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Custom short shifter for the 30A (FS5R30A)

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  • Custom short shifter for the 30A (FS5R30A)

    There is currently no dedicated short shifter kit available for the Z31 30A (FS5R30A) transmission. The stock shifter has very long travel and is not very precise so I wanted to see what I can do about it. I'll share the info I gathered for myself and my experiences in adapting a different shifter. This is more of a collection of info than a guide, but it should help if you want to do something similar.

    The Made in China copies of the C's shifter for the S chassis are available and can be adapted (sometimes also listed for R series, but really based on the shifter for S). Z_Karma has written a good installation guide for it
    https://z31performance.com/forum/z31...r-in-a-fs5r30a

    I had bought one a long time ago already, but I was skeptical about it. I'll first share what I did and go over the reasoning later.

    I found a new OEM stock shifter for the ECR33 for fairly cheap and I ordered one (32839-21U10). The shape is slightly different, overall length is very similar, but most importantly, the fulcrum point of the lever is slightly higher up. The rubber bonding the two pieces together is a lot softer than on the Z31 lever.





    Next, I had a couple of aluminium rings machined to replace the spacer ring from the kit. I wasn't sure which fits best, so I had one made 8 mm tall and the other 10 mm. I ended up using the 10 mm spacer. It doesn't flatten out the wave washer entirely and leaves a tighter feel. Anything over that and you'll end up compressing the plastic socket. Spacer ring outer diameter 49.5 mm, inner roughly 39-39.5 mm. You can use the plastic socket for reference.



    Mocking it up. I also replaced what I could with new parts: the shifter socket, the wave washer (they do wear), and the lower rubber boot (supplied with the shifter). The ECR33 uses the same type of shifter bushing (unlike other R chassis 30As) as the Z31, also already on the shifter.




    I also modified the mounting plate from the kit so that I could install the small lower boot. It looks like a hack job, but it does what it was intended to do and looks just fine with the boot on. I'll probably have a custom one machined eventually.





    I also made a little gasket from gasket paper. Not my idea, copied it from the Nismo kit.



    Like I said, the rubber in the ECR33 lever was really soft so I cut up a poly bushing to make an insert and stiffen it up. I epoxy glued it in there, I guess it works as intended.



    Installing it.



    I removed the large worm gear clip and replaced it with a cable tie, but no photos of that.



    The top cover bulges up pretty strongly. I was thinking about getting a Z34 boot to replace it, but haven't got to that yet.



    Side by side comparison of shifters in action



    The shifter feels a lot nicer and I'm happy with it. It's not super short, but travel should be about 15-20% shorter which is pretty much what I was hoping to get. It retains the bushing inside the lever so no chance of rattling like some people have reported with the fully solid shifter.

    - - -

    Coming back to the Made in China copies of the C's shifter. I have seen people post about problems with that shifter on different cars. I think there is good reason for that because it doesn't really fit the Z31 30A that well, even with the already listed modifications. Most importantly, the spacer ring in these kits does not match the difference in the lengths of the levers. The tip of the shifter lever ends up too deep in the shifter arm. This is probably also the case with most of the R chassis 30As if this short shifter is used. The mounting plate is copied from C's S chassis shifter, which is different from the one used on R series 30As.

    Basically, the longer the distance from the fulcrum ball to the tip of the lever, the higher the plastic socket has to go. This is achieved with the spacer ring. However, if you raise it too much, the pins on the sides of the socket are raised out of the grooves. Also, with the socket high up, tightening the square plate on the top will put stress on the plastic parts and flatten the wave washer.

    The stock Z31 30A shifter is quite similar to shifters on most R chassis 30As. There may be minor differences in lengths and the bend, but the main differences are the bushing at the tip and the rubber bonding the two parts of the lever. The rubber in the Z31 lever is a lot stiffer, meaning the Nismo solid shifters will likely not make much of a difference.

    Some specs and info. Length is measured approximately between the centers of the balls.



    The original shifter - 40
    ECR33 - 48
    Made in China kit - 61,5

    From the fulcrum ball of the lever to the tip of the lever the short shifter lever is approximately 22 mm longer than the stock Z31 lever. The spacer in the kit is 14 mm tall. This means the tip of the lever would stand 8 mm lower than it should.

