B&M Shifters (question! im clueless.)

http://shopping.netsuite.com/core/media/media.nl?id=155&c=723089&h=2025b858b2cac44ec723&resizeid=-1&resizeh=80&resizew=80

The main question is... WHY?
and whats wrong with shifting on the tree?

i plan on taking out the bench seat in my 72 nova and put in some nice bucket seats (although still debating cause the ladies love the bench seat.) Then i wanted to put one of these b&m shifters just cause i think it looks cool, and all the other nice rides have them. So maybe someone can explain what these are all about? and pretty much all the questions what is it, why, where, how.


Thanks guys!



ps: im learning sooo much new stuff i had no idea about from this website.
thanks steve!

There is no point really if it's a regular floor shifter, it may help with accuracy a little but not much. What you want is a ratchet shifter with an automatic. A ratchet shifter no matter how hard you push or pull it you only get one gear change up or down, until you release and ratchet it again. There's also a reverse lockout whereas you can't accidentally shift into reverse because that usually requires two actions and not just pushing it. Most of the time you can't pull the "T" handle up allowing reverse unless it's in neutral or park. This really isn't written in stone because I've modified my shifter to operate the way I want them to. Reverse lock outs are also mandatory in some bracket classes.

If you ever run into someone with a ratchet shifter, ask them to take you for a ride and show you how it works. Someone posted a video not long ago, but even with a video it's hard to grasp how much more control you have over the shifts. You'll never get any accuracy with the column shifter, you'll miss shifts, you'll hit neutral from second in the heat of the battle. That can be catastrophic without a rev limiter. Even with a rev limiter the motor can flash beyond it.

Besides being very cool looking they're functional as hell, definitely a case of form following function there.

thats a good question, and some of the answer's will be their street/strip cars so they use an aftermarket shifter to have a more positive shift and yes they do look cooler, and then some cars dont have all the shift linkage as the car was in piece's, so they go with an aftermarket shifter,if you can get a good seat of stock buckets or aftermarket seat then do it for you not someone else,

There is no point really if it's a regular floor shifter, it may help with accuracy a little but not much. What you want is a ratchet shifter with an automatic. A ratchet shifter no matter how hard you push or pull it you only get one gear change up or down, until you release and ratchet it again. There's also a reverse lockout whereas you can't accidentally shift into reverse because that usually requires two actions and not just pushing it. Most of the time you can't pull the "T" handle up allowing reverse unless it's in neutral or park. This really isn't written in stone because I've modified my shifter to operate the way I want them to. Reverse lock outs are also mandatory in some bracket classes.

If you ever run into someone with a ratchet shifter, ask them to take you for a ride and show you how it works. Someone posted a video not long ago, but even with a video it's hard to grasp how much more control you have over the shifts. You'll never get any accuracy with the column shifter, you'll miss shifts, you'll hit neutral from second in the heat of the battle. That can be catastrophic without a rev limiter. Even with a rev limiter the motor can flash beyond it.

Besides being very cool looking they're functional as hell, definitely a case of form following function there.

Doh, i don't think i said that my car is already an automatic? is there a way you can shift the gears still somehow, like some sort of a panel shifter? but on the floor with your hand? my sisters miata has it (sorry but i feel really dumb) :D

I'm confused on where your lost.

A B&M shifter takes the shifter from your steering column and puts it on the floor just like it would be if it was a manual car. An automatic transmission is controlled by a cable basically. How far you push that cable is what gear the car is in. So in reality the shifter could go almost anywhere.

The good thing about a B&M ratchet shifter is like ALLT4 said you can change gears really quickly without worrying about going into the wrong gear.

You would probably want a B&M Mega Shifter. It allows you to shift your car like any factory car on the market with a console shifter. BUT. If you pull the shifter all the way back and lift up a little trigger it goes into a ratchet mode like ALLT4 was saying. From there you push the shifter all the way foward and it shifts up one gear. From this point the only thing you can do is let go of the shifter. It's spring loaded and pulls itself back to what could be thought of as straight up and down again(90 degree angle from the floor). If you pulled it backwards from here it would shift down.

