I don't post on here very often but I felt like this needed to be posted. I know alot of you would suggest the B&M short shifter when some one asks what a good shifter for their car would be. Now I know B&M is a good brand and makes nice shifters but their cav/fire shifter varies between $150(at the cheapest IMO)-$200 and no I'm not including eBay because I personally hate eBay and feel that Id rather buy my parts brand new. So I've come across another shifter thats almost more then half the price of a B&M and is practically the same thing. I'm talking about the Ralco Rz shifter which cost me 75 shipped. Now I know alot of you will say " well you get what you pay for, and stick with a brand people trust etc etc etc" well I just got my shifter and I must say this thing is a beast and not to mention the customer service was one of the best Ive dealt with in a long while and the shipping was cheap, fast, and legit. They use FedEx ground but they have other options as well. Why am I talking about all of this? Well simply because I want other J body owners out there to know they have other legit options then just the B&M. This is not meant to stear business away from B&M at all but just to let others know there are more options. I want to note that the knob they give you has some good weight to it which is great for obvious reasons and that not only can you just simply remove the reverse lockout collar but you can "unscrew" the 3 screws holding the part that actually locks out the reverse gear which means that even if you don't want reverse lockout you can still use their knob and keep the collar on there for the "look". Heres some pics of my shifter after just receiving it from the FedEx guy. Please note that in the pics the shifter is just in the box. It actually comes wrapped in a plastic bag wrapped in bubble wrap.























I'll post more pics once I get the shifter installed as soon as I get my car back from the body shop hopefully later today.



CarDomain: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3828276

Looks pretty good,, Measure the throw 1st to 2nd, before and after the install and also put it in neutral and measure left to right/side to side..

Looks great. I hope it works out well for ya!

yea same here just waiting to get my car back from the shop and its going right in.



CarDomain: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3828276

I was actually thinking about getting one of these nice write up tell me how it is



Mods: Synapse Charge Piping, Short Throw, Bad-Mab Dp, Dejon Intake, BYT Tuned!
Parts For SALE! Pacesetter Header(ECO),17'in Resonator, Alternator, Starter, Viper Alarm.

Ok well I finally got my car back and I installed it. For the most part its pretty amazing. The throw is definitely shorter alot shorter actually IMO. The only issue I have is the fact that First Gear gets stuck from time to time and you really gotta "get it" in gear wear as the rest of the gears go in amazing. So it turns out the problem is you have to trim some plastic off the shifter base itself to allow a little more clearance for the shifter cable to go in more smoothly but I am gonna do that tomorrow when I take the car apart again. Other then that it works great and definitely improves the feel of shifting from gear to gear it just kinda throws itself into gear lol. Any who this is a great shifter for the price. By the way it looks great too! heres a couple of pics of the install and before and after videos.















Before Video:
View My Video

After Video:
View My Video



CarDomain: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3828276

......Nice !!! Waiting also..patiently...Looking to get a Ralco or the B&M...Ralco is most likely the choice.....




2003 Cavalier
Stock 2.2 Liter, 5 speed
" Leave the rice to Uncle Ben's and the wings to KFC..
Go clean or go home. "

dumb question... is that stock jbody shift base?


<img src="http://www.majhost.com/gallery/HCAJosh/crap/shooshined.jpg">
- putting the pieces back together -

Josh Watson wrote:dumb question... is that stock jbody shift base?

I believe so..



CarDomain: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3828276

Yes, it is.

whats that blue piece used for?

WildCard wrote:whats that blue piece used for?

It replaces the plastic pivot pin that you have to break in order to even get it out to allow the stock shifter to come out. Its an upgrade becasue its made of solid aluminum or other metal where as the stock pin is hollow and plastic.



CarDomain: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3828276

o thats rather nifty, i was able to get mine in/out tho w/o breaking that pivot pin. looks like a nice find

bump.

do i need the lockout collar? if so how do i get it to stay in place for the ralco? it came with a small pin and i can see the hole on the shaft as well...it just does not seem to quite fit...

02-Fox wrote:bump.

do i need the lockout collar? if so how do i get it to stay in place for the ralco? it came with a small pin and i can see the hole on the shaft as well...it just does not seem to quite fit...

Make it fit

Works for me every time

good advice Mike...lol
everything is installed with my shifter minus that part and if anyone knows if i NEED the reverse lockout collar on there or not let me know...its on there but is not set in place in any form...reverse is REALLY hard to get into...i have to throw it hard to the right and pull down...lol any tips with this would be appreciated...other than that it feels great!

Hmm... I have the exact same one but it's not ralco.. It never came branded or anything.. I got mine on eBay for lime 50$.. Does yours seem to be loose in the shifter base? I get the same issue with 1st gear but I've just grown used to it but mine seems like the ball in the middle is quite a bit smaller than the opening it sits in



www.driftnamiperformance.com

Even the stock shifter has a smaller ball than the pivot cup it sits in...it just wears out cuase its plastic...

my new one feels great compared to the stock one...it just has a little wobble in 1st gear (as did the stock one)

i'll get a quick video to show, i'm talking like mine wobbles a good inch or more to one side, to the point that when i had my 2-12" subs in the car the shifter would wobble through certain tones..



www.driftnamiperformance.com

yeah, same here...no subs yet...but i can move it to the left more than i should.

Steve-O wrote:i'll get a quick video to show, i'm talking like mine wobbles a good inch or more to one side, to the point that when i had my 2-12" subs in the car the shifter would wobble through certain tones..

My B&M wobbles pretty bad like that as well. Has since the day I installed it. Has about 3/4" of play in it.

The plastic cup is wore out.(the thing the lower shifter ball sits in).
Mine is rather loose also.



13.520 @ 98mph! 220whp 234tq

Same here with the play. Have a Fidanza one myself but very similar design if not the same.

That blue pivot that you use to lock in the shifter, what did you guys use to lock it in on the inside?
I made a clip since mine never came with anything.

Me too I used hay bail wire.



13.520 @ 98mph! 220whp 234tq

Spalattero wrote:Same here with the play. Have a Fidanza one myself but very similar design if not the same.

That blue pivot that you use to lock in the shifter, what did you guys use to lock it in on the inside?
I made a clip since mine never came with anything.

umm...i just put the blue piece in...no clips to be found as far as i know...i have a few parts that i had no clue where to put...but...um....its staying in fine so far...lol
(damn it now i have to go check...)