Switched to the CS shifter from the Hurst.

Its day one, but already I cannot go back. The creative steel shifter is smooth, clunk and notch free and set to the perfect height.

Compared to the Hurst its smooth, very short throw and NVH free. Previously with the Hurst, and the bronze bushing/link combo it transmitted NVH noise into the cabin. The weighted brass knob I have made the noise significantly less, but with the plastic Hurst knob it was far worse. I am unsure as to why.

With the CS shifter set as low as is possible its firm, and slightly notchy to shift, this maybe because of the lack of mechanical advantage with a lower shift knob height. With the CS set 1” higher than the Hurst its smooth and fully takes advantage of the smooth shifting ability of the tranzilla. I set it so that my ape arms are parallel vs having to slightly angle them downward to achieve a comfortable shift position. A 1” riser that Brian sells may well correct this issue, I cannot say as I never tried it, but it makes sense. I'll be running it on my base model when I install the Hurst onto it.

The joint is a much better design in my mind, because its not shoved in at an angle to work like the Hurst does. The Hurst always felt slightly off center to me, which may well have contributed to the notchy feeling everyone reports when shifting that the Hurst has.

I did run into an issue installing the CS shifter with the zerk fitting, I had to remove it, then install it after the base mount was installed. I was able to reinstall the rubber boot over the top.

Overall, I like it much better than the Hurst, though I maintain my statement that there isn’t a better choice. They are different animals for different styles of driving. The Hurst is great if you want the old school muscle car feel and don’t mind putting some effort into shifting, and the CS is good if you want the more refined German style of shifter. It is every bit as smooth as my friends 2006 Audi S4, though it does take a bit more effort to shift compared to the Audi 2 finger flick gear change.

With the Hurst, I found it a pain in the ass to shift slow and lazy you can’t. There was a stiff resistance getting into 1st and second gear, 3-6 were notchy but way less effort. With the CS shifter it’s almost everything I envisioned when I bought the car and again the shift quality of the tranzilla really shines through now, where as the Hurst really held it back. If given a choice and the ability to go back to 2 years ago, I would have chosen the CS. I will however be transferring the Hurst over to my base model, and I don’t dislike my time spent with it at all. But the CS is a much better design and feel hands down.

Only the MGW would be smoother and better shifting, but I’m willing to bet not by much.

-Byron