Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter Installed and Feels Awesome!
The week before we ran our new best Derek somehow missed 2nd gear not once but twice in the same night. Derek didn’t notice anything different with the car but for some reason had a hard time finding the gear that night. After that we felt it necessary to ditch the stock shifter for a better performing aftermarket piece. ( I’ll note that I was personally impressed with the way the stock shifter and transmission felt as it was definitely the smoothest shifting mustang I had ever been in. Going from an 03 Cobra T-56 to the new GT500 TR-6060 it’s a night and day difference.)
Onto the shifter we called upon our good friend Scott Boda from Steeda Autosports. Steeda has been making the very well known and top performing Tri-Ax shifter for years so we figured it would be a no brainer to use one on our GT500. Scott hooked it up and had a shifter at our door the next day.
My initial impression when I drove the car for the first time with the Tri-ax was just what I thought. There was no more slop and selecting gears was much more precise. The throw of the Tri-Ax was much shorter than the stock shifter. During a slow cruise I was definitely impressed with how the shifter felt and knew it would show it’s positive characteristics at the track.
Note: The Tri-Ax shifter does transmit some drivetrain noise over the stock shifter. It is noticeable but is in no way overbearing or annoying. The increased noise is due to the design of the aftermarket billet shifter which remove the stock rubber bushings and mounting positions. That’s why shifting is improved so much with the aftermarket shifter as there’s just too much flex with the stock shifter due to all the rubber bushings and mounts.
The next test was the track. We took the car out to the first Mustang Challenge event of 2008 at Moroso Motorsports Park. This time we had our good friend Jeremy Martorella from UPR Products with us. Jeremy has driven our car down the track several times before so we knew he would be able to give us a good comparison on how the shifter felt compared to the stock one. The night went very well for us running consistent 1.75 60ft’s and 7.58 1/8th mile runs. Our best of the evening was an impressive 1.73 60ft with a 7.53 1/8th. No doubt this was the best performance we’ve seen so far from our 08′ GT500.
After the night came to an end we asked Jeremy what he thought about the Steeda Tri-Ax and just like I mentioned earlier he confirmed that it felt great. He mentioned that there was no more slop while the car was in gear and that hitting gears was much more precise. He also noted that the throw on the shifter helped him to hit the gears much quicker and gave him a lot more confidence to shift faster. Throughout the entire evening Jeremy didn’t miss a gear at all. Mission Accomplished!!
To sum it all up we are very impressed with the Steeda Tri-Ax shifter for the GT500. For any GT500 owner that’s looking for a better performing shifter we definitely suggest the Tri-Ax. It not only feels great on the street cruising but performs great at the track. We know as we continue our build and our quest for quicker track times the Tri-Ax will play a large role as quick and precise shifting of the car is imperative to lower ET’s.
A big thanks goes out to Scott Boda and Steeda Autosports for taking an interest in and contributing to our GT500 project car. We really appreciate the support!
Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter for the GT500
Removal of the stock shifter
We first started by putting the car on a lift. This gave us a lot better access to the underside of the car. Before raising the car we unscrewed the shift knob by turning it counterclockwise. After the knob was removed we also took off the leather boot that houses the stock shifter handle.
Next step was to remove the 2 bolts that keep the shifter handle connected to the shift lever.
We then removed the insulation material at the base of the shift lever as well as the rectangular steel plate and boot.
The next step was to loosen and remove the driveshaft. So we raised the car and removed the 4 bolts that connect the driveshaft to the flange as well as the bolts at the driveshaft center mount. We made sure to mark the shaft and the flange so that when we reinstall the driveshaft all of the bolts would go into the same holes they were removed from. This is very important as if you neglect this process you may cause the driveshaft to be out of balance and vibrate while driving.
The next step was to remove the nut that secures the factory shift rod to the shift lever. Then remove the shoulder bolt and pull the shift rod out of the way.
Remove the pins that attach the shifter arms to the transmission. The pins have to be rotated up in order to release the clips before they can be pulled out.
Remove the two nuts that attach the rear shifter mount to the chassis just above the driveshaft flange on the transmission. Now the stock shifter can be removed from the car.
Installing the Steeda Tri-Ax
Remove one of the front shifter bushings from the OE shifter arm for use on the Steeda shifter arm. Press the rubber bushing into the Steeda shifter first then press in the white nylon tube.
Attach the arm of the shifter to the base with the provided Socket Head Cap Screws.
Press the two grey bushings in the lower hole of the lever. Use the provided
Aluminum spacer to offset the bushing on the drivers side Picture 6. This will
require a small press or vice.
Assemble the rear shifter mount. Sandwich the rear hole in the shifter with the two provided urethane bushings. Then insert the flanged tube from the top with the round edge facing forward. Bolt the assembly together as shown using large washer, then the lock washer, and provided hex bolt .
Fit the new Tri-Ax shifter into the opening in the chassis and attach the transmission arm to the passenger side of the transmission using the factory pin removed.
Attach the rear of the shifter to the factory studs on the chassis using the
nuts removed.
Grease the new bushings and the shoulder bolt for the factory shift rod,
Reinstall the nut and shoulder bolt using thread locker.
From above reinstall the steel plate with rubber boot. Then place the
insulation back into position.
Install the shift handle by bolting it to the shift lever. It is recommended
that the handle be installed in the higher position for the greatest driver comfort.
For the shortest throw, install the handle in the lower position. For
Clearance purposes it is recommended that the handle be installed on the
passenger side of the shift lever offset away from the driver.
Be sure all bolts are tightened securely. Thread locking compound is
highly recommended.
Re-install the shift boot and knob. Important: Always use an anti-seize
compound on the threads when installing an aluminum shift knob onto the Steeda shift handle.
Additional Tech Tip:
Variation in the transmission height may cause the shift to be extremely tight and very difficult to move. If this is the case, use two of the four washers (shown below) between the rear of the shifter body and the chassis. If problem persists, add the second set of washers.
January 27th, 2008
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