Automatic Shifters??? Looking for opinions

All,
Been out of bracket racing 20+ years.
Had a Turbo Action Cheetah shifter back then, it worked good.
Not sure I want to use one again......
I like the looks of the TCI Diablo shifters, how is the quality?
Of course the Hurst Quarter stick is a possibility.
Any others?
Looking for thoughts on any - pros and cons.
As always, very much appreciated!

Wally.

I have a Cheetah in the Valiant. I'm pretty lukewarm on it for now.

I have 2 different Quarter Sticks I have used. I will probably put one in the Valiant over the winter.

I also have a PPP that I bought for my Daytona. It is exceptionally nice, but pay very close attention when ordering.

Will it be for street/strip.. racing only.. you
need to know that first.. I had a pro ratchet
that was great for racing but its not a street
style shifter.. the B&M thats in my Rampage is
ok but I dont like that I have to be in drive
to lift the lever for reverse and park

Car will (hopefully) be mid 11’s, mostly on track with the occasional cruise night.

I loved my B&M pro ratchet for racing.. I later
mounted the electric shiftnoid on it.. worked
perfect.. I never missed a shift with it

Hurst quarter stick
Nice, and relatively cheap.

Still using the same Turbo action shifter from the 80's. Pulled it from my Cuda when I started updating it and have used it in my Belvedere from the past 5 yrs. I will be getting another for the Cuda shortly. Never burnt a cable mine is 30 plus yrs old.

I like the Hurst Quarter Stick. I like the B&M Pro Stick better because it comes with a true Morse cable and better hardware. At least it used to. PPP is top shelf. Turbo Action/Winters shifter is like a dial telephone in a smartphone world.

I use a B&M Quicksilver. I purchased it back when the car was primarily a street only car. It still works well, but I’m not married to it. I do like the street musclecar look it offers.
It uses a lift-action as the gate mechanism, so it is easily operated with one hand.

Having had three different shifters in two cars the PPP I’m currently running is by far the best most precise piece I’ve had, but I think it would be a bit cumbersome on the street.

Turbo Action cheetah would make a fine street shifter as it’s foregiving as a stick in a bowl of pudding.

My other love/hate relationship was with Hursts Pro Matic 2. Had one in the Mirada and it worked great street/strip. Decided to put one in the Duster and it NEVER worked right. Something internal with the shifter itself but by the time we tried finally determined this Jegs nor Hurst seemed interested in helping us. So we made our second mistake and replaced it with a T/A Cheatah.... my dad was wheeling the car at the time and just accepted the fact that every once in awhile you’d make a 1-3 shift.

That occasional 1-3 shift is why I got rid of my Cheetah and went with a pro Ratchet. Love it.

Hooked up a Shifnoid but haven't made it out this year.

Hurst quarter stick.

B&M pro ratchet here.

I used the TA cheetah years ago and it got the job done, but it wasn’t always perfect, so I also am lukewarm on those.
It’s kinda like you want one that’s fool proof and shifts perfect every time without thinking about it.
I like the 1/4 stick, was never big on ratchet shifters, but I suppose it’s a lot of personal preference.
I like the “looks” of the TCI Diablo, but looks aren’t everything, was hoping to find someone with real world experience.
How about the B&M Bandit??
If not, I think it with be a quarter stick.

Thank you all for the input!

Out of the three I’ve run.... that describes my PPP

....but I’ll be honest. A car that that’s going to see mostly street and some racing you probably don’t need to drop that kind of coin. Of course if your looking at the TCI Diablo, that ain’t no cheapie either. Looked it up online and the one “buzzword” that would bother me is the “...is a universal shifter designed for use with popular GM, Ford, and Chrysler vehicles, and can be configured for use with 2, 3, 4 and 6-speed transmissions (forward/reverse patterns)”. I’d really like to hear from somebody that runs one how it works.

Ratchet shifters I prefer. Properly adjusted they put you in the gear you select PERIOD!

T/A shifter is a gate shifter.... I got my car launching hard enough that it was making the 1-2 shift on its own. Between that and knowing what my dad went through I bought their other guide plate, but soon after sold it as I got a deal on a clean N PPP.

Thank you so much J Body.
I wish I could go to an old time speed shop where they were all in stock and I could try them out to pick which one I think would work best.
If I venture out and try the Diablo I will definitely chime in about it, or I’ll just go with what I know works.

I hear ya there... maybe go to the track and check a few cars out. Never a bad idea to go to the track

B&M Pro-Ratchet is all I run in my street/strip cars. Put it in and never worry about it, and it's impossible to ever miss a gear.

I have a PPP in my Challenger. Very nice quality piece.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ2ll9gIVJk

The pro matic 2.... what i REALLY liked about this shifter in the Mirada was that I was able to graft it in to the factory council. Looked like it was born with it!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LvUkMXaLopI

The deal on the Duster was that we could never get it properly adjusted. Being it was “race” we concentrated on N and 123. Just could never find a happy medium. Both cars had Griner t-brakes and swapping the shift lever didn’t change a thing. Always figured something was just made “wrong” on that one.

Thank you for the videos!
I forget I have the world at my fingertips, so I went in YouTube and searched a bunch.
Not an easy decision because it’s something you only want to purchase once!,

I use the B & M Pro Stick in my street/strip car and I love it. Ron

Thats too much work lol

I like my Turbo Action Shifter, its so smooth, and the lockout mechanism is good, yet seamless to use. I can see how the design might cause problems for some with the automatic 1-2 shift but mine has been a 1.43 60ft and hasn't done it yet.

