Hey,

I tried searching to see if this topic has been brought up before albeit with no success.

When I first test drove the '04 GTO, obviously I loved it to bits however the only thing that really got to me was the fact that the shift on the M6 seemed to be only what I can describe as a "rubbery" shift. Do any of you who own M6 '04s see this as well, or is it something that disappears over time as the transmission is broken in? I'm guessing that the T56 tranny remains unchanged in the '05.

Finally, I'm pretty certain this has been brought up but whilst I'm on the subject, does anyone have some aftermarket short shifter recommendations?

I dont doubt Prothane or Energy Suspension will come out with shifter bushing kits that will make the stock shifter much more notchy and smooth feeling. I used a kit from both companies on my last car, one that supported the shifter and another that supported the connections at the transmission and that made the stock shifter feel even better than any aftermarket shifter I could have bought for less money and effort.

Thanks, that's ultimately the problem I would be trying to solve which is the rubberiness of the shift that I experience on my test drive (if it does indeed exist on my GTO when I get it).

I just did a test drive. NICE CAR but yes the shifter sucks. The rubbery feeling is only part of the problem. The lever is too long , which also lengthens the throws , and it is angled too vertically and offset too far toward the passenger side. My 96 Camaro had similar problems even though it came with the SLP Hurst shifter. First I tried cutting and rethreading the stock lever. That helped but it was curved and I could only shorten it about an inch. Next I bought a Lou's short stick lever from Afterthoughts Auto. That eliminated the stock vibration damping rubber bushing. I coated the bottom of the lever where it bolts to the actual shifter mechanism with several coats of plasti dip. That gave an acceptable combination of a tight action without vibrating and or rattling. The shorter lever also shortened the throws. I bought a large diameter black ball from Hurst. I removed the threaded bronze bushing and then ground out the hole in the ball another three quarters of an inch with a Dremel tool. Epoxied the bushing back in at the new countersunk depth. This tightened the throws even further and put the knob at the perfect height for the way I sit in the car. If it were much shorter you'd have to reach down in the console to grab it :D Finally took the lever to my welder. He notched it right above where it bolts to the shifter, bent it over about 20 degrees and rewelded it so that it angles over toward the driver now like the Hurst did in my old 69 Z/28.
Hopefully Pro 5.0 will make a shifter for this car. Lou's alrady has an angled short stick for the pro 5.0 mount. That would be less trouble than what I went through , although I did get a sense of accomplishment when I finally achieved what for me is shifter perfection.

They just added a short shifter in a 98 Camaro SS I do believe it was on Horsepower TV (Spike) a few hours ago. I didnt catch the brand but it looked pretty quality and no doubt would be a nice swap if they make one for the GTO.

Yeah , some people have said that the Hurst or Pro 5.0 shifters won't work in the GTO. Not having had a GTO console apart or talked to a manufacturer or someone with experience I can't say. But as the old saying goes "necessity is the mother of invention" and an improved shifter is definitely a necessity in this car. The other big deal for me is the dead pedal. I'm glad the 05 gets one but since I don't want scoops or the new rear fascia and would like to get a DEAL, I would have to figure out a way to fit one to an 04. I noticed in my test drive that there isn't much room between the outboard edge of the clutch pedal and the kick panel. One would have to fabricate a pedal that sits tightly up against the kick panel. After that it probably would not be too dificult to use an exact-o knife to trim the carpet and JB Weld the thing to the floor.

On my other site I sell this Austin Quick STick, which will help alot with shifts...plus it is cheaper than buying a whole shifter...

http://marylandspeed.com/product_info.php?...products_id=234 (http://marylandspeed.com/product_info.php?products_id=234)

That looks a lot shorter, but the shift distance looks just as long and the effort needed to shift could be even worse. To shorten the actual throw distance, a true short shifter moves the lower pivot point, not just shorten the shift lever.