absolute SHORTEST throw shifter hardware for FiST??

[M-Sport fan]

I just got back from test driving a '16 FiST, and was wondering which of the currently available shift throw reducing kits, currently on the market, cut that seemingly 2 FOOT THROW down the MOST??

This is REGARDLESS of; cost, resultant 'notchiness', or any other 'negatives'.

Between the stock car's rubbery, "stick in a pot of oatmeal" feeling, cable shifter, and NO feel, WAY TOO 'soft' clutch, I almost am thinking about NOT buying this car, so PLEASE help!!

 

[RAAMaudio]

I modded my shifter setup at the transaxle, cable bushings, base bushings, raised the base, etc...all DIY, this kit would be what I likely would of bought if it was available when I did my own thing and I have the best shifting FWD I have ever driven and better than most RWD or AWD cars I have modded, I bet their unit is quite good.

http://www.boombaracing.com/boomba-racing-fiesta-st-ultimate-shift-package/

They make some very fine parts and some I consider rice but all they do seems well made and priced.

 

[eleven]

^ I have this setup and am extremely happy.

 

[Waterfan]

Came to post Boomba Ultimate Kit. Leaving satisfied.

 

[Manta Ray]

Hmm interesting, I found the shift lever to be too low relative to the seating position but the shift action was generally good... but since we're here I wonder if we can get some good comparison between the available short throw / quick shift / short shift kit combo out there.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I thought the Boomba was height adjustable as well, I sent them the info on a very easy solution to it a long time ago, I guess they may of ignored this old dude with 48 years of DIY experience

Easy way to raise the shifter is buy some coupling nuts in the right thread, screw them onto the tunnel studs, add some spacers which I just used nylon Ace Hardware ones, then the bolt length needed, washers, etc...used as well so did not need billet parts...total cost to raise the shifter was a few bucks....

This is far better than using an extender under the knob as that increases the throw, counter to what you want to do.

They could of machined risers easily enough to go up around 1.75" and still clear the console and shifter boot, I send them info about it but never heard back from them

 

[RAAMaudio]

I highly recommend buying the car and modding it to make it even better as it is an incredibly good FWD platform to work with.

 

[briandee]

Love my Boomba 40% reduction! Well worth the upgrade! Didn't get the bushings though.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[M-Sport fan]

I highly recommend buying the car and modding it to make it even better as it is an incredibly good FWD platform to work with.

Yes, I was VERY impressed with this car EXCEPT FOR that stock shifter and clutch 'action'.

Of course, coming from a RWD, heavy clutched, direct connection into the gearbox's internal shift rails (Tremec T56) for the last 20 years or so, NOTHING FWD/AWD is going to feel quite as 'direct', or 'snicky' when going into gear, but this ST was particularly bad in that respect.
I don't even recall the 1989 A2 GTI 16V (which was the very last FWD, or even non-RWD ride I've owned) cable shifter being this 'mushy'.

A question for those who have installed a small diameter, lightweight, multi-disc, racing type clutch and flywheel (IF ANY on here);
Was the clutch's 'action' much more positive, and was their more pedal/release effort involved, or was it still very soft and 'spongy' feeling, even if it was now an "on-off switch"???

 

[RAAMaudio]

Another 9.5 hours in the AZ heat working on the car again, what I have been doing most every day for months now but getting hotter the closer I am to getting it finished with this round of mods, updates to existing mods, etc....so I may not say things perfectly, beer time and all

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I have driven cars with worse shifters than this had stock, Subaru Forester XT I highly modded needed serious work but came out decent, the ST was a lot of work but came out amazing for a FWD car. I had a C5 Z06 race car, tiny clutch, I am well aware of good shifter feel and being careful not to burn up the clutch....now I am running the stock clutch though I had a Spec and aluminum flywheel decided to stay stock, first modded car in longer than I can remember having a stock setup and I have gotten used to it and have no issues at all to complain about.

The stock clutch has proven to be quite stout, it and a little more flywheel weight using the stock one makes the street use eaiser and my wife happier on the rare occasions she drives it. I have what is likely one of the most highly modded ST's on the road so it is kind of weird talking about using the stock clutch and flywheel, does not even sound like me

I have not seen a single post about a button flywheel, tine multi disk clutch for this car, not sure one exists.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^OK. thanks.

I figured that since the factory uses ap parts in the drivetrain, that at least ap RACING made a small diameter, multi-disc, racing type clutch for it.

What do those who use one of the Quaife, Sadev, or XTrac sequentials use for a clutch???

I forget, but does the C5 use a cable, or a linkage to connect the shifter to the rear mounted T56?
(I currently have an LS1 Z28, so the shifter goes DIRECTLY into the T56's internal shift rail just inside the housing.)

