I was test driving after my T5 swap this evening, and after about 45 minutes of driving, I noticed that the aluminum base of my Pro 5.0 shifter was too hot to touch!!!!! Now I realize that too hot for human hands doesn't necessarily mean it's hot, but it's got me wondering now.....

...obviously after a rubber boot, a console, and a shifter plate, there won't be any more touchin' it, but i know it's still gonna get hot. Is this normal?

 

I don't know how hot it should get, (I think too hot to touch starts at about 160* - 180*) but I do know that my T5 never gets that hot, especially around the base of the shifter.

 

Mine gets hot but only if I touch the case of the T-5. The shifter has never gotten as hot as you described.

 

Does your exhaust run under the transmission?

 

my tko shifter get hot, but i think its more to do with the exhaust heat coming up through the floor than the trans itself

 

After reading and searching, I think 86TA might be right. After a long drive the another night, the shifter was actually hotter than the case!!! ...so I think he's right in saying it's exhaust heat. I think it just gets trapped up there in the trans tunnel.