S40 M56 vs C30 M66 shifter comparison.
Yellow base is C30.
Bolt pattern is different enough to be annoying.
I was thinking that a 6mm aluminium plate could be used as an adapter between the S40 floor and C30 shifter, but the rest of what I have to say is about using an M56 shifter on the M66.
Cable positions are reversed. Left cable does the longitudinal movement on the S40, but the lateral movement on the C30.
Swapping cables look like they could be made to work on either end.
The firewall grommet is different for the different car. Hence my curiosity about using the S40/M56 cables to match the S40 .
Now, here’s the potentially important part.
When you move the M56 shifter from fully forward to fully rearward, it moves the cable 78mm. The M66 cable move 43mm.
The difference in the longitudinal plane is unexpected. Presumably, using the M56 shifter would make the gate very short back-and-forward - like a very quick shifter.
On the lateral plane, the M56 shifter moves 48mm, where the M66 moves 65mm.
The difference in the lateral plane is more predictable, considering the 6-speed’s extra gate.
Worst case, the 5-speed’s restricted movement would make it impossible to select reverse gear (or 1st/2nd, depending on how you adjust the cable).
Without doing the maths, extending this arm below the pivot (bottom of shifter is the left of the photo) should give enough travel to solve the problem.
I don’t know how any of this relates to a 5-cylinder car, but some of it must be relevant.
If I have time (and lockdown says that I will), I’ll drag my spare M56 & M66 boxes out and do some more comparisons. Including the possibility of changing the lengths of the actuating arms to match the M56 (and therefore allow the M56 shifter to work properly).
