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Fabbing this thing up, and going the DIY route. Here's a proof of concept post, as well as CAD into the assembly I made.. Also in 10thgen forum bc I'm doing this on a 10thgen, but many steps will/may be applicable for previous gens. For other gens, you'll have to get creative since a lot of the older gens don't have a shift boot (or similar) to hide the adapter assembly.
So, as much as I miss having a MT, I'm not getting rid of Miyuki anytime soon. TBH, the Honda CVT is actually kinda nice. Keeps you in peak torque band for a longer period of time maximizing acceleration. Lucky enough, the 10th gen has an AT shift boot, so you can hide a bunch of what's to come. Previous gens, you'll have to get creative with a DIY shift boot.
First step in this DIY is the research phase. Measurements and figuring it the f out, really. Inspiration came from the speeddawg universal AT to MT **** adapter, but it's a bit bulky, and raises the **** a lot higher than I'd like. That, and you have to buy thread adapters, blah blah blah. I'd rather go DIY custom bc of my perpetual need to fab **** up. That, and I want to go Gucci mode with it. More on that later.
First up, measurements. here's the OEM 10thgen shift lever, all naked and stuff
Dimensions are as follows: Outer Shaft (hollow rod):
Outer diameter: 13.82mm (0.544")
Inner diameter: 10.24mm (0.403")
"usable" height: 134.46mm (5.293")
Inner shaft (rectangular button shaft):
Approximately 5.8mm x 9.1mm with a 10mm flat round head
Max height above outer shaft: 25.54mm (1.005")
Min height above outer shaft: 7.47mm (0.294") (full button depression - 18.08mm / 0.712" max travel)
Minimum travel to be able to move shift lever: 7.47mm (0.294")
That said, if you push the button down at least 0.3" (7.62mm), it'll allow you to move the gear selector.
Sooooooo.. how do we employ this? Because I like to 3D render ****..
Whoa.. Josh. There's some fancy **** going on there...
Yes. I know. I told you I was gonna go Gucci with it. That fancy black piece is a personal render of the non-threaded shift adapter from Raceseng. Their ***** are nice but spendy. Miyuki deserves the best. She's gonna get the best. lol
I couldn't find definitive measurements for the various non-threaded shift adapters, so I went out on a limb and bought a random one: the Hyundai Genesis coupe one. Turns out, the non-threaded shift lever shaft on a Gen is 12mm. quite a bit shy of that 13.87mm OD for the outer shaft. Fancy drill bits and a 14mm reamer later, the Gen coupe non-threaded adapter I have now has a 14mm ID and slides over the shaft just perfectly.
Below the adapter on the render is a spring (I'll explain why in a second), and a 14mm ID shaft collar (25mm OD). Spring sits on the shaft collar like a perch, adapter sits on the spring, **** on the adapter. **** interior activates the button shaft, able to move shift lever. Simple right? Well, not quite. You'll see that there's a translucent "sleeve" around the assembly. The way I have the sleeve designed, the channel cut out allows 0.7" travel (remember the 0.712" max travel from above?) and teh shaft collar's set screw will be changed out for a 8-12mm length set screw. . The sleeve bolts to the adapter (raceseng adapter has 4 holes for set screws) and moves with the adapter/**** and slides over the shaft collar. I have a 12" delrin tube (super slippery rugged plastic) with a 1" (25.4mm) ID coming in tomorrow so I have enough material to mess with. It was also the smallest length I could buy from McMaster-Carr. This sleeve will prevent upward travel (preventing **** removal during operation).
Josh.. why the spring? The OEM shaft should have an internal spring to push it back up....