To get out of ratchet mode you simply lift up the trigger again and slide the shifter forward. It clicks and hesitates a bit once your out of ratchet mode. You simply let go of the little finger trigger and you have a normal shifter again.

Here's a video of a kid with a ricer using a ratchet shifter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlRCKARtfCo

On a different note I don't know how people stand driving these things. It takes almost a full second for the car to shift!

Okay well, i'm still sketchy on what a ratchet shifter is, and it looks like from that video you could skip a gear if you push too far?

EDIT:: Nevermind lol - watched the videos again and it looks like the same type of deal.

this seems to me like after you hit it up, it takes awhile to respond. is there a way to make it more precise?


and i also found this video that explained this a little bit more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hennlMxxZlA



AND: are these easy to put in? or do i have to spend all my cash to get someone to put it in?

Don't go by that ricer video. With a shift kit and a ratchet shifter your shifts are instantaneous. The delay you are seeing has nothing to do with the shifter, that's all controlled by how fast your transmission responds to you telling it to shift. Of course if you're going too slow to even need 2nd gear the car won't shift to second until it needs it. In that ricer video it seemed like the kid was tooling around and even though he shifted into second the car wasn't ready for it. It was close but the transmission said "you idiot, I can't go to second yet"

Mostly you don't ratchet shift the transmission unless you're really into the throttle going for WOT redline shifts. Otherwise you shift it into drive like a regular column shifter and let the transmission do the shifting. Just because you add a ratchet shifter doesn't take away the transmissions ability to shift itself normally.

A good shift kit plays a big role in how well these work, on a stock transmission it'll work but shifts may seem slow when you ratchet it up a gear. Stock transmissions are set up to shift slow and smooth some so you don't feel the shift. Typical slush box I call them. With a shift kit installed it's another world, you bang the thing up a gear and the tires respond with a chirp.

Did you see this video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW_s5j4f2ds&feature=related

These are easy to install, one little hole in the hump for the cable, mount the shifter on the floor, a bracket on the tranny pan, a few adjustments and you're off. The hardest part is is hooking up the wires for the neutral switch and reverse lights, but even that's not that hard. Follow the instructions with the shifter you get if you choose to do it.

Geez I think I just learnt something from this thread. I'll probably end up with a hammer shifter in my car.

To answer some of your questions. Installation is easy. It will take a few tools(drill, drill bit, etc) and the biggest thing is it will take some balls. You will have to drill a hole in your car's floor boards to mount the shifter. I know a lot of people that are too afraid to do this but in reality it isn't a big deal. Just make sure to measure twice, cut once and get it where you want it.

I made the comment on the slow shifting because the kid in the video has a stock transmission. They are setup to shift at certain points and aren't designed to be daily driven with a ratchet shifter. In older cars your transmission may not even shift if you manually tell it to "go into second from first" unless your RPM's are high enough.

To fix this you need to get a shift kit for you transmission. It actually involved openning up the transmission and modifying it. But a shift kit would make your car shift whenever you told it to no matter what. I've got the highest shift kit I can get for my transmission so if I tell it to shift it happens instantly, no matter what and it shifts HARD!

Okay so, if i want it to be a more instant shift, i would need to buy the shifter itself and a shift kit? whats the shift kit do? and how much will this all cost me?

and will it be uncomfortable for passengers to be in my car if i ever got these?

and my transmission isn't stock, i just had it replaced. and im not sure what kind we put in, but when i talk to my dad i'll ask him. we did it around 1,500 miles back

When you replace a transmission it's normally replaced by a stock unit. I have never put in a shift kit but I've been told its fairly easy. If one general hot rodder can do it then so can another.

Price depends on whether or not you do it yourself.

Shift kit:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/TH350-TRANSGO-SHIFT-KIT-TH350-1-2-M-T44171_W0QQitemZ350067424250QQihZ022QQcategoryZ337 27QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Mega Shifter:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/B-M-80690-GM-Ford-Chrysler-MEGASHIFTER-MEGA-SHIFTER_W0QQitemZ120270229949QQihZ002QQcategoryZ33 736QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You will also have to figure in another $50 for transmission fluid, and a gasket/filter change.

alright so im guessing somewhere around 300-400$ not bad at all.

how much do you think it would be if i had my mechanic do it? ( my dad knows him pretty well because he dated his sister ) so he'll give us a slight deal, but could you give me a range if you know one?

