw is longer, but not in a detrimental way that I've found. However, the big surprise was the OE shifter essentially eliminated my 1-2 and 2-3 grinds on hard and fast upshifts. I can finally shift the car without having to think about it.

If I'm exceptionally aggressive I can still get a nibble going 1-2 at maximum effort. This is probably the result of excessive wear and some damage over the last 22,000 miles that the Hurst has done. I've not been able to even get a nibble on the 2-3 shift. And the 1-2 is perfectly smooth in anything under 95% of maximum effort.

Here is a quick one minute video where you can really hear the difference in the shift speed. It might not sound like much, but I promise you the difference is night and day dramatic from the drivers seat. Every hard/fast shift with Hurst required a lot of deliberate thought - with the OE shifter I can just drive and let that be a "spinal cord" reflex like it should be.

[Dbunch9]

Awesome! Glad there's an easy solution and that it isn't the transmission.