Help! Installing a C6 Z06 Shifter in a C5

[Mike1320]

I received my C6 Z06 shifter yesterday (three days before the initial notification indicated) and I was surprised to see the entire assembly. I guess I expected a 'top-only' part like an aftermarket unit. I read the two shifter replacement how-to posts. They're very helpful in removing the knob and console.

;helpNow I have a question. (Yes, I searched the forum for an answer, but I'd like more feedback.) Is there really a difference between the lower housing on the C5 assembly and the one on the C6 Z06 (or enough to matter)? Would I benefit from replacing the whole thing over just replacing the top section? If I replace the whole thing, are there alignment/adjustment issues with the connection to the shift rod going back to the trans?

In other words, what chance is there that I can hose myself to the point that I can't shift at all?

I added the picture as a sort of enticement. Yes it was cold, but it was the first sunny Saturday since we got it.

Thanks, Mike

 

[Hib Halverson]

If the goal is to have the shift quality and shift throw length of the C6 in a C5, you can't do it without the C6 transmission, too.

The improvement in shiift feel and the decrease in shift throw come from a combination of a revised shifter and a revised transmission.

If you are going to install just the shfiter, you'll have a somewhat shorter throw but increased shift effort and decreased quality if shift feel.

Once you get past those issues, then you have the question: will the C6 shifter interchange with the C5 unit?

 

[7LitreC5]

Just install the whole thing and then pull ethe alignment pin once it is bolted in. It is very easy to do.

 

[LLC5]

I received my C6 Z06 shifter yesterday (three days before the initial notification indicated) and I was surprised to see the entire assembly. I guess I expected a 'top-only' part like an aftermarket unit. I read the two shifter replacement how-to posts. They're very helpful in removing the knob and console.

;helpNow I have a question. (Yes, I searched the forum for an answer, but I'd like more feedback.) Is there really a difference between the lower housing on the C5 assembly and the one on the C6 Z06 (or enough to matter)? Would I benefit from replacing the whole thing over just replacing the top section? If I replace the whole thing, are there alignment/adjustment issues with the connection to the shift rod going back to the trans?

In other words, what chance is there that I can hose myself to the point that I can't shift at all?

I added the picture as a sort of enticement. Yes it was cold, but it was the first sunny Saturday since we got it.

Thanks, Mike

The C6 Z06 shifter housing is solid mounted, and the non Z06 housings (C5 or C6 that I have seen) are rubber mounted. Beyond that, the only difference is the lever that bolts to the aluminum housing. C6 Z06 lever is shorter than stock C5 and angled back. You could bolt just the lever assembly to the C5 housing and have 99% of C6 shifter "feel" that you are going to get on a C5. As stated above it is still a C5 transmission. It's not going to shift any better, it will just feel different, through the different lever angle and length.

 

[Mike1320]

Thanks, all. I wasn't expecting it to magically become a Z06, I just want it to shift a little better than it does now. Everything I read here indicated this was the way to go, vice one of the non-GM aftermarket models. We shall see, once the temperature in my garage gets tolerable.

 

[gmjunkie]

Thanks, all. I wasn't expecting it to magically become a Z06, I just want it to shift a little better than it does now. Everything I read here indicated this was the way to go, vice one of the non-GM aftermarket models. We shall see, once the temperature in my garage gets tolerable.

Quiz "Rain",he just done this to his C5 a while back!! I think it made a Big Improvement for him!!

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79861

 

[Hib Halverson]

Thanks, all. I wasn't expecting it to magically become a Z06, I just want it to shift a little better than it does now. Everything I read here indicated this was the way to go, vice one of the non-GM aftermarket models. We shall see, once the temperature in my garage gets tolerable.

I'm sorry, but "everything" you "read here" does not always indicate what you read is the way to go because, sometimes, what gets posted is inaccurate or incomplete.

The C6 has a shorter throw and equal or better shift quality compared to a C5 because of TWO changes. First, is the shifter itself but second is changes to parts inside the transmission.

If you just bolt in the C6 shifter but do not change the trans, you're not going to see a TRUE improvement. Yeah, the shift throw will shorten, but shift effort will increase and shift feel may degrade. That is a net gain only for drag racers and those to whom transmission durability is not a concern.

The problem with that is that, from the perspective of a shifter change only, just because you have a shorter throw doesn't always mean you will shift faster, and it never means the shift effort will decrease. Sometimes happens the net result is a slower shift because the effort goes up such that it takes longer for the shift to occur for a given force applied to the shift forks in the trans. Sure you can push even harder and yes shift speed may increase, but then shift feel degrades and transmission durability suffers.

Fast, smooth shifts come from a balance (a compromise?) between shift throw, shift effort and shift feel.

The only way GM was able to get that with C6 was to both change the shifter AND the transmission.