firebirdjosh

iTrader: (1)

I understand what they do but why would I want one, how much, how hard to install, etc?

AlkyIROC

For a street car, you'll probably never need one since you'll usually pull it down into D or OD and just drive away. For a race car, especially one with a manual valve body in the transmission, it's a priority to have one.

Using a ratchet shifter allows you to move the shifter through the gears one at a time with no chance of going past a gear. If the tranny is in first and you push the shifter forward it moves into second and you have to release the shifter and push it forward again to get into third. It's faster and more precise than a stock type of shifter and you don't have to look to see if you went past a gear.

There's no difference in installing one than any other shifter. It uses a cable to the tranny. Free pin fit is adjusted at park and first to make sure then length is correct. The only downside is shifting from Park to reverse takes 2 ratchets because GM trannies have a long throw between those 2 detents but that also depends on which shifter you chose to use.