RTD - REVO1 LOCKOUT Short Shifter

[ANILE8]

This has been a long time in the waiting department. The shifter to end all shifters for our cars is here!

I believe I have found the perfect shifter with RTD's new REVO1. It was just released in late 2018 and I understand this to be a World first and patent pending design.

https://rtd-motorsports.com/product/...short-shifter/

I have been searching for the ultimate race short shifter with adjustable side stops and have extensively researched CAE, IRP, Samsonas, and others.

However, the deal breaker was always the cutting of the factory trim and the out of place looks with all of them compared to a more discrete solution that had been properly engineered for our cars. Instead of a race part shoehorned into a butchered interior. Some might not care and if this is not an issue for you that is fine, but that had always held me back from making the move.

AutoSolutions, BW, AKG and similar setups where never on the radar for me as they do not offer any lockout function or adjustable side stops for 1-2 and 5-6 gears which were key factors for me.






I did also install an AKG DSSR with the shifter. If I had to do it all over again I don't know if I would have bothered. Firstly, because the AKG DSSR securing pins are not on the correct angle as the OEM SSSR. I emailed and called AKG to informed them of this error but unfortunately, they have their head stuck so far up their own arse they could probably forecast next weeks weather! They refused to accept anything was wrong with their product or that it would not fit correctly and said I was not installing it correctly. I know of at least three other forum members who have also had issues with this exact same product and had to heat and bend it to get it to fit.

You can bend 7075-T6 alloy if you know how and are careful. Just heat it up enough (not too much) with a torch and it will bend without fracture. I just did it a little at a time until it was perfect and the gears lined up. Without doing this, 1st gear is where 3rd gear should be. Everything basically moves across one full gate. The quality of the AKG DSSR is great but their customer service and corporate culture blows.





The shifter had to be mounted in the reverse orientation to what is normally considered the right way but it doesn't matter in the slightest as the shifter is a completely symmetrical design in its operation. The trick to getting the factory boot cover to fit and clear the switchgear for emergency lights and door lock control is to mount the shifter far enough forward that it clears without issue. The shifter when in neutral is leaning slightly forward because of this but believe me, it is not an issue and after 10min driving, you quickly get used to it. You could mount the shifter in conventional direction or adjust the lean angle to your liking but that would necessitate a custom selector rod length as I was constrained by the switchgear in the boot cover assembly as to the location. You don't tell it, it tells you where to mount it. If you are not putting back the factory shifter boot assembly with integrated switchgear then this would not be a problem and you can adjust the lean angle by simple mounting the shifter further forward or rearward.



I ended up getting the Delrin knob so in the summertime it does not turn into a branding iron and the wintertime it is not a block of ice, I am pleased to say it feels really good. This shifter comes in two height variants. This is the race version at 360mm above the trans tunnel and the street version is 300mm high. To me, it feels the perfect height and I find myself grabbing and pushing on the front of the knob instead of holding from the top which I think is faster anyway.

Now, onto the most important stuff of how it feels. I went from a completely stock shifter to this without any intermediate upgrade so the difference as you might expect was extreme. The shift speed for me is way way faster than stock. Especially the 1-2 shifts as the stock shifter I found was very slow in this gate. Also, all other shifts are just faster and much more precise.

Ordering time was about 4-5 weeks and RTD is not the best with communications but their product is 1st class so just know what you want before ordering and save yourself some stress.

[Finnegan]

Thanks for sharing this! Good stuff!

Just to be clear, I can be thick at times, you think the stock selector rod would work well enough w/o the AKG hassles?

[Vanne]

Lol about time you pulled the trigger on something.. haha

That return spring looks pretty bloody heavy mate, mine looked about 1/2 that stength and I got the boys to pull it completely as the return on our box self centers nicely and very positively by itself.

Nice looking shifter.

with that spring you'll be looking like this soon enough...



Looks good, on the product website, I can't however see any of /your/ pics.
Congrats again one one of the best mods to do to our cars.

[ANILE8]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Thanks for sharing this! Good stuff!

Just to be clear, I can be thick at times, you think the stock selector rod would work well enough w/o the AKG hassles?

The stock SSSR would have been fine. When you take it out and play with it you can feel how rigid and strong it is. It is also very lightweight too because it is made from thick gauge tubular steel.

All you are getting with an overpriced DSSR (apart from lightening your wallet by $150.00, not being on the correct alignment angle and giving you a lot of work to make it fit!) is a clevis style retaining pin connector on each end instead of the stock retaining pin setup which is permanently welded to each end of the selector rod. They both do exactly the same thing and I feel ripped off from having bought one and getting sucked into all the marketing hype surrounding DSSR's. Maybe other vehicles have much weaker OEM selector rods and you need to upgrade them but my opinion after having played around with both is that our stock selector rod is already very good and more than up to the task. It is the shifter that makes the difference in play and slop from my testing, not the selector rod

You have to remember that the many who do install DSSR's and report on the major differences in tightness, slop and excess free lateral play are installing some form of SSK at the same time. How much the SSK contributes to fixing these issues compared to the DSSR is questionable. I know when I installed this shifter and swapped between both selector rods to feel the 'difference' I was sorely disappointed. After I had spent all that money, time and effort making the AKG DSSR fit I really tried to feel any improvement there was even if I had to try and imagine it. Needless to say I cannot honestly recommend this DSSR (upgrade?) mod to anyone. Maybe with a different or stock shifter it would have been different, I don't know but with this RTD locking shifter everything is already so solid, swapping between the two selector rods I would not have done it again.

