I'm going to save a little time, and only answer the part that was in response to my own post.
Nd4SpdSe wrote:"Performance" in relating to what? Ya to get from his wheel to his shifter it's closer, but your physical movement has been increased. It's more distance/movement to shift gears, especially back-to-back when he doesn't get a chance to put his hands back on the wheel.
Short answer? Relative to the owner of the car's preferred driving style. Personal preference and performance are pretty closely linked, as I imagine you should know. Look at your RHD passenger door card, I distinctly remember you posting that you prefer to hang onto that with your left hand, so you didn't have to brace yourself against the steering wheel. I'm sure that many would debate that this was an unnecessary mod, but it drastically affected your driving style, and I would call that a performance mod... See the following:
projectB10 wrote:I wanted something better and especially wanted to try moving the gear knob closer to the steering wheel. I wanted to reduce the amount of time the left hand (RHD here in NZ) spends off the steering wheel.
This wasn't the only reason he gave, but it's enough to explain why he did what he did.
Nd4SpdSe wrote:In the end, it's all about leverage.
The upper section of the shifter can be made shorter. This doesn't change the amout of angle the shifter will move, but will decrease the physical arm movement (distance) to do the same job.
The lower section of the shifter can be made longer. This will change the total angle of movment since the longer the lower section, less movement (angle) is needed to move the components in the transmission (the trans linkage always moves a fixed distance).
Of course, a combination is both is what is done on manufacturered short shifters.
In both cases, the less distance for the driver to move the shifter, the more force the driver has to input into the shfter to make it move. Moreso when the lower section is shortened because that causes your torque/strength to be divided over stock.
In regards to leverage, I doubt many of us in this section lack the basic understanding... The red selection is completely backwards however, I'm going to assume that you meant lengthened, and that it was a typo...
For what it's worth, I've spent countless hours adjusting my pacesetter shifter and driving with it set at various heights/adjustments/throws, as well as quite a few hours endeavoring to reduce shifter slop in my '92. If you are ever stateside, I want you to test the throw and slop(lack thereof) in my car. I am fully aware that adjusting the height of the threaded ball on the PaceSetter shifter affects both the length above, and below the fulcrum(the threaded ball, if you will), It's a concept I grasped at a young age, and applied regularly during the 16 years I sailed and raced boats.
You have to remember man, not everybody is clueless... You aren't required to like what he does with his own car. I know there are things I find distasteful on a few cars... but it's not up to me to build anybody else's car. I rarely even speak my mind negatively, unless it's safety related.(I'm sure you've seen my posts on stretched tires...)
I personally like the idea, even though I wouldn't duplicate it myself. Think of it this way... He bought a short throw shifter, therefor he lengthened the arm below the fulcrum, and then lengthened the one above it. Overall, is this a shorter throw than stock? Maybe, maybe not... Is it shorter than adding height to only the top section? Definitely.
He combined 2 mods, to meet his goals... I say props for thinking outside the box... I know that I spent a great deal of time getting my shifter just right for my tastes, and I'm very happy for the effort. I doubt projectB10 is any less pleased with his own results.
