umm those are key to the shortshifter. that is how the throws are shorter because the whole shifter is raised by the bushings allowing the bottom protion of the shifter(after the ball) to move longer. with that moving longer it makes the top part (where the knob is) have a shorter distance to tavel to move the bottom part. thus making your throws shorter. basically put them in!! very easy to do by urself there are directions in the tech info stuff.
The TRD doesn't change the fulcrum of the shift point at all, the bushing is the same height as the stock one, it's just not made of rubber so the shifts are more direct.