ACUITY Prototype 10th-gen Shifter - My review

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Okay, here is another video. I'm playing it through my headphones and can hear it plain as day. If you want a reference as to when the sound occurs or when I shift into third gear, I think the waveform of my video file should give you a good reference (this is completely unaltered):

(I think that image alone speaks for itself that there is some sort of sound there that I don't think I should be hearing or that the camera should be picking up)

By the way, sometimes you'll hear a little squeak-ish sound when I let go of the knob. Ignore that, that's just my hand coming off of the knob's material. That's not annoying or obtrusive. This other sound, on the other hand, is.

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[ACUITY]

Okay, here is another video. I'm playing it through my headphones and can hear it plain as day. If you want a reference as to when the sound occurs or when I shift into third gear, I think the waveform of my video file should give you a good reference (this is completely unaltered):

(I think that image alone speaks for itself that there is some sort of sound there that I don't think I should be hearing or that the camera should be picking up)

By the way, sometimes you'll hear a little squeak-ish sound when I let go of the knob. Ignore that, that's just my hand coming off of the knob's material. That's not annoying or obtrusive. This other sound, on the other hand, is.

Still not hearing the squeak. I can hear the click of the spring hitting the rest, and I'm a little confused if perhaps that's what you're hearing? Shoot me an email, and we can get you a packet of the grease we use on our shifters so you can use it to help troubleshoot/resolve the issue once you pop off the top of the console. If it's not the spring landing on the rest, it's likely related to the spring or one of the 2 spherical joints (the main pivot and the one in the rocker), and applying grease and a/b testing should resolve the issue. [email protected] is my email, reference this thread and your username on here please. I'll be out most of xmas-NY, working remotely from a laptop as I visit family, so please forgive slow replies if it takes a bit. At any rate, we can get something over to see if it helps.

~Russ

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

The sound may be a click and not an actual squeak, but it is more like a slam, is very high-pitched, and I don't hear it in any other videos that have this shifter. I'm about to road-trip with my mom, and unless I'm diligent about that gear shift, I know once she hears it twice she'll ask "what's wrong with my transmission" or something like that.

If anybody else has this shifter, do you know what I'm talking about? Do you have this sound, squeak or no squeak? Can you record a video and send it to me so I can check its waveform, and see if you have the same thing occurring?

Anyway, I'll gladly shoot you an e-mail. I would like to continue diagnosing it at the same time. Thanks so much for working with me, and happy holidays!

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

So my newest video is going to explain my current developments. Surely everyone can hear the sound now that I have it open and I explain what's causing it (and maybe if you go back to my other videos you'll be able to isolate exactly what to listen for), but I want to know why nobody else can hear this sound for themselves.

By the way, coiled around the shifter rod is a set of rubber bands so my boot collar rests on the proper height with my Raceseng knob. Think nothing else of it.

 

[TypeSiR]

So my newest video is going to explain my current developments. Surely everyone can hear the sound now that I have it open and I explain what's causing it (and maybe if you go back to my other videos you'll be able to isolate exactly what to listen for), but I want to know why nobody else can hear this sound for themselves.

By the way, coiled around the shifter rod is a set of rubber bands so my boot collar rests on the proper height with my Raceseng knob. Think nothing else of it.

The newer centering spring has a transparent plastic sleeve on both ends of the spring for noise reduction. Can you check to see if yours has them? If not, contact Acuity for an exchange?

From Acuity website:

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

I do not believe that mine does. Ugh, that would still require me to disassemble my entire center again though, wouldn't it...

 

[ACUITY]

The newer centering spring has a transparent plastic sleeve on both ends of the spring for noise reduction. Can you check to see if yours has them? If not, contact Acuity for an exchange?

From Acuity website:

This is not accurate. The full shifters have never been sold with rubber sleeves on the spring. You are showing a spring we sell that works on the OEM shifter only. The rubber sleeves on that product are largely to take up poor tolerances on the plastic OEM parts so that the spring makes full contact at 4 points in Neutral. This reduces lateral play in the OEM shifter in neutral when compared to the OEM spring. Noise reduction is a benefit, but not the purpose. The spring used on the full shifter is notably stiffer and cannot use similar rubber sleeves as the forces involved would destroy them.

