No. The rattle is caused due to vibration in the transmisssion. The **** and shifter act as a spring and pendulum. Because the mass of these two components has a certain resonant frequency, the vibration of the transmission will cause the whole thing to rattle once the vibration reaches a certain frequency. Is that clear?

I know b/c I put the OEM **** in and it's quiet. The vibration in the transmission? That's due to my OEM 93K diff. bushing leaking like a sieve. I plan to put in new OEM bushing this weekend to see if it'll help. I don't mind anyway, the car is loud to begin with, what's one more noise source?

 

Yeah if anyone has any kind of noise it must be the car wearing out at either the motor mounts, power plant frame, any type of bushings that inter-relates to the transmission vibration.

Just turn on the music!

Timmy

 

I thought about getting the B&M, but I always want a review on the shifter itself to see if it was worth the money. I guess by reading this thread that it is.

 

Thanks again Timmy. I am still researching short throw shifters. I want one bad. Tom

 

okay i got mine in yesterday and I really like the feel of it (you can literally feel the shift gate) and the shorter throw. However, with my momo shift know that sucker rattles like ****!!! It didn't rattle at all with the stock shifter but now it does. Does anyone know if there's a cure for this except changing the shift ****?

my girl gave me that shift know as my b-day present...

 

Here are my thoughts on the rattling.

The B&M unit is as good as everyone says. Fit and finish is excellent. However, you do hear a slight amount of tranny whine through the shifter. Some forum members have stated that you can fix this with little bit of Dynamat on the shifter housing.

In terms of the rattle, the Razo **** will rattle because of it's mounting construction. I have one and I want to switch it out to Momo or Voodoo. My thinking is find either a **** that is one pc. The Momo is insulated and the Voodoo is billet, so there is very little chance that you will get a rattle out of them. My 0.02

 

Very good analysis Idlee. Yes, I do notice a bit of shifter whine if I turn off the music. IMHO it's not too big of an issue if you always drive with music on, windows open, etc.

Timmy

 

does anyone know where exactly would you put the dynamat?? Like on which side, top or bottom...etc. thanks

 

I used to have one a while back. They use mini screws to atach the **** to the shifter lever. The screws indent into the lever horizonatly. They loosen from the vibration and/or movement and then the **** gets loose. You don't tighten them periodiaclly, cause it's a pain and you forget, so the **** one day turns. You can't line up the screws exactly, so the indentation gets bigger and cause it to get loose quicker.

Bsaically don't get ones that use little mini screws, just get one that twists on like the stock one.

I use the B&M T-Handle on my Honda, not sure if it would work well on the Mazda.

 

The mounting construction? The inside of the Razo is plastic so that would absorb most of the vibration. Mine doesn't rattle. I've had shifters with the stupid screw in them. They SUCK *** because it's metal on metal. They ALWAYS rattle. The only metal on metal shift ***** that don't rattle are the one's that are designed to be threaded on the stock shifter.

 

Basically the Razo has a plastic nut and if you don't set it in the correct position, the cap of the shifter will rattle against the nut that is inside. Yes it is plastic but they are prone to become lose and then rattle. I agree that a threaded metal **** is the way to go, that is why I am leaning towards a Voodoo unit.

 

I just received the B&M Short Shift Kit last night! The install looks pretty straight forward. However, I do have a couple questions for those that installed the kit themselves.

1. Did you use RTV sealer as instructed?

2. What is RTV sealer?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Ray

 

I found out what RTV sealer is ... now I am just wondering whether or not it is necessary for the install.

Any thoughts?

Ray

 

Ray,
Use a little around the base of the shifter to seal it. Otherwise some of the oil will leak through.

Jason
www.rx7store.net

 

I have the B&M shifter in my car and my buddy has the Mazdatrix shifter in his car. The B&M shifter comes as a whole piece with shaft and the body where as the Mazdatrix is just the shaft. The B&M shifter has a shorter throw than the Mazdatrix.

 

Installation went well ... all things considered!

After pulling off the rubber boot and base boot, I was deterred in removing the stock shifter by a single bolt that was 3/4's covered by the base of the car. Apparently my stick shift mount is no longer centered in the center console opening. I got my brother to get the bolt while I pulled on Craftsman screwdriver lever-style!
Everything else went smoothly!

Definitely notice some tranny whine, when in neutral. Not a big concern to me, yet. Maybe I will use the dynamat after a while ... kinda like the sound for now!

Oh, I have a Mazdaspeed Carbon Fiber Shift **** as well! Don't know if that has anything to do with the whine, but when I grab the shift ****, sound is muffled.

Thanks for the tidbit, and the parts, Jason!

Ray

 

Installed my B&M yesterday, works great but little too tight for me need to get use to it.
2 to 3 miss to 5 gear is history!!!
thanks for all members advice and review

 

Maybe it's just the **** that's B&M (it says so on it) but
I got that from Pettit too. I guess that's why I thought they were the same

 

You should be able to tell by looking at the pic of the B&M if it's the same as Pettit's, since it's one peice and I beleive it's anodized isn't it?

CrazyRx7: You didn't say which one you like better? I wonder if Mazdatrix's shifter is a Mazdaspeed since they get alot of stuff from Mazdacomp.

 

Are C's short shifter's any good compare to B&M.

 

I've had my B&M shifter for a month now. It gets a lot smoother in the shifts with time. I made a gasket (w/ gasket material)for in between the shifter and trans but started to leak. I took it out and used some form-a-gasket. I noticed the shifter does rattle under certain RPM ranges now, it hadn't with the gasket installed. I'm pretty happy with it. I am using the stock **** too, the B&M **** I ordered w/ it rattled like hell and was way too light.

I'd recommend this shifter to others, but use the stock **** or one of equal weight

 

For those that just got yours, don't worry - it lightens up considerably. I remember the first time it went in, very tight. Very light action after a couple hundred miles, can't imagine it to be any lighter feeling. Shift **** is stock.

 

Do you use this short shifter primairily for street use or for the track? Or Is there a specific reason you wanted to replace the stock shifter??

 

If you see your car as merely transportation, then I suppose that most everything - save for the acknowledged reliability mods - that we change on our car is not neccesary.

It goes along with pretty much why we modify cars in general - for fun and to improve performance. Nothing particulary wrong with the stock shifter I imagine, but shorter shifts can be a nice thing. Despite what anybody might say, everybody here has driven thier car at least 'spiritedly', whether on the road or track. (being responsible about it is for another discussion)

With the shifter being one of the parts that a driver is most directly involved/contact with, I say a short shifter can be one of the most cost effective, noticable mods.

 

Got my B&M today.......very easy to install, about 20min. I have no rattle or hum (not a U2 reference) that everyone has been talking about. Overall rating is an A+. Makes the car even more fun to drive.