I need to get a stick shifter for me new ride .so whats out there ?
and what do you get for your $

I guess personal tastes can dictate which shifters people believe are "the best".

I have always run a Berg shifter and cannot complain at all - I bought it years ago so can't recall cost but I think I will always run one no matter which vw I drive. There are cheaper alternatives out there which I am sure will suffice, but it depends on personal taste as some people may hate the berg shifters.

Put a Berg shifter in the bus and it is really good. Personal preference - we love it. The price was very expensive, but cannot find any negatives in regards to performance, feel or look. End of the day our choice won out.

i have a scat in my bus and love it
much better than the empi one i had once IMO

I too have been shifting with a Berg shiftr for a few years now.An old friend who has driven many bugs recently drive ours and commented right away about how short and sharp the gearchange is.Yeah they are expensive.Worth it?Hell yeah!

berg are nice - scat are equally as nice for the $ - the old flat 4 ones with the wooden t handle can look the biz in particular rides!

dunno if its a matter of "personal taste" as such - more so of "piggy bank" size

nick

Hi

The best cheap shifter is a type 3 stick with a quick shift kit, to fit one to later bugs you need to put a slot the front of the cup in your shift rod.

Berg shifters feel nice, very positive feel, nice short throw, but I can’t understand the reasoning for the T bar handle. Your either encouraged to leave your hand on the shifter or place your hand in the same spot all the time, no matter what gear your selecting.

I personally prefer a shifter a round or golf club shaped knob and use it like this,
1st gear I push it in with the cup of my palm on the rear of the knob
2nd gear I pull it back with the cup of my palm on top of the knob with fingers resting across the front of the knob and my thumb is pointing down.
3rd I push with the cup of palm on the left side of the knob, fingers resting around the front of the knob, thumb pointing to the front of the car, I use the same technique going into 4th but I tighten my finger grip slightly.

Maybe the T handle is a drag racing thing, its useful for drag racing as your only going up the gears and as drag racing has little in common with driving on the street, I prefer my gear knob to be round.

Steve

good input steve

I gotta get my wife to read this. She is of the impression that taking off at the lights is entirely a drag race and is always telling me what cars she has blown away at the lights.

I run a Berg shifter and have not been disappointed with spending the money on it..... one of those purchases that I definitely don't regret.

But I have not tried any others either.... except for the stock one, then a stock one with a quick shift, then a home made one to get rid of the flex in the stock shaft with a quick shift...... :duh

[ Edited on 19-6-2006 by 063bug ]

had a quickshift and loved it. $15 it cost me.

A quick shift kit will do...

Leave the berg for where it belongs.

I have used a Type 3 for years no problems Stock is best

no pins to fall out of the mechanism

I've run most of the shifters and quik shift kits in cars over the years... And the BERG is the best bar none (Ive had mine for nearly 10 years now!). Sure its a little pricey, but it is still the best shifting devise I have ever had in any car!.... The T handle is a hangover from the US' love of Automatic cars.... I asked Gary Berg about that years ago and he said the US market had a problem with the ball shifter... It just didnt sell like the T handle one.... And yes, the BERGs use to make a ball shifter version way back in the day.... There is also a new range on the market made CSP... they look nice in the advert, but I haven't actually seen one yet and have not heard any reports about them yet either... But if the quality is half as good as the rest of their product is should be pretty good!

http://www.csp-shifter.com/shifter.php?wkid=5299555479&sprache=en&shop=shop2 

Just checked on the prices.... the BERG's shifters are cheaper than the CSP's!!!

[ Edited on 20-6-2006 by humpty ]

You can actually order the shifter with words of your choice instead of "GENE BERG"

I never really liked that 'feature'!.... Infact.... I would prefer the old cast 'GENE BERG' logo.... the one they offer as standard now looks a little cheap IMHO! And the handle does not fit the hand as nicely.... Im gonna mdify my handle to look more tlike the old style shifter handle....

Gene Berg shifter in a bus.

I would have thought the reason it has a T handle is so that it doesn’t slip out of your fire proof glove when drag racing.