I do not believe that mine does. Ugh, that would still require me to disassemble my entire center again though, wouldn't it...

So the noise you're illustrating is the spring contacting the rest, as I had suspected. I think this is largely the result of how you are shifting. I also daily drive with one of these shifters (it has about 1.5yrs and 20k miles on the unit I have in my personal car). If I let it snap back to center on its own, you can definitely replicate the noise of the spring contacting the rest, as you have shown. This is to be expected though as you have a steel spring contacting an aluminum rest. That said, generally, when shifting, I am guiding the shifter from 2nd to 3rd and not letting it snap back under its own force entirely. It's not as intentional as it sounds, since it's basically just muscle memory in action, but that's the nuts and bolts of it. Our full shifters are meant to be race car parts that have enough refinement to be equipped to street cars. There is no doubt they are more aggressive, but that is the goal. It's not different than equipping stiffer engine mounts, or a stiffer suspension. Performance increases, and sometimes there are small, but noticeable increases in noise vibration etc. With our shifters, we have minimized this quite a bit, but it is hard to get away from it entirely given that it is made mostly with metals, as opposed to plastic.

~Russ

 

[xcivicx]

The spring used on the full shifter is notably stiffer and cannot use similar rubber sleeves as the forces involved would destroy them.

so these two springs have different spring rates ?(if thats the correct term), are they interchangeable? not that i want to.

 

[ACUITY]

so these two springs have different spring rates ?(if thats the correct term), are they interchangeable? not that i want to.

They are not. At quick glance, they look similar, but the coil diameter and leg geometry (the straight portion) is different between the OEM shifter and our fully adjustable shifter, and this results in them not being cross-compatible.

 

[10GenPearlSi]

Interesting video. It sounds like the sounds of the shifter are amplified by vibrations of the floor. The floor becomes a drum head to make the sounds louder. Just a guess, but if you put some acoustic car insulation under the carpet such as:
https://www.amazon.com/Noico-deadening-Automotive-Insulation-dampening/dp/B012B5EMGO/ref=sr_1_21?crid=1VVQJYE6ZK0T&keywords=insulation+mat&qid=1578177860&s=automotive&sprefix=insulation,automotive,165&sr=1-21
I think that would greatly reduce the sound level of the shifts. If you or anybody else tries this then please post.

 

[Maximania]

So my newest video is going to explain my current developments. Surely everyone can hear the sound now that I have it open and I explain what's causing it (and maybe if you go back to my other videos you'll be able to isolate exactly what to listen for), but I want to know why nobody else can hear this sound for themselves.

By the way, coiled around the shifter rod is a set of rubber bands so my boot collar rests on the proper height with my Raceseng knob. Think nothing else of it.

Any updates on this? Are you just dealing with the sound or did you find that it went away, or did you change something to deal with the sound?

 

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Any updates on this? Are you just dealing with the sound or did you find that it went away, or did you change something to deal with the sound?

Besides improving my actual shifting maneuver (though I'm too consciously aware of that), per another user I am going to try some silicone vacuum hosing to see if it'll muddle the sound some.

I'm not yet sure if I actually need it to be quieter or if I just need it to not be as high of a frequency. Whatever the case, I haven't yet given up on possible remedies.

Thanks for asking.

 

[xcivicx]

I got that sound, but it just doesn't bother me. I would guess a sleeve over the ends of the spring would help.
Had mine apart and I would agree it's the Springs slapping the Cradle top and bottom.

 

[boosted180sx]

hmm i never paid attention to that sound but i never really slam gears up or down so maybe that's why.

 

[Maximania]

The silicone vacuum hose thing, that sounds interesting. How would this work? I'm curious because I'm looking into the full shifter and I feel like I would notice this sound that seems very apparent

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