Told you I was gonna get to that. Yes, the OEM inner shaft has a spring internal to the shift mechanism. BUT, when you're in a gear that doesn't require button depression to get out of (e.g. Neutral / S), the top of the inner shaft sits 18mm (0.712") above the top of the outer shaft. Notice the coincidence between that height and the minimum travel to be able to shift. Yep. There's a reason for that. So you can move the lever. Without pushing the button. So, why the spring? Well, if the **** is sitting on the button at it's max height, and the button drops by a quarter inch, that's a quarter inch of play, so the thing will shake and rattle like an epileptic holding maracas. That metaphor might be a bit insensitive, but it is what it is. So, when the assembly is put together, the spring will be compressed by at least 0.75" (the spring overall length is about 2"). When the inner shaft falls by that quarter inch, the external spring keeps tension on the ****, keeping it from shaking and rattling around, and retain it at the stock height for inconspicuosity. I made up that word. Inconspicuousness sounds weird. And now, proof of concept gifs.
I should also mention I have e-mail correspondence with raceseng about this. I initially asked them if there was an adapter that has the ID I need (so I -- or future modders -- don't have to bore out their own adapter), The response asked for a picture of my shifter arm. Maybe they'll consider making a universal AT to MT **** kit from my request I can only dream. lol. That'd be cool af tho. I totally sent them a pic of that 3D render I posted above along with the shifter arm and listed dimensions.
To be continued...
Last edited by xRiCeBoYx; Jan 1, 2020 at 01:25 PM.
Update: Raceseng didn't give me exact measurements, but they said their BMW non-threaded shift adapter would be the closest fit to the 10th gen auto shift lever. They also stated they wouldn't be able to supply anything else except for the adapter (I didn't expect them to). Future reference for those wishing to embark on the endeavor
All I need to finish out my project is to receive the delrin tube (it's on its way to my house as we speak), some hardware, and the **** itself. Still torn on what color to get.
I'm actually thinking about this ****
With this color in place of silver.
Thoughts?
With the Genesis adapter reamed out to 14mm, delrin tube from McMaster-Carr received, and hardware bought from Ace Hardware, I have the sleeve/adapter assembly (almost) done. All that's left is to "mill" out the channel for the shaft collar set screw. The vertical scribed marks you see are for me to follow for the "milling" process
(not so) fun fact. McMaster-Carr stated the ID of the delrin tube was 1" (25.4mm). The ID of my tube was 0.96". OD of the adapter at its widest was 0.99". Shaft collar as well at the 0.99". Sandpaper wrapped around a 14mm impact socket works well to bore out tubes a bit. lol. Tube got hot as hell at some points, but worked nonetheless.
protip: If you need to draw/scribe vertical lines on a tube, use a doorframe.
update 3: Delrin tube channel cut out and half-assed polished by wet sanding with 2000 grit sand paper. Trimmed down a bit, too. Overall travel is limited to just about 0.725" (18.42mm). All that's left is to order the shift ****. Might wait on that for a while tho. Maybe. We'll see what they have in store for their black friday sale
A few of my original measurements were a bit off. In the original render, I had the internal plunger shaft protruding about ½" above the adapter. In practice, the top of the plunger needs to be flush with the top of the adapter. Might cause some issues depending on the internal depth of the shift ****, but nothing an internal bushing or something won't fix.
Adapter in action
edit: I should note that I didn't notice any slop in the fitment. At all. It was pretty solid. In my gif, you can see I was pushing it in ways that would make any slop prevalent.
for S&G's, here's a cutaway render of the entire assembly, shift lever included. **** and sleeve made translucent because I forgot to change those colors for this picture. I'm also operating on the assumption that the adapter fully threads into the ****. Measurements for the **** were taken from Raceseng's website
Last edited by xRiCeBoYx; Nov 6, 2019 at 01:46 PM.
Update: got inpatient and fabbed up an adapter to temporarily fit a shift **** with an M10-1.5 thread pitch. It's a little high for my liking, but it'll do for now. Also found out that the tube I'm using has an OD (1.25) that's a hair on the big side. It fits, but it pushes the boot up and makes it all puffy. Because I'm miyuki's a fancy broad, I have a carbon fiber tube on the way. CF tube will have an OD of about 1.1" and an ID Freshly installed After driving some
if my measurements are close, top of the actual **** should sit at about the top of where the black adapter is
Last edited by xRiCeBoYx; Nov 15, 2019 at 01:50 PM.
