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As I have posted elsewhere, last year LotusBits replaced the Getrag 235/5 gearbox in my GT with a Toyota W58 gearbox out of a Lotus Excel. I am very happy with the ratios of the new gearbox, particularly the proper overdrive 5th gear which reduces engine rpm significantly during motorway cruising.
I have found, however, that the W58 gearbox itself is quite a lot noisier than the Getrag - there is a mechanical whirring noise in all gears, which becomes a harsh rattle when I come off the gas in 4th and 5th. I spoke to Mike Taylor about this and he said the W58 gearbox is generally quite noisy, and that the noise is amplfied by the shifter, which he had to replace when he installed the gearbox in my GT.
The standard Lotus Excel shifter is shown in the image above. It is turret-mounted on the gearbox (as opposed to the later tripod mounted shifters which tend to have the steel sandwich plate, as shown in the image below) and the lever itself is straight with no dogleg. The shifter itself is 2-piece and quite wide, with the wider upper part incorporating an anti-vibration damper.
Mike found that the standard shifter was too wide and not angled sufficiently far back. As a result it was fouling the aperture in the centre console of my GT, so it was replaced with a length of M10 steel rod into which Mike introduced a dogleg to give the required clearance within the centre console aperture.
I've done some research on Toyota Supra / Celica drifting forums, and it seems that the W58 gearbox can indeed be quite noisy, especially if a short throw shifter without the anti-vibration damper is fitted.
Based on this research, I think a short throw shifter which retains the anti-vibration damper and has a dogleg to the rear might a) fit my GT and potentially b) reduce gearbox noise levels. A shifter which fits the bill is made by a chap in the US called Jim King and is sold via SupraSport and Raptor Racing (http://suprasport.com/Quick-Short-Sport-Shifter-V3_p_176.html and http://raptorracing.com/toyota-mkii-supra/mk2-drivetrain/s3-v2-shifter-for-w58-and-r154?cPath=163_16_41&).
Has anyone here fitted a short throw shifter to their W58 gearbox? Any other ideas for reducing noise levels?
Any advice gratefully received.
Best wishes,
Nigel
Last edited on 08-15-2017 07:48 pm by NigelK