It would probably take 2-3 hours to install a shifter properly(trimming the base to fit perfect and making sure it lines up). I'm not sure about the shift kit but I believe they take another 2-3 hours aswell.

So it definately wouldn't be cheap. You'll be way more satisfied if you do it yourself. I'm 17 and I've done this kind of work before on my own. Haven't specifically done a shift kit but I've been told they really aren't that hard to do.

damn, yeah. i guess i could my dad to help me out. if you lived closer, i'd give you like 50$ to do it haha


but yeah thanks for letting me know all about all this stuff. I'll be sure to keep you informed about what im doing. should be fun summer.

and will it be uncomfortable for passengers to be in my car if i ever got these?

Oh my yes, after you put these in you need to go to your local dragstrip and pick up one of the warning labels that attaches to the passenger glove box and reads... "Warning! Persons with spinal injuries should not ride in this car due to the neck snapping shifts taking place. Consult a Physician before attempting use of this vehicle"

You have a shift modifier, there's a real technical term for it and hope you can understand it. It's called your right "foot" if you jamb this "foot" into the accelerator the shifts will be crisp and somewhat harsh. If you ease this "foot" into the accelerator the shifts will be milder.

There are different levels of performance or how hard the shifts hit in the kits. Most people use a second stage or level. The first one is for towing and I've found it's too mild, the second one is street strip, usually the last one is for strip cars only but can be used on the street if you're that hardcore. It eliminates all automatic features of the transmission. In other words if you place the gear selector in drive, your in third and third only. You'll start out in third, wind up in third... get it? Then this means you HAVE to ALWAYS shift running the gears up and down, what a PIA on the street. I've never done the manual valve body mod so check me on that.

There are different levels of performance or how hard the shifts hit in the kits. Most people use a second stage or level. The first one is for towing and I've found it's too mild, the second one is street strip, usually the last one is for strip cars only but can be used on the street if you're that hardcore. It eliminates all automatic features of the transmission. In other words if you place the gear selector in drive, your in third and third only. You'll start out in third, wind up in third... get it? Then this means you HAVE to ALWAYS shift running the gears up and down, what a PIA on the street. I've never done the manual valve body mod so check me on that.

This is my understanding aswell. Most people run a Stage 2 Shift kit on the street. I'm actually running a Stage 3 in my car. I absolutely love it. I'm a fan of the hard shifting aggressive cars though. If I'm getting 6mpg I want to feel every ounce of power being made and the torque to go along with it. And there's nothing sportier to me then squaking the tires shifting into second at 3000 rpm. Scares the crap out of ricer guys you take for a rip.

It is true though that a stage 3 shift kit does basically delete the "drive" gear. I always refer to it as a Full Manual Valve body which I believe is the correct term. It changes the 3rd gear/drive gear position to be JUST 3rd gear. So if you had a stock shifter in your car and a stage 3 transmission "drive" or D would just be 3rd gear. You have to shift it into 1st and second and third as your driving. This to me is just fun.

A ratchet shifter makes it way more fun.

is it harsh even if you let up off the gas before you shift up?

and how do you determine or make it a mild or harsh shift

If I let off the gas its not harsh at all. It makes it shift firmer by shifting quicker. The stage 3 shift kit slams the tranny into gear as fast as possible. The jolt is because there's a difference in gear ratio between 1st and 2nd gear. So when there's a load on the car and you shift thats what your feeling.

aite aite, i think im getting it a little bit better now.

tomorrow i'll take a vid of kinda what i want to do and show you, maybe you could help me out some more :D

I did a shift kit in a th400 in 3 hours.... granted you could sit nder the truck... so it was easy to get to...

worst part was putting a spring back in... holding it in and getting the snap ring back in...

it's really not that bad!

I put a shift kit in a TH400 a few years back. I did it with the tranny outside of the car though, makes it easier, but can be done either way. A shifter can be installed in a few hours.

I put the stage 2 B&M shift kit in. (about $40 at AutoZone)

If you're just driving around, put the shifter into Drive, and cruise, you don't have to manually shift it if you don't want to. But it's there if you do.