    In simple terms, the height of the spacer ring should at least roughly match the difference in these lengths between the shifter levers. A couple of mm difference should be no problem.

    Last edited by kaur; 02-19-2020, 04:27 AM.

  • #2
    Some extra bits. Z31 and R series (70L00) shifter plates



    Nismo short shifter kit (34110-RN595, R series)



    C's short shifter kit (updated version? R series)



    Early version?



    BNR32 stock shifter



    I can't say for sure but the Nismo, Tomei, C's, etc short shifters for BNR32, BNR34, and others might fit the Z31 30A. They might also require modification. Let me know if you try one.
    Last edited by kaur; 11-03-2019, 06:29 AM.

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    • #3
      Since the OBX short shifter made for the 240sx(s13) has been used in the Z31 30A with longer screws won't it make sense that the Cubespeed premium short shifter for the 240sx fit our 30A?

      https://cubespeed.com.au/shop?gclid=...-240sx-5-speed
      Last edited by Rick88ss; 02-08-2020, 07:58 AM.
      Shiro #443

      Comment


      • kaur
        kaur commented
        Editing a comment
        I would say rather their R series shifters than S. Their Premium R series shifter looks nice.

    • #4
      Might it be possible to modify the shifter plate to fit the Z31 30a transmission?

      Own:
      1986 Z31 2+0 Turbo GLL ---- spearco IC ,3" exhaust, Poly everything with solid subframe and diff mounts, HX35/40 Holset Turbo, CLSD, Nistune with 1220cc FIC injectors on E85.
      1993 Jeep Cherokee 4X4
      Owned:
      1995 Z32 2+0 NA Black
      1985 Z31 2+0 turbo Black
      1986 Z31 2+0 NA Red
      1988 Z31 2+2 NA Auto
      1988 Z31 2+0 Turbo White ---- Stripped for all of its goodies.
      1984 Z31 2+0 turbo Brown
      1985 Z31 2+0 NA Black
      2003 Nissan frontier D22 supercharded vg33e 4x4

      Comment


      • #5
        Originally posted by Wilsonthesphere View Post
        Might it be possible to modify the shifter plate to fit the Z31 30a transmission?
        Why though? The bore where the shifter socket goes is identical. Only the rest of the plate is different and it looks like they are quite different shapes and even leave the socket at a different angle.

        Comment


        • #6
          I saw someone posting on FB that he was going to install the R series Nismo kit on the Z31. I asked him for more info and got a few photos. Thanks to Jesse E., I don't know if you're a user here or not.

          Basically the Nismo R series short shifter should give an even shorter throw than my setup with the ECR33 lever, but not as short as the S13 short shifter. The Nismo lever is somewhere around 5 mm longer in the part between the fulcrum and tip. The spacer ring in the kit is around 11 mm tall. He said it works with the supplied bushing, but I would still replace it.

          Nismo_measured_2s.jpgNismo_measured_3s.jpgNismo_measured_1s.jpgNismo_measured_4s.jpg

          Comment


          • #7
            Originally posted by kaur View Post

            Why though? The bore where the shifter socket goes is identical. Only the rest of the plate is different and it looks like they are quite different shapes and even leave the socket at a different angle.
            Guess I'm a little confused, so to sum things up. The R short shifter kits work with no issues in the z31 30a. The S short shifter kit mostly works but has that bottoming out issue. Only really to get a correct spacer and replace the plastic tip of the shifter?
            Own:
            1986 Z31 2+0 Turbo GLL ---- spearco IC ,3" exhaust, Poly everything with solid subframe and diff mounts, HX35/40 Holset Turbo, CLSD, Nistune with 1220cc FIC injectors on E85.
            1993 Jeep Cherokee 4X4
            Owned:
            1995 Z32 2+0 NA Black
            1985 Z31 2+0 turbo Black
            1986 Z31 2+0 NA Red
            1988 Z31 2+2 NA Auto
            1988 Z31 2+0 Turbo White ---- Stripped for all of its goodies.
            1984 Z31 2+0 turbo Brown
            1985 Z31 2+0 NA Black
            2003 Nissan frontier D22 supercharded vg33e 4x4

