MTEC Industries Shift Springs

trustdestruction

Well-Known Member
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Tampa, FL
Got some MTEC Industries "Sport" shift springs for my Si. It really tightened up the left-right play in the shifter and made it a lot more precise. No more shifting into the wrong gear because the stock shifter is so loose. I didn't get the race springs because I didn't want to make the shifter uncomfortable and I wasn't going to take the chance on that.

That being said, the installation was kind of a pain. The allen bolt on the transmission is extremely tight and there isn't much room to work with. To top it all off, the shifter mechanism fell apart when I took everything apart. It was difficult, but I got it put back together and was able to finally reinstall the parts. At $39.xx after shipping, I really recommend this upgrade. Reminds me a lot of the effect you get from replacing the shift linkage bushings on older Civics with Energy Suspension polyurethane, but possibly even better.

New springs:
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Disassembling:

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Reassembling:

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Very nice. I was actually looking into this. You should've gotten cable bushings too. Lol. You'll like that mod as well.
 
Oh man, that sounds so much easier than this mod. I may do it.
If you're planning on getting the Corsport ones, I'd suggest to sand the inside smooth and lube before putting the bushings. It will be a tight fit and can get a bit frustrating. Lol.
 
I decided on getting the Hybrid Racing shifter cable bushings. They have the spherical bearing instead of solid aluminum, which is supposed to relieve stress on the cables. Hybrid Racing claims that the 2 degrees of freedom are necessary, which is why Honda used rubber. Thinking about it, I can see how mechanically that would make a big difference. I don't feel like the o-rings on the K-tuned shifter cable bushings will provide adequate freedom either, and definitely not on the Corsport ones. Spherical bearing seems to be the perfect solution. 2-degrees of freedom so it can pivot, but no play from soft materials like rubber.

I'm also going to do the Hybrid Racing base bushings (looks to be polyurethane instead of the solid aluminum corsport ones... I think if it were supposed to be solid metal, Honda wouldn't have used bushings) and i'm considering doing the MTEC pivot ball. The only thing about it is they do not claim it fits the Civic. But after looking at the short shifter DIY on this forum, the part looks exactly the same and i'm willing to risk the $13 to find out. I'll have to get in there to do the base bushings anyway. I'd like to get the spring and pivot ball set that K-Tuned sells; it looks like our spring is the same shape, but 1 coil wider than the one for the RSX, so that's a no-go.
 
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I decided on getting the Hybrid Racing shifter cable bushings. They have the spherical bearing instead of solid aluminum, which is supposed to relieve stress on the cables. Hybrid Racing claims that the 2 degrees of freedom are necessary, which is why Honda used rubber. Thinking about it, I can see how mechanically that would make a big difference. I don't feel like the o-rings on the Corsport bushings will provide adequate freedom. Spherical bearing seems to be the perfect solution. 2-degrees of freedom so it can pivot, but no play from soft materials like rubber.

I'm also going to do the Hybrid Racing base bushings (looks to be polyurethane instead of the solid aluminum corsport ones... I think if it were supposed to be solid metal, Honda wouldn't have used bushings) and i'm considering doing the MTEC pivot ball. The only thing about it is they do not claim it fits the Civic. But after looking at the short shifter DIY on this forum, the part looks exactly the same and i'm willing to risk the $13 to find out. I'll have to get in there to do the base bushings anyway. I'd like to get the spring and pivot ball set that K-Tuned sells; it looks like our spring is the same shape, but 1 coil wider than the one for the RSX, so that's a no-go.

I have decided I wanted the Hybrid Racing cable bushings over CorSport also, but haven't been ready to shell out the money for them.

I would recommend the aluminum base bushings over the rubber. Otherwise, you will still get some play in the shifter housing. I am sure Honda used rubber purely for cost savings. Granted, the polyurethane will not give as much as the stock rubber, but will still give as opposed aluminum.
 
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I would recommend the aluminum base bushings over the rubber. Otherwise, you will still get some play in the shifter housing. I am sure Honda used rubber purely for cost savings. Granted, the polyurethane will not give as much as the stock rubber, but will still give as opposed aluminum.
Yeah, I agree that Honda uses rubber for cost savings, but my point is why did Honda even put bushings there at all? My guess is to relieve stress on the mounting points of the plastic shifter box. If they weren't necessary for some reason, they would have just bolted the shifter box onto the bracket, no bushings involved, resulting in more cost savings.

I think the polyurethane may provide the best of both worlds. Limited play, but relieved stress on the shifter box's plastic.
 
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Yeah, I agree that Honda uses rubber for cost savings, but my point is why did Honda even put bushings there at all? My guess is to relieve stress on the mounting points of the plastic shifter box. If they weren't necessary for some reason, they would have just bolted the shifter box onto the bracket, no bushings involved, resulting in more cost savings.

I think the polyurethane may provide the best of both worlds. Limited play, but relieved stress on the shifter box's plastic.

If the springs have already limited the left to right play, the poly may be the best route to go without running the risk of tightening up things too much. If I were to ever replace the springs, I would probably go the same route. However, if the springs are not replaced, I would probably still recommend the aluminum base bushings.
 
If the springs have already limited the left to right play, the poly may be the best route to go without running the risk of tightening up things too much. If I were to ever replace the springs, I would probably go the same route. However, if the springs are not replaced, I would probably still recommend the aluminum base bushings.
I didn't consider that. I agree.
 
Ordered Hybrid Racing Shift Cable Bushings and Base Bushings. Waiting on the MTEC pivot ball until I get an email back from MTEC; checked to see if they know if it fits or not... if they don't know, then I hope they'll just send me it and I'll confirm for them. It's only $13.
 
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Out of curiosity, does anyone know if these, or similar K-series, transmission springs fit on the R-series? I have an opportunity to get a set for free but will decline if they've been tested.
 
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out of curiosity, does anyone know if these, or similar k-series, transmission springs fit on the r-series? i have an opportunity to get a set for free but will decline if they've been tested.

I highly doubt it. I'll check around.
 
I highly doubt it. I'll check around.

I was told if the gear selector looks identical, there's a good chance they'll fit. after looking at the above pictures, the gear selectors to be different. I've been searching though 8th civic but haven't found anything yet.
 
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I've checked out the main website. It specifically said 'All K-Series Manual Trans'.

http://www.mtecind.com/store/

It probably wouldn't fit the R18 bc of the 5-speed transmission. That's my only guess.
 
I'm installing this now and could use some help. I can't figure out how to get that assembly off the transmission. I took off 4 bolts, and unhooked the cables. I don't see anything else that looks like it's holding it down, but the thing won't budge. What am I missing?
 
I think it might be this "interlock" bolt (3). But it's really in there good. Can anyone confirm?
TS84M1600A.gif
 
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I can't personally confirm for this particular transmission, but I know on other transmissions if you don't remove the interlock you cant remove the mechanism. On my old D series transmission it was the first bolt you had to remove. From the diagram it looks like it goes into the slit in the mechanism and this would presumably keep you from removing the mechanism. Get a good strong allen key or allen socket would be better and go slowly. you don't want to risk rounding the bolt out.
 
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