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The GFB shifter allows us to dial all of this in to our liking and the best part is that on the Subaru, the short shifter install can be completed within the comfort of the passenger cabin without accessing the underside of the car. When you look at the GFB short shifter it is evident from the packaging alone that these guys thought of everything! Included are all of the necessary items and a very handy reverse cable removal and installation tool.
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Yes, they actually took the time to CNC a tool and pins to assist with the installation and removal of the OEM reverse cable drift pin. This is essential as it is no easy feat to work with this cable and with their tool it really is a breeze! We have chosen to use two different shift knobs. In the summer we top the GFB short shifter with the OEM STi titanium knob, in the winter we use the Kartboy Delrin knob to avoid completely frozen digits.
To adjust the throw one simply loosens the hex bolt and slides the center pivot point up or down. The triangular brackets with the three holes allow you to choose the fulcrum point to eliminate or reduce binding. This allows you to reduce the throw without increasing the effort required to shift gears. There is a more firm feeling to be sure but it simply feels like a better version of an OEM gearbox. We are super excited about how everything feels with the addition of these components. Having been in many other cars with short shifters this is a completely different experience! It is not notch or hard to get in gear, it is simply firm and direct. It reminds me of our Autocross BRZ in terms of direct feeling and ease of finding gears.
As a follow up to other products that have been installed on the car we would like to comment on how they have performed long term. It's easy to install parts, make power, and then forget all about follow up, but on a car that lives in the literal buckle on the rust belt longevity is important! Salt, freezing conditions, snow, ice, rain, heat, our parts experience it all and so we should talk about how things are holding up! First let us discuss the area that suffers the most abuse, the undercarriage. Our Cobb Downpipe and exhaust have taken a beating on our roads and we took some extra time to pull them out to inspect them. The downpipe has held up amazingly well as has the heat shield! Yes they get dirty but with a quick spray of our favorite lubricant they polish right up and show off that nice gold tone that heat cycled stainless is known for even after over a year of salt, grime, and racing abuse. In addition the exhaust piping as well as the muffler look much the same as the downpipe. Certainly they suffer scrapes and some stains from road abuse and tar, however they clean up quite well and are showing no signs of corrosion at weld or bend points and even the hangers are flawless.
After a year of use the muffler still looks blangin'. To clean we simply use our favorite Mustang brand spray lubricant (think WD/40) abd wipe it down with a microfiber towel. It offers some nice protection and removes just about any grime from the stainless. More than a year of use through winter salt and grime and we are VERY pleased with how it has lasted thus far. In addition the M7 suspension is holding up nicely as well. Just a quick wipe down and it all looks very close to the day we installed it. Of course we do take good care of the vehicle which includes quarterly cleaning of these components, however it is nice to know that no matter where you live the components that we have selected can stand up to the environment.
For now we leave you with a parting shot of the STi with a teaser for our next installment peaking behind the front facia… Improvements in cooling and fueling are coming and so is a GTX turbo!
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