Shift Lever and Short Shifters

[JRKOUPE]

I haven't installed it yet - it is still sitting on my workbench. When I get to it, i'll post an update.

cool..

BUT I mad a mistake in my post( Ill edit it)..vendor said it does NOT use washers.......!! Ill look for your update....

[ddongbap]

Well. HMM! I'm still deciding what to get. My friends Integra has a shifter that sits well over a foot from its regular seating position. Its nearly equal to the height of the center of his steering hub. That was cool imo. Sort of wanted me to get the X5 shifter. But after seeing pictures of it, It wasn't exactly as high as I thought it was. I sometimes do canyon runs nearly every weekend. Quick second to thrid, back to second shifts. I don't want something that would take LONGER to shift, due to the issues mentioned before, from the 3.0 shifter. Whats everybodys take on this? The 1.9?

I sort of like the idea of shorter shifting though. Thats why I originally went for the 3.0 shifter. Any other suggestions?

[ddongbap]

BTW, my BMW parts store reccomended I get a e36 M3 shifter. Any thoughts? He said theres a 25% shorter throw. But that 55% from the z4 sounds nice too.

[ddongbap]

Well anyway, I got the e36 M3 shifter installed. I think it was the same as a 2.8L Z3 shifter. It rubs hella on the harmonic balancer. Thats comming out tomorrow.



LOL LAMO. I put in my shifter backwards.

[blueapplesoda]

I have an e36 m3 shifter in right now. It was a tad too tall for me, because i was used to the z4 3.0 short shifter....I thought the z4 3.0 shifter was too notchy, even after 3 months (kept mis-shifting, usu around 2-3rd gear shifts at high rpm)..so i shortened the e36 m3 shifter.

I Heated it with a torch till it started smoking a little while pulling and plop the whole thing came out like a dildo. Cut the shifter with a pipe cutter, cut down the rubber part, and used epoxy all over everything and put it back together. I thought it was gonna be hard...not really...took about an hour and now i have my own custom Short shifter. The factory bent shifter now sits exactly where the original e30 shifter sat, just shorter with a shorter throw. Now it is sort of like the rod/ball part of the z3 1.9 with the lever of the z4 3.0..something like the z3 1.9 shifter that was shortened 1 1/8".

I should have put in delrin bushings and copper/brass/metal peices all over the linkage and everywhere...my dad did it with his e36 using a b&m kit and like WOW it felt great to drive that thing. Super silky Operation, shifts quick and short, effort is very little, gear acuracy is high.

[JRKOUPE]

I have an e36 m3 shifter in right now. It was a tad too tall for me, because i was used to the z4 3.0 short shifter....I thought the z4 3.0 shifter was too notchy, even after 3 months (kept mis-shifting, usu around 2-3rd gear shifts at high rpm)..so i shortened the e36 m3 shifter.

I Heated it with a torch till it started smoking a little while pulling and plop the whole thing came out like a dildo. Cut the shifter with a pipe cutter, cut down the rubber part, and used epoxy all over everything and put it back together. I thought it was gonna be hard...not really...took about an hour and now i have my own custom Short shifter. The factory bent shifter now sits exactly where the original e30 shifter sat, just shorter with a shorter throw. Now it is sort of like the rod/ball part of the z3 1.9 with the lever of the z4 3.0..something like the z3 1.9 shifter that was shortened 1 1/8".

I should have put in delrin bushings and copper/brass/metal peices all over the linkage and everywhere...my dad did it with his e36 using a b&m kit and like WOW it felt great to drive that thing. Super silky Operation, shifts quick and short, effort is very little, gear acuracy is high.

I also have an e 36 m3 lever....and a new 1.9 lever..they seem almost identical...maybe the M3 is 1/4" taller. Did your m3 lever have a metal or plastic ball.......the earlier cars had metal.......and Im told it works better..............does the M3 lever interfere w/ your vibration dampener or did you remove it?...tia!

[silverfbimmer]

I got my current short throw shifter off of Ebay, installed it and I love it! I had a UUC in there before and this made a huge improvement over the UUC. It was only $40 so I thought I would try it. I am so glad I did.

[JRKOUPE]

I got my current short throw shifter off of Ebay, installed it and I love it! I had a UUC in there before and this made a huge improvement over the UUC. It was only $40 so I thought I would try it. I am so glad I did.

...what was different about the parts????????????

[silverfbimmer]

The lower part of the shifter from the ball and down seemed just a bit longer. That is all I could tell. And to be honest with you when I pulled out the UUC and saw the Ebay one was longer I didn't think the throw would be as short as the UUC becuase I thought the shorter the distance from the ball to the hole where the selector shaft slides through, then the shorter the throw. Apparently it is the opposite: Maybe the longer the distance between the ball and the hole at the base of the lever, the shorter the throw.

[DoriftuEvo]

Maybe the longer the distance between the ball and the hole at the base of the lever, the shorter the throw.

That's correct.

[87-325ic]

ok its been about an hour or two but i lost track of time, i read all 17 pages.
i originally planned the Z3 1.9L but now i believe i will try the Z4 2.5L..
they look about the same below the ball.. so im hoping to not get too notchy.
But i Love how much shorter the handle is.

i will have my muffler and driveshaft off anyways, for the CSB and guibo and rear tranny seal replacement, so i will get Every Bushing and connector in there and replace it all. i dont want to have to for another 20 years.

