EBay would be the knock off B&M and they did a good job of copying it. Its sold under many different names and only varies slightly. It’s probably the most popular shifter for the MR-S, not necessarily because it’s preferred over the TRD but because of cost.
There is no denying that a few hate it but it’s certainly not a shifter that was avoided as many are perfect fine with it once they give it a chance to warm up to it.
It’s probably because there was something wrong with it particularly the cables being stretched. I have driven one car with the same shifter I have and it was very notchy and hard to get into reverse. Two years ago I driven Not to old for a Spyder’s car where he had a newish transmission plus new cables and it was better than mine.
This kind of short shifter is not forgiving if your transmission is not in order. Probably the reason why some haven’t had luck with it.
The car was super low mileage and the shifter worked great with the stock case put back in. It was a pristine example, unmodified too. It wasn't notchy at all.
2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder, 2021 Lexus UX 250h F Sport
Quick question: what is the difference between a TRD 5 and 6 speed cage and shifter? I have a TRD shifter on a C66 transmission that I swapped in for my C56 years ago- is there a difference in the shifting with a 5 speed vs 6 speed TRD shifter (I couldn’t tell you if mine was designed for the 5 or 6 speed manual)?
The side to side mechanism on the cage is different, that's all. 6 speed shifter works on 5 speed but if you do 5 speed TRD shifter on 6 speed it's hard to get into reverse.
Dev I can't comment on the B&M as I've never used one. Only eBay, stock, TRD, and C's.
Thanks for the explanation- mine goes very easily into reverse, so it’s more likely I have the proper 6 speed shifter.
I drove a car with it, it was awful. hard to get into gear, vague, just awful. Dude who had it swapped back to stock after a week.
The B&M Its not for everyone. Its very aggressive and in your face, but it feels like a real short shifter for the merits and it was designed as such. There is no denying that some really hate this one and no one finds the TRD offensive, but as far as feel goes the TRD doesn't feel like a short shifter, it feels like a shifter for those that like factory shifters and thats fine also.
I just think the quality of eBay shifters varies greatly, or has dropped in recently years, and most people get the garbage ones, because everyone I've talked to with an eBay shifter hated it. And we're all rice boys that love short, notchy shifts. The TRD could be shorter IMO.
2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder, 2021 Lexus UX 250h F Sport
I just think the quality of eBay shifters varies greatly, or has dropped in recently years, and most people get the garbage ones, because everyone I've talked to with an eBay shifter hated it. And we're all rice boys that love short, notchy shifts. The TRD could be shorter IMO.
I have followed the trends for these shifters. The EBay one is the same one I have that has been sold as OBX. Fadanza, MWR and others use this shifter and not much has changed. I have also installed this shifter on three vehicles apart from my own one of which was slightly different than the EBay but it was exactly the same in feel. The owners loved it but not initially because it radically changes the shifts to what you are not use to. One was a lady who was not really into modifications but she got a free one. It didn't bother her too much and she got use to it in time. Two years ago someone got the MWR version which is the OBX and it was no different in feel to what I have which was purchased in 2004. This one felt really slick with well defined gates.
There was one guy that tried my shifter and hated it so he bought the TRD which I helped install. He seemed to love it but I could not understand why because to me it didn't feel like a short shifter but to someone else Im sure it feels great and is exactly what they were looking for.
The B&M shifter is probably the most knocked off short shifter. It is probably the most used short shifter for this car. If it sucked it would have been avoided universally a long time ago but many do like it or at the least don't hate it to go back to stock but some due and thats fine also. There are some products that just suck and either don't sell or is rejected universally, the B&M shifter is not one of those products, its more of a preference.
Its one of those things that either you hate it or love it and its not for everyone because some people like the idea of a short shifter more than the actual experience. This hold true for engine mounts, suspension and other modifications where you have to give up something to get something. For me those drawbacks disappear and I no longer notice them but for others it can be a annoying. I have driven a few cars with gated shifters and they can be even more difficult to warm up to than the B&M.
The TRD shifter seems like to me to be a short shifter for people who hate short shifters and its quiet obvious that it's the least short of all the available options being closest to stock.
Hmmm.... I think this is gonna bother me. Might try to bend mine.
i finally got to drive the car today... i have to admit i like the way it feels... not notchy at all, and clicks right in nice and tight... the bend takes some getting used to... at times shifting into 3rd felt like 5th because of the position... looks like someone on SC already bent theirs... did you try yet?
I think its very possible that you can get the stock shifter to shift close to the C shifter by doing this modification and not have that slant or the extra height.
I just think the quality of eBay shifters varies greatly, or has dropped in recently years, and most people get the garbage ones, because everyone I've talked to with an eBay shifter hated it. And we're all rice boys that love short, notchy shifts. The TRD could be shorter IMO.
I have an ebay shifter from 9 years ago. Quality is good, and I love the feel.. Then again, this was at the prime of the Spyder, so quality was probably more consistent because of the quantity being made.
Or a BFP (big pole) in my case. Bent the SK shifter on one of its axes so that the its still bent toward the rear of the car (preferred) but not toward the driver
![IMG 6470[1]](https://www.mr2-spyder.com/wp-content/uploads/wpforo/attachments/3/172-IMG64701.JPG "IMG 6470[1]")
