EVO IX - Raising the shifter cage

So a little update. I’ve been meaning to raise the shifter cage for a little while & thought I’d have a crack.

Here's the finished job

There a few how to’s on this out there but none are very specific. So I took my time & I think it has come out alright. Well, the position is great & it drives good and I managed to keep the centre consol so i'm happy.

I started by disconnecting the battery as I knew there’s some harnesses under there that need to be moved.

I wasn’t sure on how high to go but knew I wanted to go up at least 50mm & get as close to 75mm as I could.

I knew I needed some round tube so I grabbed some 19mm galvanised steel tube as the diameter is spot on for the washers.

The oem bolts are m8 & 30mm. The base that the cage bolts to is raised slightly so the thread can go through by up to 20mm.

I grabbed some 100mm m8 steel bolts.

I removed the consul & unbolted the cage. Only 4 bolts there so easy enough. The cage can then be moved to the side to get the SRS controller out, yellow plug & sticker, as the shifter cables will need to go over the top when finished.

Just 4 bolts holding that in. You could unplug it but I decided not to.

 I unplugged the loom in front and the 2 plugs above for better access though.

So I cut four 75mm lengths of tube, filed them square and sat them under the cage. It felt great, I couldn’t move the lever yet as its not bolted down but the position to the steering wheel is ideal for its purpose. It could actually go up another 25mm and still be comfortable.

So I put the bolts in and I cant get a thread. The Torque solution shifter base bushings are quite thick & im using washers to protect them and spring washers to keep the new bolts in place.

The bolt isn’t far from the thread though. So I go searching for some 120mm m8 bolts and I cant find any on the weekend??? So I decide to cut down the tubes to 65mm and get the job done. I’ll drive it at this height and may change it later.

So it’s a fair job to get the tube, washers & bushes all lined up so the bushes go in the groove in the cage. So I improvise and use some masking tape to hold it all together, it works well.

So I just put them all in place and place the cage back over top. Put washers and spring washers on the new bolts and screw them down by hand.

The one closest to the dash, pas side is a bit of a prick so I pull the shifter cable off to get better access. The shifter cable just slides off but be careful to not unscrew it as it has a thread in there for adjustment.

So once I have 2 bolts in I check to see if it shifts ok & the feel. Feels great no problem so put the other bolts in.

The SRS controller with the yellow harness can go back in also. It needs to go in horizontal from the start to get it to line up. Its tight but it does go in and bolts back where it was before. If you were to go any higher with the cage you could just flip this over so it doesn’t foul the shifter cables. The shifter cables are just sitting on top where it is now.

So on to fitting the consul. I trim the top piece in the pic as it hits hard up against the bottom of the dash.

I also cut out about 20mm from the underside of the consul as this reinforcement is sitting on top of the cables. Much better fit but i'll cut back another 20-25mm from the very top to get it to sit further under the dash and that will help the rear come down so i can use the arm rest part of the consul too.

So now its back in i just row through the gears to see if the cables or shifter is moving the consul. There's minimal movement so i'm ok with that. I use an old piece of black cardboard and tape that where the ashtray was and reinstall the 12v socket.

I can use the original points to secure the front of the consul but the rear is higher so i wont worry about that.

I fit the armrest and notice the handbrake, when off, sits just up against the consul but the light isnt activated so no problem. If you only raise the cage 50-55mm you will be fine with all this clearance.

I notice the clips that hold the rear consul to the front, stop the rear piece from coming 10mm forward and this is activating the handbrake light. I'll just trim these off and it'll be a good fit.

Cheers

Update 31/08/14
So as mentioned above the handbrake when off just hits the front consul, enough to give me the shits. So what I've done is use some of the left over 19mm tube and cut a piece 15mm to raise the handbrake lever.

The handbrake lever is easily removed with only 3 m8 bolts holding it in. I decided that if i raised the whole lever then i would have to adjust the handbrake as it had too much tension on the cable. So the best way to modify it was just to raise the front of it.
So 15mm seemed great and it was like stock again. I had to space up, the foot closest to drivers side, with 3 washers to keep the handbrake lever from tilting over towards the drivers chair too much and i used 2 longer 35mm m8 bolts to bolt the lever back down to the floor.
Job done.

Took the car for a long drive today and raising the shifter is one of the best mods I've done. It feels great and the more i drive it the better it feels. I dont think it needs to be moved up at all, so i'll track it a few times and make a decision on this again at a later date.
If you haven't done this already, get on to it. You wont regret it!