How To: Mugen Short Shifter Box Install & Review

[MyNameIsThien]

Tools require: flat head screw driver, philip screw driver, small hammer, needle nose screw driver

1. remove the coin/cig lighter box

remove 2 screw that hold down the box

2. remove the arm rest panel components by removing 3 screws in the arm rest comparment, 2 under the cup holder, and 2 under the coin/cig lighter
3. it should look like this after

4.remove the pin and washer and put them aside


5. use a needle nose screw driver to drive up the metal plate that lock the cable with the box

6.once you can't use the needle nose screw driver anymore use a flat head and pry off the plate. it will pop right off


remove the pin and separae the cable from the lever.

7.push the cable toward the front of the car to remove it from the box


8.to remove the second cable, twist the black plastic piece to unlock it, then just pull it upward



9.then remove the 4 bolts that hold the shifter box to the floor.

10. remove the stock shifter box and replace it with the new one

11. install the 4 bolts but dont' tighten them until you get all the cables in first so that you can line up everything right. the reason behind this is bc mugen shifter box has bigger hole for those 4 bolts so they move around.
also tighten this pin so that it's tight and snug to the plastic piece as shown in this pic


12. once you have all cable installed in the reverse order you can tighten the bolts down

13. now install everything else in the reverse order.

14. here is what it looks like



Review:

the shifter box lower the lever by about 1 inch i believe. however the throw will be about the same as any short shifter adaptor. so what i did was i use both the mugen box with my nuespeed adaptor from my old box. this combo allow for a lil more shorter throw and shorter lever. i also find the shifting is a lil more stiff(tension). for me it is good, dont' really know how it is for anyone else.

to be honest i don't really find that this box is worth it ($250). you can probably achieve the same feel by using the adaptor and cutting part of the stock lever off.

Information was transfered from Gen7Accord.com.

Courtesy of Cham (cstyleaccord)

[Blackhawk]

This is by far the best short-shifter there is. Skippy let me go through his gears one time and it felt amazing. This is definitely going in my future mods list.

[rocketstarter]

definetly so. To be honest with you I didn't like the Mugen/NEUSPEED combo. The throws were so short that I could feel stressing the synchros. And the stock clutch couldn't keep up AT ALL. Made the clutch pedals feel 10x longer ...and spongier. With a better gearset and shorter clutch pedal travel I'd say this would be a winning combo.

the mugen shifter assembly with a skunk2 knobsimply feels like butter, it simply 'flows' when you heel-toe. just my 2 cents

[timot_one]

Kinda funny.  Both people that I know that have the Mugen shifter say it's not worth the money.  That's why I'm sticking with my OEM shifter with the Comptech SSK.  For the record, the clutch travel can be adjusted.  That spongy feeling may be a sign of a problem.  I know that all Honda hydraulic clutches have issues with the clutch master cylinder.  It may be worth looking into.

[Mike]

$250 for a shifter sounds a little pricey to begin with to me. What is the cost of the OEM shifter with the short shift kit?

[timot_one]

Well, an OEM shifter comes with the car, so the cost of the upgrade would just be for the SSK.  They can be found for about $40-$50 online.

[Mike]

Well, an OEM shifter comes with the car

LOL i'm not that stupid Tim!!! So there is a real big price differance, and similar results.

[timot_one]

From what I hear, it's not worth the expense.  This is coming from Skippy and Cham.  I have only driven Skippy's car for a short distance in a parking lot though, so I didn't have enough seat time to do a comparison.

[rocketstarter]

it is pretty expensive for what it is but the tolernace on the ball/lock combo that the liver sits in are extremely tight. for 250 i hope it's made out of harder resin as well

[Skippy]

I'll chime in on this upgrade.  I'm very picky about the cockpit feel of cars that I drive.  I used to have a neuspeed SSK and then I upgraded to the mugen sport shift assembly.  The neuspeed SSK is too short in my opinion and it makes shifting very labored.  The mugen sport shift assembly offers billet aluminum shifter base bushings, a 1" drop in shifter height, and reduced throw through extension of the lever below the pivot ball.  The unit is worth it if you really care about having it.  If you don't care about putting more effort into your shifting, go the neuspeed/comptech route.  The mugen sport shift assembly makes the shift a bit shorter while still being mindful of your synchronizers.

[rjp6262]

i've got the mugen SSK and i love it. ever since putting it in the shifts were smoothed out a bit. add some solid shift bushings and you're set!

[Icebox]

Kinda funny.  Both people that I know that have the Mugen shifter say it's not worth the money.  That's why I'm sticking with my OEM shifter with the Comptech SSK.  For the record, the clutch travel can be adjusted.  That spongy feeling may be a sign of a problem.  I know that all Honda hydraulic clutches have issues with the clutch master cylinder.  It may be worth looking into.

how can the clutch travel be adjusted?

[Skippy]

The best way to have it done is to have a honda technician adjust it if you feel the clutch is out of adjustment.  You don't want the clutch to engage too low or too high, and a honda tech is going to be the one to know where the engagement point should be.  If you adjust the clutch to engage too low or too high, you can reduce the life of the friction plate since the clutch may not fully engage or disengage.

[Icebox]

i see, thanks skip

[kSchwiggy]

250 dollars!!!!!!!!!!!


my custom cut shift lever (i charge 40 buck in labor to cut and thread it).. you could also buy the tooling and do it yourself (cheapest tools: hacksaw = 10 dollars, tap and die set = 40 dollars)
this is about 2.5 to 3" cut