Short Shifter Question

[Phil_B]

Hey all! I have recently joined the group with the purchase of a 2012 MK6. I have found that the stock shifter has a TON of play. I don’t overly mind the throw but it is just really loose feeling.

I have done a ton of research and narrowed down options to correct this to:

- keep the stock shifter and just add new bushings and a heavy weight shift knob
- the Spulen short throw kit
- the Diesel Geek Sigma 6 kit

My car is totally stock, and is my daily. At this point I don’t really have plans to mod it in the future (although who knows!). I have read a number of different opinions, particularly about the Diesel Geek, in terms of “notchyness”, and comfort as a daily driving option.

My question to you all is which of the options listed above would you recommend, for a stock daily driver, to tighten up the driving experience?

Thanks in advance!

 

[GolNat]

Diesel Geek is the way to go to really tighten it up. I have just a regular kit like the Spulen with a Slammer knob and it certainly helps but it could still use some tightening up.

 

[Phil_B]

Diesel Geek is the way to go to really tighten it up. I have just a regular kit like the Spulen with a Slammer knob and it certainly helps but it could still use some tightening up.

Thanks very much for the reply. How do you find it for daily driving?

 

[Wascally Wabbit1]

I had the diesel geek on my previous car, which was a daily driver in LA traffic, and I liked it. It was "notchy" and that feeling is not for everyone, but there was no play. The notchy feeling doen"t make it unpleasent to drive or anything. It just feels slightly more deliberate while shifting.

 

[TimS]

I think the notchiness complaints with the dieselgeek come from people not getting the adjustment dialed in - it can be kind of a bitch to get it right, but it's really smooth and nice with positive engagement if you take the time to do it.

I had a Neuspeed shifter (same basic design as the Spulen) before the DG and I didn't really like it. It was just a fore/aft reduction, which gives it a strange feel, plus it doesn't do anything about the squishy rubber shifter cable bushings. The DG adjusts fore/aft and side to side, plus replaces the bushings, so it's a more complete upgrade.

 

[GolNat]

Thanks very much for the reply. How do you find it for daily driving?

Great for daily driving but if I’m shifting fast it gets rubbery. I have a used DG I just haven’t installed it yet.

 

[Phil_B]

Awesome. Thanks guys. I think I will be getting the sigma 6 then

 

[Wascally Wabbit1]

I think the notchiness complaints with the dieselgeek come from people not getting the adjustment dialed in

I don't think when people say it feels notchy they are complaining usually. It's more of an observation. Porsches have this notchy feeling and many people like this quality.

The term notchy doesn't necessarily refer to the shift from neutral into gear but rather the shift pattern.
It makes sense that if you shorten the throw the shift patter will become more pronounced. A shift from 2nd to 3rd feels less diagonal and more up -> over -> up.

 

[jay745]

I'll offer a difference of opinion, I've had both. Had the DG shifter first and while I liked the notchy feel, the side to side throw was just too short for me and once I started driving on tracks I felt like I was going to money shift on a downshift. I now have the s3 shifter with all of the solid bushings not just the cable bushings. It's notchy just like the DG shifter was but with a more manageable throw that is deliberate. Paired with a weighted knob I think it's perfect.

 

[somerset9]

Most short shifters change the throws only. It still feels the same as stock, you just don't have to move it as far to get it into each gear. The bushing inserts makes it in some ways even more notchier than the Dieselgeek because they aren't spherical bushings. They limit some movements but don't allow for axial movements, so the cable ends aren't exactly in their natural position.

The Dieselgeek solves this using spherical bushings, which allow the cable ends to orient themselves correctly and leads to a much better overall feel.

 

[Phil_B]

Hey guys thought I would update you. I installed the diesel geek sigma 6 along with a raceseng topology shift knob. All I can say is WOW. I absolutely love it!!

 

[Thumper]

I had the Sigma 6 on the GTI with the stock knob, night and day difference. Using the APR weighted kit on the R now with a weighted BFI knob and love it. Now to Jay's point I did moneyshift the R but not on a downshift oddly, it was on an upshift LOL And luckily, the motor was not damaged. However I feel like that might be an adjustment issue I just haven't had time to play with. Also what's interesting is I wish the side-to-side was even tighter as I still feel like there's room to close it up.

 

[TimS]

Check out dieselgeek's Super Pin, 1st Gear Getter, Cable Saver bushings, and upgraded lever shaft bushings. Last year, I overhauled my shifter with all that plus a new OEM shifter ball socket (1K0711699A), and it feels like an entirely different car.

If you have a shifter that uses the stock cable ends and stock side to side bracket, I'd also recommend some billet cable ends and DG's Super Slider. DG also sells a complete side-to-side billet replacement bracket with new precision bushings.

There's a lot of slop built into the shifter system on these cars, and now that they're all 10-13 years old the bushings that were squishy when they were new are almost certainly completely shot.