 

[jeff]

The rest of my Boomba gear is in the mail....40% reduction is significant.

Another 9.5 hours in the AZ heat working on the car again, what I have been doing most every day for months now but getting hotter the closer I am to getting it finished with this round of mods, updates to existing mods, etc....so I may not say things perfectly, beer time and all

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I have driven cars with worse shifters than this had stock, Subaru Forester XT I highly modded needed serious work but came out decent, the ST was a lot of work but came out amazing for a FWD car. I had a C5 Z06 race car, tiny clutch, I am well aware of good shifter feel and being careful not to burn up the clutch....now I am running the stock clutch though I had a Spec and aluminum flywheel decided to stay stock, first modded car in longer than I can remember having a stock setup and I have gotten used to it and have no issues at all to complain about.

The stock clutch has proven to be quite stout, it and a little more flywheel weight using the stock one makes the street use eaiser and my wife happier on the rare occasions she drives it. I have what is likely one of the most highly modded ST's on the road so it is kind of weird talking about using the stock clutch and flywheel, does not even sound like me

I have not seen a single post about a button flywheel, tine multi disk clutch for this car, not sure one exists.

Going off topic a bit here....I knew I recognized you from somewhere Rick.. Forester XT forum, we were on it at the same time, I had my VF39'd 2005 5spd from '06-'09....my screen name was greentrees, I remember you now. Nice to see we both ended up with a FiST!!!!

 

[Boomba Racing]

If anyone has any specific questions about our short shifter set-up, let us know!

 

[RAAMaudio]

Hey, cool to meet up again There are a few here from the past sites I have been on, we all seem to have the car bug and also love this little bugger of a car

I really liked the Forester but at $60k into it and got it sideways at 90MPH, saved it, not fast enough on the long straight at MMP, engines cost a fortune to build...some body work, etc...I had time on the track to contemplate that a $90k FXT was not a wise investment so it went a way but I sure loved it.

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The C5 and C6 as well as the C7 most likely have the clutch in the front behind the ending then the driveshaft inside a torque tube feeds to the rear, the shifter is mounted to a very solid aluminum box welded to the torque tube then there is a fairly short link that feeds to the transmission, not quite as solid as right into a T56 but very well done. I said I was tired when posting, shows eh

I was going to put a built T56 in the 2300lb E36, forged LS track car I was building, had the little clutch and using a starter ring from an auto trans with the button flywheel bolted to it, Clutch Masters Hydralic TOB, bleed line, 3-way floor mounted pedals, race steering column, seat way back and...

Then I decided to use a 4 speed dog box instead but parted and sold off the car when I decided to go full time RVing and built the ST so we could use it for more than just the track, love it as it does so much so well

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^Yes, I am in the same boat, but to a much lesser extent with my 4th gen LS1 f body, as I have a lot into the (handling type) suspension/ancillaries, almost nothing into the factory engine, but it has ~180K miles on it now, and the lifters are going/gone, so that means a new LSx, which is at least $7K to $10K in the car, depending on how one builds it, and which clutch one installs while everything is apart.

But this car is only worth about $3500 even if it were in almost perfect shape, let alone with loudly clacking lifters, and then it will need a new/rebuilt T56 soon as well as a new rear axle, and of course I would want to upgrade that to at least a Ford 8.8 conversion with the co$tly Torsen T2R diff inside, and a good Watt$ Link on the outside locating it.
And that is even BEFORE the ~$4500.00's worth of 18 x 10.5 Forgestar F14 wheels, and 100/200 treadwear 295/35-18 stickies to go on them!!!

Then add in two good racing shell seats to replace the P.O.S., falling apart in 3 years time, Recaro SPD (Speed) seat, a new steering rack (leaking), a Hinson Motorsports shifter, and maybe some lighter body parts, and I'm OVER what a new, '16 FiST costs (with the minor 'required" mods included) for an almost 20 year old car.

I am also then stuck paying off a personal unsecured loan for the next 5 years, for a car that is gone, IF; it gets stolen, totalled, destroyed by a 'force of nature', etc.

So the FiST is looking VERY good right now, albeit I have to get used to that lighter than a feather clutch, and FWD torque steer/understeer, and the rear wheel 'leg lifting' in hard, TIGHT, autocross type corners, and the high (for me) seating position (I felt like I was sitting in an SUV when I test drove one).

 

[RAAMaudio]

I just finished another very long hot day on the car projects, nearly done, finally!!! Already had a couple of brews to gain some weight back....

I have done a huge amount of mods on this car but I know once past a certain point the cost and time go up like mad but I DIY a great deal of it and know this car very well, the most important mods, depending on ones goals, can be very reasonable.

