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Lazy Saturday: Installed a DieselGeek Sigma 6 short shifter

whalesalad

Ready to race!
I wanted to make a more formal DIY, but because I'd never done this before I was terrified that I was gonna irreversibly own the hell out of my transmission. Luckily my bud Ken was with me once again, who's an aircraft mechanic and Blackhawk crew chief :) He's got more tools than santa's elves.

I really don't like the rubbery loose feeling of the tranny on the MKVI, so I knew that some kind of linkage, bushing, or other replacement was going to go down soon. I picked up the Sigma 6 short shifter from DieselGeek.com after hearing numerous things about their products as an MKIII owner back in the day.

I gotta say, I absolutely love the feeling of this product. It has a break in period, and I might need to go in and re-adjust it, but honestly, it feels wonderful. Shifts are so much quicker and tighter. The knob really doesn't move at all when in gear (a stock MKVI has a ton of play when, for example, you're in 6th on the freeway). I drove down to the Santa Monica pier last night and thought I had a brand new car all over again. I feel like I'm driving an expensive sportscar now instead of a $22k car.

Here are some pix of the install. It took about 3 hours because it started raining half way through, and I didn't have internet access so reading the install instructions without photos was a pain. P.S. To everyone out there making aftermarket products: when I pay you my hard earned money for a custom fabricated component, I expect GOOD printed instructions to be included with it.

My bud Ken's 240 outta the driveway.


Caught the neighbor taking off for a saturday cruise in his Ferarri ;)


Beautiful day to get dirty


Here's the shifter in the box before installing. The components are gorgeous and well machined!


Post-install photo. I did a horrible job taking pix during the install becuase most of the time I was focused on getting it to work correctly.


Post-install beers!


Of course, the BFI "needs more low" sticker


Hope you enjoyed my totally random collection of photos. Back on topic of the shifter, I freaking love it. I followed the adjustment instructions exactly and drove off with it feeling real notchy but all gears worked and were in their correct places.

After driving about 120 miles on it, I have to say it feels a whole lot better. The instructions described that it would need some breaking in time, and they weren't kidding. It feels a lot smoother now than when I first installed it.

Conclusion (tl;dr)

From the DieselGeek website:
There is nothing as important to the feel of your car as what you actually touch. This includes the seats, the steering wheel, and of course, the shifter. Many people have mentioned that installing a Dieselgeek Shifter should be the first mod added to a new car. In the pursuit to make our own cars the best they can be, we have created the finest short shifter with the best materials, engineering, and craftsmanship to transform the way you feel about your car.

This pretty much sums up my feelings exactly. If you're looking for a mod that will increase your happiness level by 10x when driving, this is definitely it. Throws are shorter, shifts feel more precise, and overall I just feel like the car and I are much more in-tune. Downshifting a gear or two to overtake someone is so much fun!

Check out the DieselGeek Sigma 6 kit here!
http://www.dieselgeek.com/servlet/Detail?no=274

A bit pricey, but worth every penny :D My favorite mod so far.
 

wildcars

Ready to race!
Is this for the Manual only or for the DSG as well?
 

TDI110

O_o
short shifters are only for manual transmissions. Correct me if I'm wrong, but all shifting on the DSG is done internally, no exposed linkages?
 

whalesalad

Ready to race!
Is this for the Manual only or for the DSG as well?

This is only for manual. I don't really think there is much you can do to the DSG except for maybe a firmware change, or a rebuild of the internals. (Then again, I am a DSG noobie)

The purpose of this mod is to make shifting more enjoyable. You guys with the DSG just shift using a finger or two haha, so I don't know how much more enjoyable you can make it unless of course you replace the entire thing with a 6speed manual :p
 

ThunderPig

Ready to race!
I would think an hour, maybe two labor, so $75 to $150. It really is easy to do and it would be hard to mess up the trans. If you do something wrong it just wont shift. I put mine in while installing the AWE boost gauge so already had it apart, took maybe 15 mins. I like it and it is very solid and direct. I do wish I could adjust the throw length. I would like a little more side to side length. I some time will select the wrong gear if I get caught off guard, say a light that changes as I pull up. I just need to stay involved in my driving, otherwise I should have got the DSG (NNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!).
 

ThunderPig

Ready to race!
No doubt, tune first. Warning it makes you want to do more! I started with a tune and look whats happened so far!
 

chapusin1

Go Kart Champion
I would think an hour, maybe two labor, so $75 to $150. It really is easy to do and it would be hard to mess up the trans. If you do something wrong it just wont shift. I put mine in while installing the AWE boost gauge so already had it apart, took maybe 15 mins. I like it and it is very solid and direct. I do wish I could adjust the throw length. I would like a little more side to side length. I some time will select the wrong gear if I get caught off guard, say a light that changes as I pull up. I just need to stay involved in my driving, otherwise I should have got the DSG (NNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!).

The NOOOOO was funny haha. I have found myself stalling the car a couple of times because I think I'm in 1st and I'm actually on 3rd. These two are really close.
 

Bruh Man

Go Kart Champion
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how do the short throws feel in relation to our long clutch?
 
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