Best way to adjust Grazianno shift cables?

[Dan Carter]

I have a whopping 40 miles on the car. I’m struggling with getting into first and second on a downshift. Up shifts are fine. I have the old shifter so when I set my cables on the shifter arms of the Graz, I set the shifter in as neutral a position as it would allow and the transmission in neutral then adjusted the cables to fit their respective mount points on the gear arms of the Graz.

Since the pattern is so tight, there must be a more precise adjustment I don’t see. So what have you guys done?

Thanks

Dan

 

[Cam]

What do you think the issue is - are you over-traveling to the left when downshifting into 2nd? I have heard some guys fabricate a plate that coincides with the 1-2 gates. It’s primarily meant to prevent accidental movement into reverse but having a positive stop could help solve your issue.

 

[Dan Carter]

I recall a few building that stop. I’m not certain which end it is but still wonder if there is setup sensitivity between the shifter and the Graz. What tells us we have a precise alignment?

 

[Cam]

Dan - the stock shifter has no feature built into it to determine alignment - the whole thing basically just floats and you need to figure alignment out by feel.

Your complaint is that the pattern is "tight". I think, by that, you mean that the spacing between 1/3/5 are really close and it can be difficult to tell if you're pushing into 1 or 3, or 3 or 5? I'm not sure you can improve that by playing with the cables. That's more a function of pivot ratio vs push/pull distance. IIRC the left/right motion on the stick works through a set of linkages that then converts to a push/pull on the cable. You'd want to adjust those links (I don't recall if that's even possible) to get less push/pull action for a given left/right motion. The risk of doing this (if it's possible) is you may run out of motion capability before you're able to engage 5/6 and reverse.

 

[Shane]

If this is only an issue on downshifts, it sounds to me like this is more of a synchro issue than a linkage issue......which may be just a matter of a break-in period or gear lube choice.

 

[PeteB]

With the stock shifter, getting into 2nd gear sucks. I spent hours adjusting the cables and never got it any better.

 

[Dan Carter]

Cam you may be right. As the car warms up it gets easier, and I am still getting more familiar with the pattern. You are correct in my use of “tight”. The “slots” are so close it’s easy to miss. I found Dave Forsters (2016) solution but I thought some one else also found a mod to the stock shifter. I have searched and still haven’t found that other builders mod.

 

[Cam]

When I was in my go-kart phase I had the stock shifter installed. I spent a lot of time trying to dial in the position and throw but I occasionally went into 2nd from 3rd when I had meant to go into 4th. And that was with me sitting there and somewhat focused on the shifter. I was pretty convinced I was going to money shift into 2nd in a street/track scenario so that convinced me I needed to incorporate the gated shifter. Cheap insurance when weighed against a blown engine.

Not sure what your setup is like under the console you have but you may be able to incorporate the RCR gated shifter. It’s more compact than the Audi unit I have. Effortless shifting will make the driving experience so much more enjoyable and less stressful - there’s already so much you’re processing when you’re in the car. Now that they’re out in the wild I’m sure you could pick one up if that’s the direction you wanted to go.