Short shifter, hardest part was making the throws short, buying that part would be the best way to go, tightening up the feel is pretty easy as well as raising it if you want to.

Wheels are to heavy and to tall, best to go to 16 or 15, only so many available, 4x100 conversion is not that bad and now more DIY, I was the first I know of and paid a machine shop, etc..but not you can do it on the car. Best wheels at this time are the 6ul, roll formed, 11.6lbs, $159 each! Tires are $79-129 or so. Drop 10+ lbs per corner, stickier tires, brakes work better, ride better, less wear and tare on the chassis.

Stock shocks are not so great, I recommend BC or MR coilovers, huge improvement and ride better, get a bit more spring rate and keep the stock sway bar.

Only chassis brace I run and feel I need it a $2 DIY front 2 point.

LSD is great but OK without unless you want to get pretty serious with the car.

Engine and trans mounts, pretty easy to DIY 2 part urethane, $50

Stock turbo, stock DP, exhaust, intake, seem to work well.

Low budget turbo upgrade, Cyborg, mid level X37 or the 421 or whatever it is...

Cobb AP a must.

IC, very much needed, best overall as only 4 lbs more than stock with bumper beam is he DHM race, Cobb clone much less but not nearly as big.

Lots of parts being sold we can live without, DIY as much as you can or want to, does not cost a lot to build up this car.

Another nice thing was when I had the EFR turbo that was only tuned on 91 and stock fuel system, 320WHP at 4200 ft, sticky tires and LSD, did not spin in 2nd gear even when the torque steer was a handful, it just went, 2575lbs makes that kind of power pretty quick, at sea level I did not data log it but dang if was fun) I could of made more power but it was a bit laggy so working with a smaller turbo now.

Really easy cruising around Lake Tahoe, 39 MPG with the big turbo, my wife follow me driving it to AZ when I was in the RV rig and taking it easy, 41.5 MPG!

My ST sits as low as the suspension should be set at which is not really low, short fat tires lowers it a bit more, any lower and not fun on the street as already a bit of a hassle over driveways, etc....I have had a bunch of Miata street and two race cars and this car feels tall but when I get in it after driving my dually it feels like I am sitting on the ground.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^THANKS!!

I was planning to live with the stock suspension and wait until someone besides the crazy priced KW, or the el cheapo China junk companies came out with a GREAT, at least double adjustable, maybe even remote reservoir coil over set up for these cars.

Is there ANYTHING currently on the market better than the Cobb AP as far as tuning/monitoring goes?
Can these cars be physically dyno tuned by a Cobb dealer, and have that tune installed into the AP, with the ability to switch back and forth between pure factory stock, max tune, and even an 'economy' tune??
Can the higher flow, metal matrix catcon downpipe DTCs be 'written out' of the ECM with an AP detailed tune?

Also does the AP allow one to change 'minor' parameters such as; wheel/tire overall diameter, fan settings, rev limiter, etc. WITHOUT altering the written in; fuel trims, spark timing tables, or VVT tunes????

 

[RAAMaudio]

I do not know how much time you have to spare but there is a lot written about some of this, some takes more digging, some not fully explored yet. I do commend your interest in some of the higher end of things like 2 way coilovers, etc.....


I would not hold my breath on what you want in coilovers though. This is a very limited market car with not many taking it to the level of wanting or needing dual adjustable coilovers. I have had Moton two ways with remote canisters, custom 3-way Ohlins that cost $8500, a bunch of others and for the money I am pretty damn amazed with the BC's which have been used on a lot of of race cars, I would not mind if they did an ST set in one of the mid priced offerings, MCS, etc...(Actually I was quoted more for 3-way MCS than Ohlins)

I am running 8/7k Swift springs on my one way BC's and they still ride better than the stock suspension and handle far better.

They did not have adjustable top hats when I got mine and I could not adjust camber at the strut, which is a very good place to do it, because of the 9" wide wheels being to close to them so I drilled new holes in the strut towers and trimmed the top hats a bit, -2.5 camber, longer springs withe same ride height as camber plates would of offered.

In fact when I went to the stiffer springs the separately adjustable ride height on the BC's really worked great as still using the longer springs(really same as the standard ones) but had to use up all but a tiny bit of the lowering to get the car down to were it was optimized for geometry meaning not that low. On the rear I had to take out one of the perch lock rings to get it low enough but no worries as one is against the perch tightened up just fine. I could or taken the other ring out no issues either but it would be a bit lower than I wanted, I like the rear a tad taller than the front but we also have around 600lbs in the car when loaded up for a site seeing trip out of the RV parks...

