Shift Lever and Short Shifters

[wojtek79]

How do you like it? Is it shorter?
Turns out there is only one. The other is gone and the one that is left was flipped so cabin space is significantly reduced.

[NOMAD]

the one that is left was flipped so cabin space is significantly reduced.

Ha ha, great way to put it.

I haven't installed yet. The lever arm under the ball is about 1 to 3/4 inch so it'll make a difference but i'm waiting on a Z3 shifter to compare before install.

[Thor]

I installed an E36 M3 shifter in my E30 M3. I believe this is the same part as what you're looking at.

Anyway, it's like a 1/4" taller than the Z3 1.9 shifter but because it is longer under the ball, the throws are a hair shorter than the Z3 1.9 one. Basically you get a lever that sits shorter than stock but a touch taller than the Z3 1.9, but has the same shift throw as the Z3 1.9. This was useful to me for two reasons: 1) Used E36 levers are everywhere and 2) I autocross the car and I'm not looking for the lowest lever.

Pictures of the two levers are here: http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/dri...ift_lever.html

Notice the lever ratios: Z3 1.9 is 5.13:1 while the E36 levers are 4.86:1. But you'll see in the pictures that the E36 shifter is slightly taller than the Z3.

[wojtek79]

Good to hear. I will post pics once I acquire the E36 one and compare it to the stock E30 one.

[NOMAD]

take pics, I'm sure a lot of people will be interested in an easy to find alternative.

[ShowStopper]

very interesting thread. i like it

[lennon]

just installed all new everything and 2.8 z3 lever into my 86 early style sheet metal shift console. everything worked fine, early style consoles just need everything off their original shifter (some of it is not made to come off/go on a complete lever). i got it all together without any trouble. i took out the whole console and everything and assembled it on my workbench and then mounted the console.

the z3 2.8 lever has made the throws a lot shorter and the whole thing is notchier, even though i fitted a sort of spacer below the lower ball cup in the console to raise the ball as high as possible to straighten the selector rod. i think the notchiness i feel is mostly all the new parts in comparison to my old ones of unknown age and obvious wear. i didnt have a ton of play before and none of the parts were wasted but still the difference is seriously night and day. i almost feel like the throws are too short for my taste but ill probly get used to it. if i dont like it after a while i can semi-easily change it out for another.

[p0cket penguins]

i made a video of my z3m shifter filled with 90A poly with all derlin and poly trans bushings that I poured. The shift linkage is also weighted with a pound of material.

you can see how much more notchy the shifter is when im shifting slow... this is because there is no momentum to overcome the notchyness... compared to when i shift faster where the additional pound of weight drives up the momentum of the shifting resulting in a smoother shift.

http://www.understeer.com/cheapwsr.shtml

[robspeed325i]

i made a video of my z3m shifter filled with 90A poly with all derlin and poly trans bushings that I poured. The shift linkage is also weighted with a pound of material.

you can see how much more notchy the shifter is when im shifting slow... this is because there is no momentum to overcome the notchyness... compared to when i shift faster where the additional pound of weight drives up the momentum of the shifting resulting in a smoother shift.

http://www.understeer.com/cheapwsr.shtml

nice vid, thanks :)

[luckysnafu]

I installed the z4 3.0 shifter in my 318is and had to bend the selector rod to get the shifter to the same position as the original. When I put the z4 selector rod in without bending it, 2nd and 4th gears were now where neutral was before and 1st, 3rd and 5th were way too far forward. I had to bend the selector rod to get everything back to where the stock position was. After bending and installing, the throws are very, very short, almost too short for a DD. Compared to the Rogue Engineering SSK installed in my e46, the z4 3.0 has shorter, slightly notchier throws. I am still getting used to it and will probably love it within a month or so. I will take some pictures of my installed setup this week.

[Sean]

I installed the z4 3.0 shifter in my 318is and had to bend the selector rod to get the shifter to the same position as the original. When I put the z4 selector rod in without bending it, 2nd and 4th gears were now where neutral was before and 1st, 3rd and 5th were way too far forward. I had to bend the selector rod to get everything back to where the stock position was. After bending and installing, the throws are very, very short, almost too short for a DD. Compared to the Rogue Engineering SSK installed in my e46, the z4 3.0 has shorter, slightly notchier throws. I am still getting used to it and will probably love it within a month or so. I will take some pictures of my installed setup this week.

Still have and LOVE mine! I didn't even bend the lever! To this day, when people ask if I have a short shifter, I just go..."OHHHH YA!"

[blueapplesoda]

found another ebay shifter couple months ago. $50 shipped. Bought one...gonna try it out. Ill update when I install it.

Instead of a raised pivot ball cup (B&M blue cup thing/UUC ERK type thing), the entire arm is CNC'd to basically raise the pivot point. Which means no O-rings to cause slop, and this shifter allows you to use your stock clip-in shift knob. They even throw in a new bushing, not that i would use it though...cause I have delrin bushes.

Heres some pics...




As with the B&M Copy, a not so good two-peice pivot ball/lever deisgn. Personally, I would change that snap ring to a wire type retaining ring, and add a small shim between the snap ring and ball.


very nice Al shift lever...can use stock shift knobs :)..It has a rolled pin pressed in to keep the pivot shaft and the lever together. It may be even height adjustable if anyone wants to get creative :)


pressed in bronze bushing, no more sloppy nylon bullshit.

For the money, I think this is well worth it. The build quality is 8.5-9/10, the two piece ball-lever is the only thing taking away from it.

and to add, if you want to get rid of 95% of the slop, the most important 2 parts to replace in the stock gear selector assembly:



Obviously everything else should be replaced too like bushings, bitch clip, #8 in the picture, and all those little plastic washers and clips.

[robspeed325i]

found another ebay shifter couple months ago. $50 shipped. Bought one...gonna try it out. Ill update when I install it.

Instead of a raised pivot ball cup (B&M blue cup thing/UUC ERK type thing), the entire arm is CNC'd to basically raise the pivot point. Which means no O-rings to cause slop, and this shifter allows you to use your stock clip-in shift knob. They even throw in a new bushing, not that i would use it though...cause I have delrin bushes.

Heres some pics...




As with the B&M Copy, a not so good two-peice pivot ball/lever deisgn. Personally, I would change that snap ring to a wire type retaining ring, and add a small shim between the snap ring and ball.


very nice Al shift lever...can use stock shift knobs :)..It has a rolled pin pressed in to keep the pivot shaft and the lever together. It may be even height adjustable if anyone wants to get creative :)


pressed in bronze bushing, no more sloppy nylon bullshit.

For the money, I think this is well worth it. The build quality is 8.5-9/10, the two piece ball-lever is the only thing taking away from it.

and to add, if you want to get rid of 95% of the slop, the most important 2 parts to replace in the stock gear selector assembly:



Obviously everything else should be replaced too like bushings, bitch clip, #8 in the picture, and all those little plastic washers and clips.

did you press in the bronze bush at the bottom? I would have junked the two-piece lever/ball setup and gone for a 1-piece BMW lever (as is my plan when i do my shifter this summer). The two-piece ball/lever is the only place mine ($25 ebay blue cup style) has play in it, and it absolutely will not be installed in car that way. still need to decide what BMW shift lever to use in its place...

[Cha Ching]

blueapplesoda, I was eyeing a similar kit on eBay as well, I was amazed at the price difference between this shifter & those from other vendors. Nice to see a good evaluation of the build quality. I'm in LA area as well, would like to see or assist with the install if schedules permit. Send me a PM if that sounds OK with you.

[B_V]

Keep us updated as to how that eBay shifter works out. The prices on those are phenominal. ::crosses fingers::