I mentioned that I did contact Raceseng to see if they could provide any input to help this project. Keep in mind, this post is in retrospect. All this correspondence was done after I impulsively bought the Hyundai Genesis adapter
Originally Posted by My initial email
Hi, my name is Josh and I have a bit of an unusual request, but I hope you can accommodate my question. I'm trying to figure out a way to retrofit one of your shift ***** to work with my 2018 Honda Civic, but I have a CVT transmission. I've made some measurements and made some home-brew designs for an adapter setup, and I'm just trying to see if any of your non-threaded adapters have an inside diameter of 0.555", give a take a few thousandths. If my research is anywhere close, either the Camaro SS/ZL1 or Corvette C6 should fit the bill. I was just wondering if you'd be able to confirm that, or if not, which adapter I'd be looking at to fit those dimensions. Thank you.
Originally Posted by Raceseng first reply
I'd be happy to see if we have an adapter that fits. Can you send me a picture of your shifter arm?
Originally Posted by My reply
I appreciate your response. I'm attaching 2 files, one is an actual picture of the shifter arm, and a 3D render of my proposed adapter, just to give you an idea of what I'm trying to do. I'll also list dimensions I've measured below. My CVT shifter arm is a push-button activation, and I used images from your website and photoshop to try and create a semi-accurate 3D rendering of your guys' non-threaded shifter adapter.
Basically, what I'm trying to accomplish is the shift adapter is going to have to slide along my shifter arm and utilize the shift **** itself as a sort of giant button to be able to move the lever to select gears, and a Delrin sleeve screwed to the adapter to limit upwards travel to keep the shift **** from coming off while driving.
Inner shaft (rectangular "button" shaft):
Approximately 5.8mm x 9mm
Max height above outer shaft: 1"
Min height above outer shaft: 0.288" / 7.31mm
Min travel to be able to shift: 0.294" / 7.47mm
I'd just like to find an adapter that I can use for my little project.
Thanks!
-Josh
and yeah, I totally did send them a pic of my 3D render. I had a sliver of hope that they were gonna take my idea and run with it, and let me be the proverbial Guinea pig and hook me up with free gear so I could test it. lol. It was worth a shot.
Originally Posted by Their reply
Thanks for the info. We may be able to supply the aluminum adapter part, but we will not be able to make the additional delrin sheath and spring mechanism. Based on your measurement, Our BMW adapter would be the closest fit for you shifter arm.
So, they didn't bite on my idea. Like I said, it was worth a shot, but they had zero qualms about helping me find the information I needed. They didn't give me exact measurements, but it was good enough. I can respect that.
Now, I did say that I had that e-mail correspondence after buying the Gen adapter. I decided to pick up a BMW adapter, since they were so willing to help like that, so I spent the extra $20 when I ordered my shift ****. Well, I vaguely recall (but cannot find it at the moment) that their adapters are a tight fit and my require filing to fit. That was kinda the case with the BMW adapter. It was barely too small to fit the 13.82mm outer shaft. Good thing I already had that 14mm reamer, and I bought a drill press in the time between buying the first adapter and getting the second one. Reamed the BMW one out to 14mm and it works like a charm.
Last edited by xRiCeBoYx; Jan 6, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
So, in reference to the above post from July 2021, Raceseng hit me up curious about how I made my adapter and expressed interest in working with me on mass producing it. I got a reply just a little while ago saying they decided to abandon the project. Oh well. It was exciting knowing that my home brew design got recognized by a company
I can only dream. lol. That'd be cool af tho. I totally sent them a pic of that 3D render I posted above along with the shifter arm and listed dimensions.