[ANILE8]

Originally Posted by Vanne

Lol about time you pulled the trigger on something.. haha

That return spring looks pretty bloody heavy mate, mine looked about 1/2 that stength and I got the boys to pull it completely as the return on our box self centers nicely and very positively by itself.

Nice looking shifter.

with that spring you'll be looking like this soon enough...



Looks good, on the product website, I can't however see any of /your/ pics.
Congrats again one one of the best mods to do to our cars.

Hi Vanne, you have certainly a very very good memory.

You know I have been dreaming about this shifter mod for so long I am glad it is now finally done.

You can't see any of my pic's in this thread?

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by ANILE8

The stock SSSR would have been fine. When you take it out and play with it you can feel how rigid and strong it is. It is also very lightweight too because it is made from thick gauge tubular steel.

All you are getting with an overpriced DSSR (apart from lightening your wallet by $150.00, not being on the correct alignment angle and giving you a lot of work to make it fit!) is a clevis style retaining pin connector on each end instead of the stock retaining pin setup which is permanently welded to each end of the selector rod. They both do exactly the same thing and I feel ripped off from having bought one and getting sucked into all the marketing hype surrounding DSSR's. Maybe other vehicles have much weaker OEM selector rods and you need to upgrade them but my opinion after having played around with both is that our stock selector rod is already very good and more than up to the task. It is the shifter that makes the difference in play and slop from my testing, not the selector rod

You have to remember that the many who do install DSSR's and report on the major differences in tightness, slop and excess free lateral play are installing some form of SSK at the same time. How much the SSK contributes to fixing these issues compared to the DSSR is questionable. I know when I installed this shifter and swapped between both selector rods to feel the 'difference' I was sorely disappointed. After I had spent all that money, time and effort making the AKG DSSR fit I really tried to feel any improvement there was even if I had to try and imagine it. Needless to say I cannot honestly recommend this DSSR (upgrade?) mod to anyone. Maybe with a different or stock shifter it would have been different, I don't know but with this RTD locking shifter everything is already so solid, swapping between the two selector rods I would not have done it again.

Thanks! Just the info I was looking for!

[rockstar93]

Thanks for the info and review. I've been hyped for this since I saw it in zurus's car and this review only solidified it.

Turns out a local shop just launched a group buy for this at a beyond incredible price (lower than RTD's Black Friday sale) so I'll be grabbing one of these.

[ANILE8]

I never saw their review, I guess I wasn't first to pull the trigger on this and get it installed

Black Friday was a great price, even full MSRP is very fair when you compare it to CAE. Even if the CAE was cheaper I wouldn't have bought one over the REVO1.

This really is a revolutionary elegant design and it WORKS!

The difference it made to my driving experience is truly next level. 0-60mph acceleration seems so much faster because of the much reduced shifting speed.

[rockstar93]

Do you have the standard upgraded mounts (Vibra motor and RE transmission)? I figure to maximize the effect of the shifter I'll need something more than factory so I'm doing it at the same time. Wondering if these are adequate or if I need solid mounts.

And you might be the first with the lockout design. I'm likely grabbing a lockout V2 mini - running me $590 CAD which seems pretty damn decent.

[ANILE8]

Well I hope you have thrown your coin at whoever is organizing the group buy, you can't go wrong. This shifter changes so much about how I feel about driving, after you experience it for the first time, the OEM setup feels like a joke.

I am just running standard motor and trans mounts and have not had a problem. My coilovers are set to crazy stiff, whether that makes any difference or not I don't know.

I have not found it difficult to get into gear while cornering hard, so I am going to leave things as they are for now.

I would think very long and hard and then think it all over again before going to solid driveline mounts. The NVH increase is totally off the chart. Went to solid alloy mounts with my diff for zero deflection. There was zero deflection alright, but let's just say the driving experience was unpleasant in the extreme.

[pcube]

Mind sharing why the reverse lockout was crucial to you? The stock shifter has a clear detent to overcome in order to get to reverse gear. Is this detent lost for aftermarket SSKs?

[ANILE8]

I think you are focusing on the wrong part.

The reverse lockout feature is really a secondary benefit from the adjustable side stops.

These adjustable side stops provide a solid and precise adjustment for the 1-2 and 5-6 gates. This is the part that was the main buying feature for me.

Have a good look around and you will see, any shifter with adjustable side stops will need a trigger to activate the reverse lockout pin to retract or you would not be able to put the vehicle into reverse gear.

RTD also make shifters without the adjustable side stops and subsequent reverse lockout feature depending on what you want from your shifter.

[pcube]

Ahh I see. Thanks for that explanation totally makes sense now.