            Comment


            • #8
              Originally posted by Wilsonthesphere View Post
              Guess I'm a little confused, so to sum things up. The R short shifter kits work with no issues in the z31 30a. The S short shifter kit mostly works but has that bottoming out issue. Only really to get a correct spacer and replace the plastic tip of the shifter?
              I can't say this 100%. I have not personally tested the R series short shifter. However, given all the info I've gathered and the experience from my custom setup, I would say I'm pretty confident that the Nismo 34110-RN595 short shifter fits the Z31 30A if you replace the bushing on the tip of the lever. This would most likely also apply to other similar R series shifters in that case, like the ones from Cube or more vintage ones like C's or Tomei.

              Also, the common S series shifter is so long that if you get a spacer tall enough, the pins on the sides of the shifter socket might not stay in the grooves anymore. There's probably a compromise in height that works out, but I'm not totally sure. People have been using them after all..
              Last edited by kaur; 02-14-2020, 03:08 AM.

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              • #9
                Good info. Where'd you get the aluminum spacer rings? Now the inner and outer diameter off hand?
                edit* just saw that you're in Europe.
                Last edited by Rick88ss; 02-17-2020, 07:34 PM.
                Shiro #443

                Comment


                • kaur
                  kaur commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Just posted in a FB group for machinists and found someone to turn them on a lathe for a few euros a piece. Outer diameter 49.5 mm, inner roughly 39-39.5 mm.

              • #10
                Another thing to note is that the plate that's used to install the shifter does not play well with the top rubber shifter boot. It puts the boot in direct contact with the transmission and most likely makes it wear a lot faster. Here's a photo of mine after a few months of having the shifter installed. The corner points had some small cracks in the rubber which is no good. It was keeping this shape and I only got it back to its original shape after some heating and massaging. I'm looking for a different boot to use instead, maybe Z34 will work.

                Comment


                • #11
                  Originally posted by kaur View Post
                  I saw someone posting on FB that he was going to install the R series Nismo kit on the Z31. I asked him for more info and got a few photos. Thanks to Jesse E., I don't know if you're a user here or not.
                  Also saw a photo on Facebook of the Nismo shifter installed, hope it's okay to share it here too.

                  Comment


                  • #12
                    Originally posted by Wilsonthesphere View Post
                    The R short shifter kits work with no issues in the z31 30a?
                    Yes, Nismo 34110-RN595.


                    Originally posted by kaur View Post

                    Also saw a photo on Facebook of the Nismo shifter installed, hope it's okay to share it here too.
                    It's been on the car for a bit over 100mi(160km) now and works very well. Only the items supplied in the kit, and necessary original parts were used. Cost is a bit high but so are C's Tomei and Cube kits.

                    Comment


                    • #13
                      Originally posted by 88sinZ View Post
                      It's been on the car for a bit over 100mi(160km) now and works very well. Only the items supplied in the kit, and necessary original parts were used. Cost is a bit high but so are C's Tomei and Cube kits.
                      Thanks for a follow up, good to hear it fits and works well.

                      I'm also happy with mine. It works well and feels just right. The only thing is I didn't manage to get the poly bushing in there very well and it's started to come out so I need to redo that. Still waiting to test and see how the Z34 rubber boot would fit.

                      Comment


                      • #14
                        The B&M on the 71C was very very nice sold it to a facebook member, the nismo 30A shifter is a shadow to the 71C B&M shifter... but mechanics are different and it must be accepted.

                        it is funny, before the 71C exploded i assume the differential bearings were going to explode - lots of driveline noise... after putting in a strong 30A the silence is beautiful

                        During 71C to 30A swap a shaftmaster aluminum shaft was used. Can not speak much for that, it fits it works.

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                        • #15
                          Here's the two piece Z34 shifter insulator. It's a little bit bulky, but it fits well over the shifter mount plate and it's brand new. It needs some trimming and a top boot with a bit more space underneath than stock, but I have to swap mine anyway and I think it'll fit then.
                          Attached Files

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