best shifter?

what is the best shifter and why

-stock
-OEM TRD short throw
-URD
-Hurst Core
-?

 

Best shifter? One that works
Why? Cause if it didn't that would be bad

All jokes aside I've been running urd's short shifter for about 5 years. No complaints. Only benefit I really see is the shorter throw giving you more room for extra sticks. Fj case, crawl box, etc....and when I say extra room....I don't mean much lol

 

Yes.
I do wanna add sticks

I've heard OEM shifter is filled with rubber that wears, making it good to remove and fill with epoxy (I guess "OEM+/restomod"?)

which seems the same or more work and price than just...a different shifter...

I tried Hurst Core. Everyone hyped it up.
Just like everyone hypes up Load E tires.

Installed it. Going slow. Care about the truck. Work on cars for work, pretty normal.
And then Jesus. It was shaky. Loud.
And instead of smoothly walking the gears home their long trail of a shift, it covers the same distance in half an inch. That's fast. Shoving it in no matter what you do. Even with good gear oil.
The synchros, selectors, forks, inside the trans remain the same. They still have to cover the same distance, work in the same time, which the truck prefers slow because it has an agricultural trans.
But the shorter shifting made that not even possible, to time it the right tempo and let it grab go into gear. It's like traveling a mile by taking one step. The end result down at the transmission is: the internals being shoved fast and hard

Felt crunchy like it was torturing the synchros.
Forgot about shifters ever since then.
I hit the guy up. Told me like "I can see you installed it wrong." (not sure how you even do that on such a simple part, let alone with printed instructions. On a part that looked proper, operated the truck, just shittily)
Among other things, number one, how? I entirely cleaned the shifter parts. There is no way to see how it was installed.
I'll leave it at that.
Reverted to stock. Why? Because even if it sucks at least there's a long separated throw to where you're not speedrushing the gear, and you KNOW which gear you're going into
Don't know if it may have just been a defective unit or what. The type of customer service response was below what is common.

50/50 on wanting to try again and potentially deal with that remembering experience.

I know that stock, at least if you let Costco do a rotate, they won't miss gear. 1st is a mile to the left.
Maybe Toyota made it that way on purpose
1. to not mis shift, especially with how RPM's are in 4LO
2. for it to take long enough to give trans internals time they need to work properly (medium speed IMO)
(the gear oil in trans has been kept serviced the entire time)

 

Epoxy resin “object shape here.”
Feels smooth, yet hard like aluminum, but does not burn your hand or freeze your hand like metal.

 

I actually stumbled across this thread right after seeing yours
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/modified-trd-short-shifter-for-4x4.426988/
Maybe something that might interest you


Edit: I see you've already posted in there

 

this thread is about shifters not knobs

 

Ohh I’m such a knobend.

 

Urd uses your stock knob and lever with the epoxy vibration dampener.

Hurst core replaces the knob and lever with theirs.

I have the hurst. I’m mostly happy with it. The vibration and noise coming through the solid lever is mildly annoying. The small ball knob I hated & swapped for a larger ball from sick speed with their aluminum adapter kit.

In my opinion, getting it in reverse was tricky with the stock setup, and more difficult with a ss. Ya gotta slap it then push it in. It’s comical watching someone else trying to do it, even if you’ve told them ya gotta slap it, they still try to push it. Last time was a tire shop. I showed them how to do it, explained ya gotta slap it, still they tried to push it, then gave up so I had to drive it off the rack myself.

If I had known ahead of time about the vibration and noise, I would have done the urd. It’s not bad enough for me to spend the time and money to swap.

 

Short throw shifters are dumb and make the shifting feel like crap. Stock.

If the bushing in the shift tower wears out, you can replace it without too much hassle. Hardly a reason to ditch the stock setup.

 

SHIFT KNOB Opinion:
The BEST shift knob for 6 speed Tacomas is the Black Urethane Prado 120/150 6 speed knob. It is made of the soft plastic/rubber that is so common on Japanese interiors. Never wears out. Feels great in hand. Weighted nicely. OE Toyota quality. Cheap and available on ebay (at least it was in 2018). I wish i had a part number for it but cant find it anywhere.

Its exactly like the stock leather stitched knob on 2nd gens but its made of solid black urethane

 

TacoTuesday touched on this in post #3,and he's correct. if you install a short throw shifter you're stressing the syncro sleeves in the gearbox. Short shifter doesn't mean short length handle, it means short throw distance between 1st and 2nd. It changes the pivot point of the shifter to force the synchro together faster. It's not really meant for the "ol reliable" Tacoma trans, it's meant for high performance vehicles that are racing around a track.

Long story short, if you treat your truck like a race car you can expect to repair it like a race car.. which means often..

 

yes. Did that yielded some improvement.

I wouldn’t mind a shorter shift
…if it actually felt smooth…
maybe no such thing exists

and it’s only speed causing more stress
Maybe that’s just the way it has to be (stock or similar) and the way normal synchros work no matter what.
Not like I need to speed shift ever

does it fit?

I switched from TRD OEM cue ball
Plan to sell my black OEM and red lettering FJ Trail Teams edition (dealer only sells if you prove you own one)

switched to AJT and like it more IMO

does it fit?

I switched from TRD OEM cue ball
Plan to sell my black OEM and red lettering FJ Trail Teams edition (dealer only sells if you prove you own one)

switched to AJT and like it more IMO

RA60F is said to be tractory and tricky
I guess that’s just how it is
Short of installing performance carbon Kevlar coated synchro kit that grabs better
Which nobody makes

last car Audi 6MT used 02X trans possibly based on a Getrag with shorter throws stock and different type of shift linkage; probably shifted faster having closer relation to Motorsport

 

Yes it fits. Its identical to Tacoma original knob except made of solid urethane instead of leather wrapped plastic

 

I’ve had the URD short throw on a previous truck and I prefer stock IMO.

It is, at the end of the day, a tractor like transmission. Check out the accumulator delete, that made it feel better.

If you want a true drivers car buy a sedan from Honda or Subaru that was built in the 90’s. Short ratio 5 speeds rule.

 

who here would like to be a Guinea Pig for testing purposes
and mail a shifter to GES/Gaffney Engineered Solutions,

or buy their 3rd gen trim (appears the same) $29.99,
to test fit on your 2nd gen - even better if with AJT Knob
to see if they fit
It does look the same...
Many colors
CascadeCreekDesign on Etsy

probably much better than the stock chrome...




There's also 'Dubbs Hardware' half the price on Amazon, but without knurling

$20 Dubbs Hardware - Tacoma Shift Knob Trim Cover - Allows for Aftermarket Shifter Knob - Interior Gear Shifter Cover for Accessories - Fits Manual 2016+ Tacoma

https://www.amazon.com/Dubbs-Hardwa...ocphy=9031335&hvtargid=pla-1897677676502&th=1

I'd assume it would fit given 3rd gens are rebadged 2nd gens and people swap RC62(F) into 2nd gen

https://www.cascadecreekdesigns.com...3HR6ZlgW559ZwroLLXEX65ZdWgYuzyRSKCQsVI&page=2

 

My buddy has an 08 with a hurst shifter. Throw is tight and it won't break like the oem one did.

 

does this change things