Shifter Moving in Video - Cause?

[Santiago]

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but did anyone notice how much the shifter on the red mule moves around in the last video w/John George driving? Video (http://youtu.be/R-IYVWtq77c)

It seems every time he lifts off the throttle it moves and in the segment from 0:23-0:26 & 1:58-2:04 where he's scrubbing tires I swear I see it swaying side to side a bit. I didn't notice this the first few times I saw the video, but when I put it on full-screen mode you can see the shifter movement much more readily.

So what do folks think this is caused by? I'm thinking it's from how loose the engine/transaxle assembly sits in the chassis. We know that with stock bushings the entire engine moves significantly (fore and aft for sure). I thought I remember Jim say they upgraded the engine and trans mounts in the red mule, but if so, does this suggest there's evidence that it's not enough? I don't know, I'm really just guessing here. But it seems that the engine/trans are moving enough to pull on the cables and move the shift lever.

What do folks think?

Best,
-j

[wallace18]

Depending on engine and trans mounts all shifters move somewhat on load conditions. My wife's BRZ does though not as much. Stiffer mounts will help for sure.

[metalmaker12]

And... The shifter will prob vibrate more with stiffer mounts, cause the whole car will be more ridgid. I don't think this is of any concern or even abnormal of a car that pulls serous g's with a flimsy type shifter.

[Santiago]

I don't think g's have much to do with it in regards to how "flimsy" the shifter is or isn't. In the video, the shifter is moving when John lifts off the throttle. That's not inducing large g-forces. Even swaying side to side, the data isn't showing him producing large g-forces; they're quite small actually. The shifter movement is being caused by something else.

To be clear, I'm not concerned that a moving shifter is a problem in and of itself (I don't really care about the shifter). My concern is that this is a symptom of something else that is a greater problem - namely the degree to which the engine/trans are moving around in the chassis under quite benign conditions (such as lifting off the throttle). I've never seen a shifter move this much, so it makes me think the engine/trans must be doing something pretty dramatic. I need to find that other video a guy had go-karting - he put his camera right off the back of the chassis and you could see a lot of movement.

Anyway, maybe I was just wondering if I was correct that engine/trans movement within the chassis could lead to this sort of symptom in the shift lever.

Best,
-j

[billjr212]

This movement looks purely related to slack/slop in the lines and the connection points at the cable ends. The cable sheathing is rigidly mounted to the transmission and the shifter is rigidly mounted to the frame, so unlike the donor car, engine movement should have very little to do with movement of the shifter itself relative to the interior. This appears to simply be the slack, combined with a long shift lever and a heavy shift knob.

[first time builder]

I have an 80 corvette with shifter mounted (hurst) direct to trans and I have more movement than that when the engine/trans torques up or down.

Kenny

[Santiago]

I have little experience with cabled shifters, so this explanation helps rule that out. Thanks.

-j

[C.Plavan]

I would say it is most definitely caused by engine/trans movement. I had that problem on my 911 until I upgraded the trans and motor mounts to a stiffer "race" type. On my 818R, I do not have any movement in the shifter. (Ktuned with Group N mounts)

Although, the stock shifter is plastic...

[metalmaker12]

FFR red car has group N mounts, so if your theory is correct it would move more with standard wrx mounts. I also have group n mounts and my shifter moves the same as video, which is minimal. I had standard mounts prior and it seemed the same to me.

What I meant is that the FFR supplied shifter moves around with on/off throttle, braking or turning, and slightly more when you really get on it. It barely moves in the video and in person and is of no concern to me. Idk about you but my hand is barely ever off the shifter. This is why I like the shifter up high. The FFR supplied is a bit flimsy, slightly sloppy and just funny looking, but it shifts great and is no real issue to drive with. The k tuned is nice looking, well made, but IMO feels very gated and less smooth to shift. Some like that feel and I think this is just preference.

Ps: are we really this bored! Let's go build and drive our cars, either shifter works great!

Also I have driven some powerful cars and the 818 with 350whp pulls harder and feels faster than any of them. One close feeling is my buddies 600whp GT 500 or Jim's 420 whp Gtm. Both of them are just as awesome to drive. The 818 is just a hoot to drive and so well balanced it is just beautiful. It's like a Elise on steroids