Mugen vs. Hybrid Racing Short Shifter

[rallyered225]

What's the best shorts shifter out of the two in your opinion? I'm torn between both as I'm I was trying to stick to the Mugen theme. Curious to see what other people think from personal experience.

Sponsored

 

[tinyman392]

What's the best shorts shifter out of the two in your opinion? I'm torn between both as I'm I was trying to stick to the Mugen theme. Curious to see what other people think from personal experience.

There are 4 shifters that you can upgrade to from a stock 2019 setup:

• 2020+ shifter: reduces throw by about ½", costs about 40 bucks. Same build quality as your current one.
• Mugen: reduces throw from stock 2017-19, not sure how it compares to the 2020+ shifter. It looks like it still uses a lot of plastic elements. Costs 280.
• Hybrid Racing: softer fully customizable shifter. If you set it to have the widest throw, it will scratch itself. There was a thread about this and the OP said Hybrid said it wasn't considered a defect. Most people relate this to being a fully customizable OEM+ shifter that retains much of the stock shifter feel in terms of stiffness, resistance, etc. Costs 420 dollars.
• Acuity: stiffer fully customizable shifter. This is a stiffer shifter that is notchy and mechanical feeling. Costs 480.

I would probably take the Mugen out of the running to be honest. As cool as it is to have Mugen in your car, I feel like the Hybrid Racing or Acuity will offer you more while a stock 2020+ shifter will still shorten the throw by ½" for super cheap.

One really wouldn't be cross shopping a Hybrid Racing/Acuity with a stock as they are both fully customizable. I will note that the decision to choose one over the other will depend on how stiff you want the shift throw to feel. If the stock shifter feels like it has too much slop in it, then the Acuity might be the better choice. However, if the stock shifter feels good to your hands and could use just a little more robustness, the Hybrid Racing is probably your better choice.

Other notes to consider is that if you are planning on getting a new shift knob, it may be useful to choose that first, then pair it with the appropriate shifter. A heavier knob is kind of recommended with the Acuity as it gives the knob more momentum to move between gears which helps with the shifting feel. On other shifters it may make things a lot more smooth, but also more vague.

Final note to consider is that you could also change the shift knob height adjusting nut to the Civic Si one to lower the shift height ⅜". The height of your shifter also can make a difference in how the shift mechanism feels due to leverage. A higher set knob tends to be smoother and more vague while a lower set knob tends to be more notchy and mechanical feeling.

Please take what I say here with a grain of salt. I'm kind of just repeating the consensus regarding these shifters based on what I've seen on here. I'm still running my stock shifter. My buddy did have an Acuity shifter in his Si that I played with. He had it set to the lowest throws which I really wasn't a fan of, but it's customizable, and I feel with a longer throw and more leverage on the knob, I would have felt quite at home with it.

 

[TypeSiR]

Mugen short shifter is identical to the 2017-2019 CTR shifter. They even share the same Honda assembly number. I believe Mugen cut short the OEM shifter and rethreaded the top part and rebadged it. I’d spend the $40 on the OEM 2020 CTR shifter + knob; it’s a fantastic combo.

 

[E404]

There are 4 shifters that you can upgrade to from a stock 2019 setup:

• 2020+ shifter: reduces throw by about ½", costs about 40 bucks. Same build quality as your current one.
• Mugen: reduces throw from stock 2017-19, not sure how it compares to the 2020+ shifter. It looks like it still uses a lot of plastic elements. Costs 280.
• Hybrid Racing: softer fully customizable shifter. If you set it to have the widest throw, it will scratch itself. There was a thread about this and the OP said Hybrid said it wasn't considered a defect. Most people relate this to being a fully customizable OEM+ shifter that retains much of the stock shifter feel in terms of stiffness, resistance, etc. Costs 420 dollars.
• Acuity: stiffer fully customizable shifter. This is a stiffer shifter that is notchy and mechanical feeling. Costs 480.

I would probably take the Mugen out of the running to be honest. As cool as it is to have Mugen in your car, I feel like the Hybrid Racing or Acuity will offer you more while a stock 2020+ shifter will still shorten the throw by ½" for super cheap.

