S2000Shifter

I have recently acquired an AxialFlow Engineering short shifter for my car after having owning an eBay C’s Style short shifter for nearly 6 months. I wanted to see what the whole fuss was about and decided to conduct a comparison between the AxialFlow and the C’s Style short shifter, as well as the OEM shifter.

Now, before moving on, I know many of you believe that the stock shifter is amazing as is, but trust me, once you’ve tried a short shifter, you may never go back.

I was on the fence about getting a short shifter until I found someone on here willing to convert the eBay C’s Style short shifter to a plug-n-play setup (some modification is required for those eBay short shifters to work). “What do I have to loose? If I don’t like it, then I can sell it for around the same price I bought it for.”

So I tried it… And I loved it! What was once pure bliss had just gotten better!

The throw was a little less than half the original distance and the feel of the shifter was more precise. The C’s Style shifter sits at the same height as the OEM shifter so I tried the Voodoo Countersunk shift knob to lower the height a bit. To me, this was the ideal setup.

However, I began to think about all those stories of eBay short shifter’s breaking. I hated to think about what would happen if I were on a trip somewhere and my shifter broke. I’d be stuck somewhere SOL.

Then I saw a post on here asking about the reproduction of AxialFlow short shifters and decided to do some research. From their website, I learned that AxialFlow Engineering built and designed the short shifters in their own warehouse using their new, state of the art, aircraft quality, CNC equipment. All the materials they use for their shifters are high quality and are produced in the USA. Even the plastic parts the OEM and C’s Style shifters use are replaced on the AxialFlow short shifters by high quality DuPont Delrin. The best part was that due to popular demand, they are now back on the market!

I did more research on here and found that the AxialFlow Engineering customer service was epic. Everyone posting about the AxialFlow short shifters had nothing but great things to say about the customer service. Their shifters come backed by a lifetime warranty, so if anything ever goes wrong, not only would they would fix it for free, but they would have it fixed in 48 hours or less and even cover the shipping. This was enough to sell me on it. My shifter came in the mail just two days after hanging up the phone with Richard Paul, the owner of AxialFlow Engineering.

Just by taking the AxialFlow shifter out of the packaging I could tell that it was much more durable than the C’s Style short shifter. It was also ready to install, right from the box. In about 10 minutes, it was installed on my car and I was ready to go for a drive!

Now, it’s time for some pictures!







The above pictures compare the AxialFlow to the C’s Style and the OEM shifters. As you can see, the AxialFlow short shifter is smaller in size compared to the others (about an inch shorter than OEM). Notice how much thicker the AxialFlow shifter is at the bottom (below the pivot point) than the OEM and C’s Style shifters. This can kind of give you an idea of how solid the shifter feels once it’s installed.

Here are some pictures of the AxialFlow shifter installed with the OEM shifter knob and the Voodoo shifter knob.


Above: AxialFlow shifter with OEM shift knob
Below: AxialFlow shifter with Voodoo shift knob



This animated picture shows the difference in throw between 1st and 2nd gear with the AxialFlow short shifter using the OEM shift knob.



This animated picture shows the difference in throw between 1st and 2nd gear with the AxialFlow short shifter using the Voodoo shift knob.



Now lets compare this AxialFlow short shifter to the C's Style short shifter.



Above: C's Style shifter with OEM shift knob in neutral.
Below: C's Style shifter with Voodoo shift knob in neutral.



This animated picture shows the difference in throw between 1st and 2nd gear with the C's Style short shifter using the OEM shift knob.



This animated picture shows the difference in throw between 1st and 2nd gear with the C's Style short shifter using the Voodoo shift knob.



Now, for all you stock shifter guys and gals. This is what yours looks like...



Above: Stock shifter with OEM shift knob in neutral.
Below: Stock shifter with Voodoo shift knob in neutral.



This animated picture shows the difference in throw between 1st and 2nd gear with the Stock shifter using the OEM shift knob.



This animated picture shows the difference in throw between 1st and 2nd gear with the Stock shifter using the Voodoo shift knob.



Now it's time for some impressions of the AxialFlow short shifter:

- The height.
This shifter significantly lowers the height of the shift knob and when coupled with a countersunk shift knob like the Voodoo, the shifter can be REALLY low. However, if you do not like this, you can run the car with the OEM shift knob for a great shifter height. The Voodoo height has definitely grown on me though. I’ve driven the car with the C’s Style short shifter (same stock height) and the Stock shifter, and both of those seem to have the shifter placed way to high IMO.

- The FEEL!
This is one of the harder things to explain. The feel of the AxialFlow shifter is AMAZING. It’s like you can feel all the synchronizers working inside the gear box, which gives you this great feeling of confidence when you shift. This is the way the shifter should have come from the factory! Going back to the Stock shifter (and even the C’s Style), you will feel very disconnected with the shifts. Going into reverse was a little tight at the beginning, but after a few short drives, the AxialFlow shifter slid into reverse like butter.

- The Quality.
The AxialFlow wins this one hands down. From the moment I took it out of the packaging, I could tell that it was built properly. Plus the lifetime warranty that the AxialFlow shifter comes with helps me sleep better at night.

S2000Shifter

Edit: Animated pictures not working. Working to solve to problem later.

Chow-bot

pictures work... you just have to click on them a few times.



but great write up... i need to get me one of these

S2000Shifter

FIXED!

siik_ap2

need to get this asep!!! where can i find one?

Vik2000

Dude, big thanks for such a great review. I believe the problems many encountered with Axial Flow was buzzing sound. Did you experience this?

03BlkS2k

great write up.......... i've been thinking about getting a short shifter. This probably convinced me in getting one. Thanks.

1EyedJack

Just got mine. Unfortunately I received the Mazda RX8 version by mistake.
Richard responded within an hour of my email on Saturday and I will be getting a replacement soon. I've come to find that you often learn more about a company when things don't go as planned, and I have to say that I am very pleased with
AxialFlow and their response. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from them again.

Question for S2000Shifter. Do you think that an engine torque damper and STB will improve the feel of the shifter at all?
I am considering the purchase in addition to the short shifter.

Thanks

mister x

Great review, I appreciate all the work put into the photography and animations. Regarding an ETD improving shifter feel, IMO it'll help more with clutch engagement and response.

From my experience the choice of shift knob has a lot to do with the final feel and buzz level of the AxialFlow. The two extremes I've tried are the TWM Abrams (heavy, smooth, very minimal buzz) and Mugen dildo (ultra light, very precise, pronounced buzz or rattle at certain RPMs under hard throttle). The Voodoo is a good compromise between the two. I dig the video game joystick feel and shift speed.

Richard Paul

Hey, S2000shifter, that's a great name.
Thanks for the honest back to back work you've done.
I have the same camara and I can't do that.
(As Butch says to Sundance "I can't do that, can you do that?" "Who are those guys?")

OK, you S2000 guys don't remember Butch and Sundance, all you know about is Luke and Darth baby. Well I'm better connected then you think, so there! Paul Newman could kick Darth Vaders ass in a New York second anyday. We know he could out drive him. (My son Russell will argue this but I can out drive Russ in the same New York second)

1eyedjack, (another cool name) strange thing that; as I contacted all the other buyers on that same day and no Mazda owners got a Honda shifter???
I packaged up a shifter for you already as I was in the shop today for something else. Best not to take a chance since there are only 4 or 5 rubber boots left.
It may still be that someone bought a shifter for Xmas and their loved one is going to get big supprise Xmas morning. Sorry about that, hope they don't have their Rx8 apart before they notice. Good to have practice anyway, right.