Turbo Action Cheateah shifter is like a hot knife through butter. Gets the job done easily, but not with the accuracy you sometimes need. While I’ve heard plenty of “went from 1-3” stories (which is usually remedied by HITTING/SLAPPING the 1-2, not pulling the shifter) I cannot recall anyone else having the automatic 1-2 shift that I did. Issue on that deal was with the 1-2 being a straight back the t/a shifter is pretty much relying on the ball/spring tension of the rooster comb on the valve body to hold it in place which in my case, the G’s from launch, the handle simply moved back. It was happening so quick it wasn’t until the third pass with our band new W8 mill that I watched it happen. What I ended up doing was pulling the valve body, removed the rooster comb and touched it up with my Dremel. I also put a very thin spacer in behind the spring. This made the valve body nearly impossible to shift on the bench by hand, but did create more resistance to where the shifter had a better feel. It wasn’t too long after this that a nice clean N PPP with air came up for sale and I jumped on it.

I too like and use a PPP shifter.

They have a lot of options front or rear cable, push or pull upshift, air shift, Red or black.

Most people that say they don't like a PPP have NEVER used one. When I use a ratchet shifter I have Quickclick flashbacks.

Man shifter prices have gone up. $384 for a TA cheetah, $303 for a B&M
pro ratchet :|

I just looked at my summit receipt and the TA cheetah was $280 way back in 2014.

I know some like them, but I abhor a ratchet shifter. Can't tell what gear you're in without trying to see the indicator or jacking the thing all the way to P or 3. Should be able to run it without thinking about it, looking at it, jacking with it.

Another vote for the B&M Pro Stick. I run one in the race car and one in my street car.
Factory Slap Stick in my wife's `Cuda.
Both shifters are great.

Digger73 (Mike)

B&M pro stick, this video shows that it doesn't just slap up into 3rd, but requires the handle to be squeezed? Is that right. Why would they do that?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooXaFtrTGtU

Re the Pro ratchet, I have one and drive it around every weekend on the street. I'm never confused about what gear I'm in and if I ever do look at the shifter, e.g. sitting at a light to see if I'm in 1st (or I might just try to ratchet it back), it's certainly not anything that takes any thought or effort.

😳😳😡
I had one of those Quick clicks!!
I hated it also!
I’m sure there’s been upgrades, but you are correct, it’s scared me away from them.
I truly appreciate all of the advice, and yes, that have gotten expensive.
But in this hobby that we love, what is cheap?
I’m thankful the advice here is!

I put a pistol grip on my Pro Ratchet, I like it a lot better than the ball.

^^^ this

I've had two ratchet shifters, not knowing what gear it's in has never been an issue.

I like how you attached the pistol grip

The Ramcharger I recently picked up had a pro ratchet with the pistol grip attached by just screwing on to the shifter arm, eventually it broke off due to the added leverage. your mount is much stronger thanks for the idea.

Mine broke too, hence the fix.
Pulled into the staging lanes and "POP"...I went rounds, but it wasn't easy.

It's an aluminum turn buckle from Lowes

I have the reverse pattern and my shifter is
mounter higher than your but I use 2 fingers
to shift.. were little effort to shift.. I
guess with your being lower you have to hit
it a bit harder and it broke

My not liking the Cheetah shifter is I'd pull on it instead of slapping it, nothing I could do would break that habit.
Once installed my ratchet shifter and the in cab GoPro, I noticed I'm slapping the ratchet shifter.

Go figure.

The one thing I would do once in a while was
not letting go of the shifter.. if you dont
let go of it it dosent set up for the next shift
but that was seldom I would do that( on my pro
ratchet)

The GoPro pointed out I shift on the money when I leave 1st, when I'm chasing a slower vehicle I tend to shift late and bounce off the rev limiter.

Hence the Shifnoid install.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb3HbfhJXXM

I put my shiftnoid on just for my issue of
holding the shifter and I only did that about
5 times

Yes on the B & M Pro stick you just pull it back for second gear and then squeeze the handle to pull third. Its so simple a 4 year old kid could do it. From first you just pull it straight back and it wont go into third so you squeeze the lever when you pull it back for third. Its not hard so squeeze the lever as its very easy and takes very little effort. I love it as I like a shifter that moves its position for every gear. I don't like the ratchet shifter like my brother used to run where the shifter returns to the same spot after every shift. I went with the B & M Pro Stick because it was not a ton of money and is simple to use. Ron

Putting the go pro in the car is a great idea!
Ron, you hit the nail on the head.
Something that's not a ton of money, but easy to use.
I think I have a mental block about the shifter being in the same spot every time you shift....that's what I think, I know it's personal preference.
This may just be the toughest decision I'll make on the whole dang car!

I really appreciate all the help gang!

Wally.

I use an old tried and reliable shifter! And you can say is a clean neutral too

you using a typewriter itis ? those are my favorites.

if you haven't bought one I have a TA reverse pattern i'll ship it to you for $225. but I lost the little Crosby clamp that holds the cable to the trans. you can pick one up pretty cheap.

Hurst Pro-Matic 2...........clean n simple..........

I too broke the threads off my Pro-Ratchet by using a tall pistol grip handle on a 35 degree day. I put it in park too aggressively and snapped it off.


I'm confused on the aluminum turnbuckle, do you have more pics? I'd like to go back to the pistol grip and mount it like yours.

I'll get pics tomorrow.

Ok thanks.

So I didn't get any feedback on the TCI Diablo.
Since Diablo is Mexican for "Devil" and it's going in my "Demon"....
No, sincerely I think I'm going to go with it after watching a couple of Youtube video.
How is everything else TCI for quality?
I've heard good so far, so I suppose I'll be a guinea pig for this one.

Wally.

TCI = They Copied It. Looks like a skeletonized, flimsy Pro Stick.

Total
Crap
Inside