Just picked up my car yesterday evening from BackonTrack who did a great job as ever. 3 necessary repairs all done to get it back on the road; 1. Rebuilt/strengthened gearbox 2. Replace Shifter 3. LSD
As promised here are my first impressions.
I’m running in my gearbox in gently for the next 500 miles at up to 4k rpm then changing the oil. So I obviously can’t give the car a full test but I can report back on the initial feel.
The gearbox rebuild: was a necessary job so had no choice in the matter. Without it, the car couldn’t be driven so I had to do it whether I liked it or not. Whilst very expensive it’s reassuring to know that it’s been heavily refreshed and strengthened in all the right areas. so at least for my money, I’ll be getting longevity and peace of mind.
The LSD: in the scheme of things it wasn’t wildly expensive especially as the labour cost was negligible with the gearbox already out. I’ve not had a chance to feel it properly to test it out so can’t comment on it just yet. It’ll be interesting to see how I experience it on a track day. Snetterton with its tight corners will be a good one to see if I notice it and find it better. Hopefully I will, all the comments and reviews point to that. I’m pleased I did it, made sense.
The HPE shifter: first off it looks good, and better than I thought when fitted exposed without the collar. I think the blue leather surround frames it well. Also means I can take peeks at the billet loveliness rather than be fully hidden, never to be seen again.
It gives a reassuring clunk and feels very solid. It’s noticeably stiffer moving left/right with a firm spring. You need to give it quite a shove, about twice the stiffness of the OEM. It’s not crazy firm and I reckon I will soon acclimatise to it.
1st to 2nd is easy and natural, 2nd to 3rd just springs in and similarly with 3rd to 4th. In the meantime I will need to be mindful about changing up to 5th to get the muscle memory to make sure I keep it away from accidentally slipping into 3rd and give a strong pull to the right then up. You have to do a definite movement to the right of about an inch and keep the pressure on until it slots into 5th, otherwise it wants to go into 3rd.
The forward-back thrown is adjustable. I have the setting 1 in from standard and 1 away from full short. This setting feels a similar distance travelled to the existing shifter which I like because I’m used to it with muscle memory. Whilst a short throw could be really nice I’ve always got the option to change that later.
The gear changes feel smooth and slot in with confidence. It’s a very pleasurable shift. At the moment I am shifting in a measured fashion. It will be interesting to see what it feels like when shifting fast on a track. The downshifts with rev matching are very reassuring and feel good. I expect this will get even better once the gearbox beds in.
I’ve noticed there is a slight rattle from the sleeve of the aluminium vibrating against the main shaft. It’s not annoying but I will see if I can stop that, thinking of putting a very small bit of adhesive 2mm deep soft foam or felt to cushion it at the base of the sleeve.
If my original shifter wasn’t broken, would I buy one? No, because I found the original alright and it’s a considered purchase for me due to the cost of shifters.
If you find the OEM shifter lacking then definitely change it out, it will be worth it.
When you spend a lot of money, the subconscious temptation is to justify it and say it’s great so you feel better about spending the money.
Is it better than the original? Absolutely, in every way; build quality, looks, feel, durability.
I think the S3 stock shifter looks epic and with exposed surround. Does anyone know if they fit an S2? That would be a good option too if it did.