In process of installing the Torque Solutions shifter bushings. I'm going to separate the shifter install just to see what difference each part makes. So far, the front-to-back shifter bushing has been put in. It's fairly easy to do. The side-to-side bushing has been a bit harder and it looks like I will need to destroy the factory bushing carefully so as to not ruin the plastic mount in the arm. In that mount, I'll be placing the new bushing.
Just from testing the front-to-back bushing out, these are extremely effective at tightening up the sloppy shifter. I've measured a 30 degree reduction in deflection between the bushings on the front-to-back arm. Pretty incredible what such a cheap and simple mod can do.
After destroying the factory rubber mount carefully with a blade, the install of the second bushing for side-to-side movement took me roughly 30 seconds. The change in feel is pretty dramatic. The box feels much more sturdy and mechanical now. This is how the car should have come from the factory. Next up will be the S3 short shifter, but I'm going to drive on just the bushings for this week to enjoy this simple, low cost mod.
This change addresses one of my Top 2 complaints about the stock car. The sloppy gearbox. Next up will be the way too light clutch so that I can get the car tuned.