[Tigers] Tiger Short Shifter and Alternatives

[Rense, Mark (GE, Appl & Light)]

Dr. Mayf and I  both come from the land of Science and Engineering. We could
easily establish test parameters, perform a Design of Experiments, analyze the
data and draw a conclusion that either supports or disproves the hypothesis
that was proposed: which shifter is better? That approach is used every day in
the real world. HOWEVER, driving a 50 year old sports car is not the real
world, as Jay pointed we would all be better off driving Honda Accords if
practicality was the primary objective.

Driving a vintage car is about sensations. It's about rewards that cannot be
obtained in the new car showroom. We tolerate much inconvenience to drive our
toys because we enjoy being immersed in the sensual  aura of sound, smells and
tactual feedback associate with these old crocks. We elevate the personal
reward offered by these machines above the risks and downtime required to
drive and maintain the car, so looking at "the best" way to modify a component
becomes a personal preference rather than a goal to achieve the ultimate
performance.

So, is a short shifter better or worse than a long shifter? What do you want
as part of your driving experience? In my case the Hurst is great for the car
that sees a track day now and then, I can row through the gears faster with
less concentration than with the standard shift assembly. I save precious
tenths of a second on every lap. On the other hand, the car with the stock
shifter is more comfortable, more relaxed, and feels more connected to the
soul of the beast which is what I prefer for my traveling car. Different cars,
different driving experiences, my soul, my brain.

>From looking at the recent crop of high performance cars it appears the manual
transmission is doomed, you cannot get one on many German and Italian exotics
anymore, the dual-clutch systems are faster around the track and achieve
quicker bragging-rights-driven quarter mile times. So the choice has been made
in The Real World. As for our Tigers, choose your gear lever length, rev it up
and squeal the tires as you bang through the gears, it seldom gets better than
that...

Bugz