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If you are going to seriously race this car, built to some class rules, want to do all you can to win...then yes, dual adjustable, higher end coilovers would be the way to go but not really needed once you see just what this car can do on something as low cost as BC's.

I was at MMP in UT on the outer loop, very fast track, cyborg turbo not tuned that well so a bit over 200WHP, on used 225 RA1 tires, car not dialed in, 5 seconds faster than the national champ spec miata and 4 seconds slower than a recently built huge budget Cayman R race car and the shop owner that pretty much hates anything but Porsche was blown away at my lap times. My buddy in his national champ ST1 Vette, race instructor at MMP, said he was shocked that he could not gain on my through the Attitudes, the most technical and fun part of the track.

BC coilovers, 6/5 k springs, rears none linear which we know is not good for the track, stock front sway bar with urethane bushings and adjustable end links, corner balance not yet done....-2.5 front camber, zero toe, -1.9 rear camber, zero toe(huge task to get the rear camber I wanted)
I have urethane suspension bushings and a DIY 2 point front lower brace as I do not feel the car needs any more bracing and I have built fully caged race cars, this is my 3rd FWD car as well, my belief is disbelief until proven otherwise, adding a part not proven to make the car faster is most likely making it slower and the money can be used better elsewhere, like weight reduction instead of addition.

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When I parted and sold off the C5 vette race car the Motons went in for a needed rebuild, 5 races on them, the Ohlins I sold before I finished that car to retire to RVing, I have known of winning racers on BC's with 3 years on them, does not seem like junk to me

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There are other options but Cobb's AP has the best support and is quite an amazing unit, not sure there is a better alternative and you can get a great tune from Adam at Tune+, lifetime, $250 or so!

Yes, you can tune on a dyno but a road tune is going to be more accurate over more realistic driving situations, I would only do a dyno run or tune just do see how it compares, etc...Vdyno and a good online tuner are pretty hard to beat.

I have had an engine blown on a dyno by a bigger name shop, new car barely broken in, had it happen the day after paying $1100 for another car tuned by a really big name shop when I would of won a national TT event if not for blowing up the engine. I have not blown anything up on VD turing my early having fun with the Cyborg and SS working on it, Panda, DHM and now my favorite, Tune+. I have no intentions or need to go on a dyno:

You can have 5 switch on the fly tunes loaded on the AP.

You cannot make changes unless you buy the $150 optional tuner package but things seem to be changing in that area so make sure to be sure what is going on.

Or just pay Adam and get just what you want and alot more to gain even on the stock turbo, AP is a very very powerful tool and this car has a ton of things to tweak, 20 years in high end military electronics left me with no desire to learn it all which would take considerable effort, I prefer to drink cold brews and relax instead now but I do take a lot all it all as fun to see what the changes make happen

 

[M-Sport fan]

THANKS!

You have a WEALTH of knowledge as far as these (and many others it seems) cars go.

Do you actually consider the not re-valved BCs, to be even better than the KW doubles for these cars??

Just how much spring can the BCs handle in 'stock' (not re-valved) form?

 

[RAAMaudio]

I have a lifetime of learning and realized all this time there will always be somebody that knows more about each aspect than I do so I have researched my whole life and adjusted as I go, it is much easier with the internet but also much easier to get led astray so we have to be careful what we believe compared to our actual experiences, etc........

Then we have the magazine cars which unfortunately are not usually built to be practical for public roads or even real racing and a lot of pretty parts get made and sold to the public that serve little or no purpose and often make the car slower. Big difference far to many times between looking and being fast and both can be egocentric and I have to admit I do have a bit of an ego issue at times, like to take on the ones with bigger budgets, "better" platforms, etc...maybe partly because I am 5'8" and grew up on welfare

As a life long DIY guy I have made some very quick cars with very low cost parts and beaten hundreds of cars with big budgets but little real thought put into them.

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As for the KW dual adjustable I have no experience with them or the brand except what I have read from enough well experienced and respected people that have. I would imagine they are pretty dang good and likely are and a good probability better that the BC but the differences might not be that important depending on how they are to be used, how well sorted out the rest of the car is, etc......

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I have the 6/5k "race spec" 2-JR version which is not revalved, I called BC and worked out the 8/7k setup and they said I will be in the upper end of the valving but still have some tuning ability. Right now I am running close to what I used on the 6/5k setup, half way up on the adjustment, I think 18 front, 16 rear, I was using 16/16 for the street with the BC springs and this setup rides better, the swift springs are quite nice, very linear.

It also has less body roll now and confirms my decision to stay with the stock front sway bar, urethane bushings, adjustable end links, no rear bar...I will be turning up the valving quite a bit on track, likely in then upper 20's, 32 is the top setting.

All that to say the valving has quite a usable range stock.