Originally Posted by weap0n

Hi everyone.
I thought I would share my experience with TWM and their new EVO X shifter cage and their short shifter.

Let me start off by saying my X is a 2008 model and currently has 25,000km on the clock. I haven’t yet changed the transmission fluid since taking ownership of the vehicle but i have this scheduled for 2 week’s time.

Since the first day I received my X after trading in my IX almost 3 years ago, the first thing I noticed was how the transmission felt different. Other than the obvious fact the X manual transmission lost a gear from my IX, it always felts like if I pushed it into gear too hard something might give.

Anyway after putting up with the notchy shifting for so long now and even changing how I shift to avoid this sensation I was never really satisfied even once I could feel the gears wearing in nicely.

As time went by I started looking into shifter fluid, short shifters and bushing kits both nothing really popped to make me want to pull the trigger and make a purchase. Even after reading positive reviews on different kits I still wasn’t convinced.

Several months ago I saw that TWM had posted a thread trying to determine interest in a replacement shift cage for the OEM plastic shift cage. Like many others on here I thought it sounded interesting and posted accordingly.

A few months later they released teaser pictures and then finally were taking pre-orders.

After following the link and recently coming into a little extra cash I decided what the heck and placed an order.

About a month later the pre-orders went out and so did mine.

In case you haven’t yet realised I live in Australia so obviously my X is RHD. Along with the shifter cage I also ordered the TWM RHD short shifter as well as the under hood bushings.

A few weeks ago the whole lot arrived. I opened the box and immediately I was impressed with what I saw. The shift cage feels solid and the TWM had already mounted the short shifter inside. Even without it installed and without a gear knob screwed on I was still playing with it throwing through gears. I liked what I felt.

A few days later on the weekend and with a little spare time I decided to have a go at installing the whole lot. First thing I did was try my ARC titanium gear knob in the short shifter to make sure it fit. After scratching my head and trying for about 2 minutes of trying to screw it one and check the thread I found out it didn’t fit!

Unsure if it was just my gear knob I went flicking through the installation manual that came with the kit and saw that the OEM knob fits the short shifter. I was like WTF! The ARC is direct replacement; if it fits the oem shifter then it should fit the TWM short shifter. To double check I tried the OEM shift knob and it didn’t fit either!

Feeling a bit pissed, I went searching online and couldn’t find anywhere saying the short shifter uses a different shift knob thread size.

I decided to PM TWM and let them know what was going on. Few days went pass and I didn’t get a reply. A little annoyed I got onto the TWM website and found their e-mail address and sent them another message.

A few days later I still had not received a reply either by PM or email.

I then went and got on this forum and another EVO X forum that TWN visit and posted some public questions in their threads.

Finally I got a reply from Patrick who asked me to measure the thread.

The next day I measured the thread of both my OEM RHD shifter and the RHD TWM short shifter and discovered they were both the same diameter and thread count per inch.

I took some photographs and sent them to Patrick.

After a few days I got a reply and Patrick told me a step was missed during manufacturing and the final threading was not completed.

Patrick gave me two options. Finish the threading myself or send it back to the USA, TWM would do it and then send it back. The second option would likely take a long time due to the distance.

I didn’t want to wait so I went to my local hardware store and purchased a cheap tap and die set and finished the job myself (using the M10 x 1.5 in case anyone is wondering).

This brings me to today. This morning I finally got around to installing the shifter cage and short shifter. I gave myself a few hours to slowly go through the install following to detailed instructions TWM send in the kit.

Everything was progressing really well until it was time to bolt the shift cage into the car. I discovered the four bolts that come in the kit are too small for the holes on the shifter cage. Disappointed I went for a drive to the hardware store again and purchased some 10mm washers. Problem solved.

Came back, bolted it in and finished!

Too eager to wait, I didn’t even put my tools away; I jumped straight in and went for a few laps around the block.

Final result?







































AWESOME!

I couldn’t stop swapping through gears. It felt so good. The shifting sensation is totally different now. It feels like finely machined gearing. Almost rifle bolt in feeling. The throw distance is so much shorter. At first I wasn’t even sure I was in first gear because it didn’t feel like I had moved the shifter enough. It now requires more force to swap gears but it feels so so good. 2nd to 3rd is smooth and 3rd to 4th is almost orgasmic!

It’s hard to tell which part actually improved the shifts, the short shifter or shifter cage, but whatever is the case, together the results are phenomenal.

Its only early days yet, and I have a lot more driving to do before I can give you a better idea of how the TWM shifter cage performs, but for now I am happy. It was worth every cent I paid.

I am hoping things feel even better in a few weeks once I change the tranny fluid.

I’ll let you know how it all goes. Thanks for reading.

weap0n