Some people have commented on it makes the shifter feel notchy, and that they prefer this over the stock shifter.

I'm struggling to understand what they mean by notchy in a positive way? My dad's jap spec 2004/5 Subura WRX STI (revision e or f??) has got a 6speed gearbox, and that's as notchy as hell - all the car mag reviews back in the day complained that the shifter was 'notchy'.

Whenever I drive his car I find the gearchange annoying to the point where I think it impedes the car.

Is the dieselgeek shifter a similar feeling to the stock subaru shifter of that era?

 

Just had to google it, seems an overly complex way of doing it, the £30 eBay jobbies will do the same thing

By notchy they generally mean the throw is much shorter, so the you get a lot more feeling of engagement once a gear is selected, a lot more feedback that its actually in a gear, rather than the gearstick just gently sliding forward and coming to a stop, with no real feeling that a gear has actually been selected. Normally a little more effort is needed to select a gear but that's to be expected.

A word of advice - don't just set it to the shortest amount, as it will become overly notchy and horrid. On my 02Q box, my short shifter is set to around 50-60% of its adjustment, and it's perfect. Very short without feeling like you have a broken gearbox

 

Just had to google it, seems an overly complex way of doing it, the £30 eBay jobbies will do the same thing

Diesel geek is different to the other regular short shifters in that it doesn't have a pendulum counter weight which the stock (and aftermarket) shifter mechanisms do.

So whilst I now understand that the counter weight takes some of the effort away from shifting (as it creates momentum) I still don't understand the concept of being notchy.

VW's in general have nasty gearchanges, they have a 'graunchy' or 'rough' feel as you guide the gearstick thru the gears. Notchy maybe is another way to describe it in my opinion.

I've driven honda s2000 (which is often said to have one of the best manual boxes ever), and that's not graunchy or notchy, it is fast mechanical and slick.

My brother's 2007 Swift sport has a great gearbox, everything is snickity snick (there's no notchiness!) - another car which is often written up positively in car mag reviews.

So what I'm saying is, I've driven other cars out there that have got decent gearboxes

I guess what I'm looking for is mechanical and slick.

It doesn't sound like the dieselgeek will improve the shifter for me?

HAs anyone out there actually used or had a dieselgek shifter care to comment?

 

Well I've finally decided to try out a dieselgeek sigma 6, fitted it to my car tonight, wasn't too difficult took about an hour.

Quick test drive to try it out

1) gear stick seems to centre quicker, or should I say it feels more springy to the middle now ?

2) gear stick movement\travel is shorter than the stock r32 which was already shorter than regular mk4

3) it now takes a determined or shall I say very deliberate movement to get it into gear. It doesn't just slide easily from gear to gear

4) this means although gear lever moves less across the gate, it takes a slower and more deliberate movement to engage the gears , so progress is actually slower.

I'm hoping that it'll get better with use, many people have said they break in with time, or need readjustment.

We shall see...

 

Would you say it was notchy?

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Yes feels notchy

Feels like my dad's 2005 Subaru WRX STI 6 speed gear box .

Feels heavier , u need a much firmer push and deliberate motion to engage the gears .

Feels different but I wouldn't say better

 

I fitted a ebay clone on mine a 6 weeks back or so. Like you I found the throw shorter but also stiffer to engage gears.

I'm not sure if I've got used to it now, or if it's smoother but I don't notice it as an issue now.

If I'm concentrating there is no doubt I can change gear much faster than with the original shifter, but where I really enjoy it is simply gently cruising and changing between 3rd and 4th, it has a really smooth short through that feels 'right'

 

I fitted a ebay clone on mine a 6 weeks back or so. Like you I found the throw shorter but also stiffer to engage gears.
I'm not sure if I've got used to it now, or if it's smoother but I don't notice it as an issue now.

If I'm concentrating there is no doubt I can change gear much faster than with the original shifter, but where I really enjoy it is simply gently cruising and changing between 3rd and 4th, it has a really smooth short through that feels 'right'

Sorry to jump on the thread ,,, planning one for my Anniversary
but had anyone tried the £40 eBay ones ????

Are they any good ???

Also are the short shifter shafts needed as well and can I keep my original gear knob ??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

Those eBay ones will retain the feel of the stock gearchange feel I would suspect, but allow you to shorten the front to back travel, but not the side to side travel .

You won't need to change the gearknob or shaft length. The linkage shortens the travel.

 

With regards to the dieselgeek , I went about watching some videos made by dieselgeek, and followed some of their tips by readjusting the linkage , and it now feels quicker, less restrictive (or notchy).

It does feel better than when I first fitted it. I suspect there's quite a bit of fine tuning involved to get it to where it needs to be.

The main difference with this and stock is the linkage makes the gear feel much more mechanical once it's slotted home (as well as being shorter in travel in all directions).