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Hi all,
I have a 99 model S4, and want to put a short-shifter in, to shorten the throw. What experience has anyone had with this, and what type of short-shifters have been tried? I am looking at the B&M one - it looks to be pretty good, saying it will shorten the throw by up to 35% (55% on the later model B5 S4s).

Any tips?
Thanks
Adas

Can't comment on that one, although some people on Audiworld seem to like it. Tanoga is probably the most popular, but also fairly expensive. I have the ToyGuy shifter and I think it's great. Only cost about £85 too.

B+M gear levers very good.....sold plenty
The instructions are over complicated though.
Product works well. In stock at £199 inc

All three mentioned have a good reputations. I have a Tanoga and must say it's excellent, not cheap though.

I've got the Toy Guy shifter. Works fine can't fault it, good fitting instructions downloaded from his website and a reasonable price including money back for your standard gearstick. All done through Paypal.

And the guy couldn't be more helpful when you e-mail him.

If you have to try them all and get the best, then do that and decide, but if you just want something that works well, is easy to install, and is better than stock, I would go with the ToyGuy because it is all of those things for less than half the price of most of the others.
http://www.toyguy.o-f.com

Adas,

I have never heard anything negative about any of the short-shifters except for cost, or problems which relate to fitting. What you do need to check is what reduction you want, because this can vary. If you are going to fit it yourself, then perhaps you should choose one which has good instructions and/or support. If you are going to get a third party install, then perhaps your choice should be based on which make the installer is familiar with.

Thanks for all the comments guys - very interesting. I checked out the Toy Guy website, and I see that it isn't actually that much cheaper than the B&M option (I went on EBay and have found a dealer that will do the B&M for $USD186, so that's not too bad). I have seen Tanoga talked about in various forums on the rs246 site, but haven't been able to find a price - can someone provide the cost of that please?

At this stage, the B&M is my front-runner, provided I can get it for $USD186. Your comments on the difficulty of self-installation have been noted, however...



Adas

Tanoga is around £250 if you get it from somewhere in the UK. Not sure about suppliers stateside.
Firstly, not to put you off (I have no basis to give an opinion on this one), but read some reviews of the B&M shifter. The only person in this thread who has commented on it, appears to also be selling it. I'm sure it's a genuine comment, but still would be nice to see a few more reviews from customers.
Before getting mine, I spent a while looking around for reviews (most of the time spent on Audiworld). Found that Tanoga and ToyGuy kept being mentioned and both were getting extremely good reviews. General idea was: Smoothness - go for ToyGuy, Most reduction - go for Tanoga. Toy Guy apparently had some problems in the past with insuffiecient supply (but didn't affect me).
UUC also had many good reviews, along with B&M, but both had a couple more negative reviews than the others. Still nothing that would have put me off though. At the end of the day, I just wanted something better than stock that wasn't too hard to install and wasn't too notchy... oh yeah, and cheap!
Also remember that the £80 - £90 for a ToyGuy shifter includes shipping to the UK.
I'm sounding a bit one sided, sorry. I'm sure you'll be happy whichever you choose.

If you're in the US or Cananda you might be worth talking to Mike at vastperformance, he will will supply you with a modified stock item, 30% reduction in travel.

http://www.vastperformance.com/products.html

$110 outright or $50 if you return your S4 item. Postage rates are also very reasonable unlike some US suppliers.

I can't comment directly on it as I don't have one. Search Audiworld for Mr. Piggie and short shifter and I'm sure you'll find some people with them and some reviews.

Has anyone had any trouble contacting Toy Guy? I had asked him for costs etc via a couple of emails but there was a deafing silence..

No problems here. I ordered one about a month ago, always quick responses in the e-mails and very helpful. E-mailed him about 10 days ago to say thanks and got a response next day.
I had heard on Audiworld that he does tend to disappear every now and then. Try posting on there and see if anyone knows where he is.

ive just fitted a uuc motorwerks short shifter, have it set at 40%, and the gearbox now feels great

Just ordered the ToyGuy shifter, works out £85 inc delivery..... hopefully I wont get import tax on the item. But still cheap.

Sometimes he does take a while to get back but he is busy and mentioned family matters in an email.

Will let you all know how the fitting goes and what it feels like!

cheers Gav

it feels gooooooood