Is there any way to fit the shifter rotated the other way such that the stick leans backwards instead?

[Vanne]

can see the pics now, looks good mate. Mine has adjustable side stope for gate 5 and 6. the left gate 1 and 2 is as far left as the stick will allow unless you force it past the detent.. believe me man, its impossible..

BUT.. really nice looking shifter mate, enjoy and let us know how you get on with it on the track. For me it made a lot of difference, just the confidence alone that the shift WILL work alone is worth it by itself.

Ive had a miss shift or 2, but only because I am re-learning how to drive.. (used to drive diesels with engine braking)

brake, THEN clutch in.. lol..

Back to the point:

Now that ive seen what these look like covered over, ill be leaving mine uncovered.. I much much prefer the edgy look rather that it covered over, and mine is pretty much a piece of art anyways. lol.

This one looks really good too, and looks very well engineered. Lovely, lovely shifter and good idea on the shift knob, it gets hot in Oz.

Looking forwards to reading how you get on with it over the next few months, it really is one of my top 3 mods. Wouldent want the car any other way now.
Congrats again mate.

[ANILE8]

If you want to mount the shifter 180° from what I have done it is possible, although it makes no difference to the function. However, you will need a custom length selector rod (shorter than OEM), if you want the shaft to be perfectly vertical.

Conversely, the way I have mounted the shifter, if I wanted the shaft it to be perfectly vertical, I would have needed a slightly longer selector rod than OEM. There is no way around this.

With the stock length selector rod, if you do mount the shifter the opposite way than I have, it will really lean too far backwards. Much further backwards than you most likely be happy with. Third gear will be where fourth gear currently is and it feels even more pronounced because the shaft of this shifter is much longer than stock.

Even pushing the shifter all the way forward until the shifter assembly cage hits the front of the console will not be enough.

Do some research and you will find almost all ultrashifters like this have the front console cut which looks bad to me. Save yourself a headache and a lot of mucking around unless you are into making custom length selector rods then, in that case, go right ahead and knock yourself out. The way I have done it is the easiest and best way for a clean factory fit.

This shifter is marketed with no cutting or drilling and that is correct in E30 | E36 | E39 | E46 | E60 | E8X | E9X models but the Z4 is different.

[rockstar93]

Originally Posted by ANILE8

This shifter is marketed with no cutting or drilling and that is correct in E30 | E36 | E39 | E46 | E60 | E8X | E9X models but the Z4 is different.

The only modifications (cutting/drilling) you've had to do is drill into the tunnel for the mounting hardware correct? Three holes?

I'm okay with mounting in reverse, and I'm looking at the mini length so the lean will be less pronounced. But I want to have the least intrusive install as possible.

Would you happen to have pics of the shifter exposed without the boot?

[ANILE8]

Yes, I only had to drill three holes.

You just cut the factory carpet out so you have a flat surface to mount the shifter base to and drill three holes. Be careful not to drill the rear two holes too far back or you will hit the rear carrier support that can be seen in post #1 / pic 4.

Also, you will have to cut the front bolt down to make it shorter or it will hit the selector rod as it is now directly on top of it instead of behind it.

[rockstar93]

Originally Posted by ANILE8

Yes, I only had to drill three holes.

You just cut the factory carpet out so you have a flat surface to mount the shifter base to and drill three holes. Be careful not to drill the rear two holes too far back or you will hit the rear carrier support that can be seen in post #1 / pic 4.

Also, you will have to cut the front bolt down to make it shorter or it will hit the selector rod as it is now directly on top of it instead of behind it.

Thanks! Would you say it's possible to install without dropping the driveshaft?

Regarding the bolt interfering with the selector rod, I read that installing it from the underside (bolt on the bottom, nut from inside the cabin) you'll avoid this. But you'd need a second pair of hands for this.

[ANILE8]

Yes, it is possible and I have seen videos of it being done that way but I would not have liked to do it. With an impact gun, it literally takes less than 10min extra to drop the driveshaft.

Also because I was installing the DSSR I needed to see the alignment with the shifter rod to know how much to bend it and not removing the driveshaft would have made that virtually impossible.

Either way, installing the bolts from underneath or above makes little difference. Installing from above you can do it all yourself with a pair of vice-grips. Also, I didn't want all that extra bolt length sticking up through the trans tunnel. Cutting a bolt down is really easy or you can just use a shorter bolt.

[Vanne]

Hey bud, its been a few weeks now since your install. How do you like it? anything you'd change?

[ryank382]

Originally Posted by Vanne

Hey bud, its been a few weeks now since your install. How do you like it? anything you'd change?

Curious about this as well. Not sure how much that forward lean would bother me. I would personally opt for the V4 carbon shifter (assuming the mechanism is identical) as I don't feel I need a reverse lockout and aesthetically looks better to me. Also can't decide between race and mini height...

[ryank382]

Pulled the trigger on the RTD standard aluminum short shifter in the shorter height based on this thread. Hopefully will work out and front lean will be less noticeable because of shorter height. Very excited to try this type of shifter

Lack of info on these types of shifters on our cars so maybe will post a review with pics after it's in