One really wouldn't be cross shopping a Hybrid Racing/Acuity with a stock as they are both fully customizable. I will note that the decision to choose one over the other will depend on how stiff you want the shift throw to feel. If the stock shifter feels like it has too much slop in it, then the Acuity might be the better choice. However, if the stock shifter feels good to your hands and could use just a little more robustness, the Hybrid Racing is probably your better choice.

Other notes to consider is that if you are planning on getting a new shift knob, it may be useful to choose that first, then pair it with the appropriate shifter. A heavier knob is kind of recommended with the Acuity as it gives the knob more momentum to move between gears which helps with the shifting feel. On other shifters it may make things a lot more smooth, but also more vague.

Final note to consider is that you could also change the shift knob height adjusting nut to the Civic Si one to lower the shift height ⅜". The height of your shifter also can make a difference in how the shift mechanism feels due to leverage. A higher set knob tends to be smoother and more vague while a lower set knob tends to be more notchy and mechanical feeling.

Please take what I say here with a grain of salt. I'm kind of just repeating the consensus regarding these shifters based on what I've seen on here. I'm still running my stock shifter. My buddy did have an Acuity shifter in his Si that I played with. He had it set to the lowest throws which I really wasn't a fan of, but it's customizable, and I feel with a longer throw and more leverage on the knob, I would have felt quite at home with it.

I'd like to add a fifth option to the list. That'd be CAE out of Germany. Had Hybrid and now CAE and would prefer to spend the extra dough on CAE for the build quality, comfort and adjustability.

 

[slw_as_fk.8]

I'd like to add a fifth option to the list. That'd be CAE out of Germany. Had Hybrid and now CAE and would prefer to spend the extra dough on CAE for the build quality, comfort and adjustability.

Would you say that CAE has a significantly shorter throw compared to Hybrid Racing?

 

[the_log_ride]

Pics or video of your CAE? Cable cutting required to install, right?

 

[E404]

Would you say that CAE has a significantly shorter throw compared to Hybrid Racing?

Yes and no, it’s shorter but feels about the same at it’s height. The shifting feels much smoother and just clicks in to the gates. 10/10 will continue to purchase CAE in the future.

 

[E404]

Pics or video of your CAE? Cable cutting required to install, right?

Yes cable cutting is required, it’s very simple though. Don’t have video but here are some photos.

 

[BrokeCTROwner]

Pretty cool looking but you don’t worry about punching the center console?

 

[tinyman392]

Pretty cool looking but you don’t worry about punching the center console?

I would want to assume that the shifter throw itself is very small like stock, it's just a lot higher, but I could be wrong.

 

[rallyered225]

Thanks for the all replies and votes. I already have a Mugen aftermarket shift knob. I'm leaning towards hybrid racing at this point. Plus they're local.

 

[boosted180sx]

mugen shifter is a waste of money imo.
might as well go acuity (my choice) or hybrid for a full shifter or a 2020 shifter with acuity upgrades.

 

[RacerX]

Mugen short shifter is identical to the 2017-2019 CTR shifter. They even share the same Honda assembly number. I believe Mugen cut short the OEM shifter and rethreaded the top part and rebadged it. I’d spend the $40 on the OEM 2020 CTR shifter + knob; it’s a fantastic combo.

The Mugen short shifter uses the OEM Honda frame. However, the shifter lever is around 1-1.5 inches shorter, and is angled straighter vertically. It does come with a new smaller gunmetal boot collar and includes fully metal bushings.

 

[E404]

Pretty cool looking but you don’t worry about punching the center console?

Nope you don't even get close to touching it, plus you no longer hit bottles in the cup holder haha.

 

[tinyman392]

The Mugen short shifter uses the OEM Honda frame. However, the shifter lever is around 1-1.5 inches shorter, and is angled straighter vertically. It does come with a new smaller gunmetal boot collar and includes fully metal bushings.

I'm assuming this is compared to the 2017-19 shifter? That's actually a pretty significant height difference even compared to the 2020 setup which would end up with a shifter about ½" lower (you can get the shift knob another ½" lower by changing the black retaining nut to either the Civic Si or 2020 FK8 one.

Sponsored