In a recent article, we showcased a TREMEC TKX transmission swap into our SN95. Now, in that article, we mentioned that the new Fox-style bellhousing moved the transmission about 3/4-inch closer to the back of the engine. That means our shifter is now 3/4-inch further away from the driver. Ugh.
Normally, you might just say, “It’s less than an inch, what are you worried about?” Well, there are two key factors here. One, this is in an SN95, which already is notorious for its poor shifter placement in relation to the driver. Two, your author is a bit on the vertically challenged side. So yet another 3/4-inch of reach makes gears 1, 3, and 5 even harder to reach. Enter Lokar and their AxiShift shift lever adapter.
Adding Some Reach
One of the biggest parts of getting an aftermarket shifter right, is the geometry involved. Simply adding a longer handler can solve the reach issue, but then you are adding throw to your actual shift movement. What the AxiShift (P/N: MSL700) does is move the attachment point of your stock shift handle rearward by 1.5 inches, and slightly elevates it (by one inch), which minimizes the effect on the actual feel of the shift distance at your hand.
In addition to moving the shift handle mounting point back and up, the AxiShift allows for 15 degrees of rock (from vertical) forward, back, and side to side. In addition to that, it allows 360-degrees of yaw adjustment, allowing for a huge amount of customization. In our case, by laying the shifter handler directly back 15 degrees, we were able to net an additional two inches of shift handle reach, for a total of 3.5 inches of additional reach over the stock shift handle mounting.
Since our handle was only drilled for the 8mm bolts on the T5 Steeda Tri-Ax, we chucked it up in the mill and opened the holes up to match the TREMEC’s 3/8-24 mounting hardware.
Installing The AxiShift
The installation of the Lokar AxiShift is incredibly simple, but does come with a few notes to be aware of before you get started. The AxiShift is designed to match the shifter handle pattern of various TREMEC transmissions’ shifters, which is 3/8-24 mounting holes, spaced 7/8-inch apart, on center. This is the same bolt pattern as a stock SN95 shifter, but not the same bolt size. The OEM shifter and handle use 8mm hardware, as opposed to the TREMEC’s 3/8-24 mounting hardware.
For our situation, the fix was easy, as all we needed to do was drill out the shift handle’s mounting holes from 8mm to…
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