Does anyone have a P/n for it (2.5L shifter) Realoem gives me "25117507964" but niether bma nor autohausaz have it "in-stock" on their websites.
I will call and get with patrick on it when ordering.

My only concern, (since im just completely removing the vibration damper anyways,) is will i still need to bend the selector rod, and should i just a little to help transfer the force in a more "straightforward" direction?

Last thing.. i remember hearing that this lever will change my pattern a little up and to the right, is this noticable/ bad? should i bend the shifter a little?

Thank you all for the 17 pages of confusion :blowup:
just kidding. this is a very informative thread.
good work

[blueapplesoda]

Ok if its a straight shift lever then yes, it will be up and to the right. I solved it by matching how the bend in the oem e30 lever was and i just tightly viced the lever in 2 rubber clamp pads, by the ball and selector rod joint, and used a 4 ft pipe to bend it to the right spot. I can take pics of me doing it agian, cause i need to do it for th 1.9 shifter.

I just recently put the z3 1.9 shifter in, cause the custom e36 m3 ('95, metal ball) one i had cut came loose so i had to re-epoxy it.

Removed vibration dampener gone, no selector rod bending.

Bushings. Shifter bushings..get as many as upgraded brass, copper, steel, bearing, delrin, or whatever else upgraded bushings...because it will change the feeling of the shifter's precision, almost going from sawed off shot gun to surgery laser.

Weighted shift knobs don't make such a big difference, unless used with a weighted selector rod (DIY using fat solder wrap).


During the track days:

Z4 3.0 very notchy, extremely short throw, high effort shifter. It caused me to get stuck out of gear a few times while downshifting. Needs to bent. Would be great if it was about 8 inches taller.

e36 m3 ('95) Appearance is stock height, throw is short, effort is medium-medium-small.

e36 m3 ('95) Shortened 1.25 inch ....Good for street, not the greatest for track, but will get by. Throw is shorter, effort is medium.

Z3 1.9 EDIT:Stock in Appearance (sorry for the confusion), effort is medium-small-small. Does not need to be bent. This is my favourite, as i has both qualities of both short shifter and easy shifting. Good compromise.

e30 stock shifter for comparison. Tall height, long throw, not precise, but very easy to shift. Effort is small-small-small.

Imagine small effort being your stock e30 lever and high effort is 2 clicks before fully pulling the e-brake handle, someone come up with a better analogy...


i cannot stress upgraded shifter bushings more, they really help make everything feel 10x smoother and 50x more precise. None of that left to right shifter slop, or very little if any.

[JRKOUPE]

Ok if its a straight shift lever then yes, it will be up and to the right. I solved it by matching how the bend in the oem e30 lever was and i just tightly viced the lever in 2 rubber clamp pads, by the ball and selector rod joint, and used a 4 ft pipe to bend it to the right spot. I can take pics of me doing it agian, cause i need to do it for th 1.9 shifter.

I just recently put the z3 1.9 shifter in, cause the custom e36 m3 ('95, metal ball) one i had cut came loose so i had to re-epoxy it.

Removed vibration dampener gone, no selector rod bending.

Bushings. Shifter bushings..get as many as upgraded brass, copper, steel, bearing, delrin, or whatever else upgraded bushings...because it will change the feeling of the shifter's precision, almost going from sawed off shot gun to surgery laser.

Weighted shift knobs don't make such a big difference, unless used with a weighted selector rod (DIY using fat solder wrap).


During the track days:

Z4 3.0 very notchy, extremely short throw, high effort shifter. It caused me to get stuck out of gear a few times while downshifting. Needs to bent. Would be great if it was about 8 inches taller.

e36 m3 ('95) Appearance is stock height, throw is short, effort is medium-medium-small.

e36 m3 ('95) Shortened 1.25 inch ....Good for street, not the greatest for track, but will get by. Throw is shorter, effort is medium.

Z3 1.9 Short in apearance, effort is medium-small-small. needs to be bent. This is my favourite, as i has both qualities of both short shifter and easy shifting. Good compromise.

e30 stock shifter for comparison. Tall height, long throw, not precise, but very easy to shift. Effort is small-small-small.

Imagine small effort being your stock e30 lever and high effort is 2 clicks before fully pulling the e-brake handle, someone come up with a better analogy...


i cannot stress upgraded shifter bushings more, they really help make everything feel 10x smoother and 50x more precise. None of that left to right shifter slop, or very little if any.

I like your precise breakdown......thanks. I picked up a new 1.9 lever(updated p/n)...it already has a bend in it....does it need more?....I never heard that it did?

Can you tell me more about 95 M3 lever w/ metal ball...I have one of those too. I see you did an oe ht and a shrtnd ht version........which was better on track,...... and why?...I kinda dislike short levers...I prefer a DTM hi ht look/feel........I know the 1.9 will be a bit short. Great review....oh, why is your effort analysis "three step" again?.......

[blueapplesoda]

haha effort analysis is 3 step to give more....detailed feeling?

bend in the 1.9 lever is all you need.

the problem with the m3 lever is that at oe height, the throw is a tad longer, but the shift is smoother. the reason i cut the lever down was to shorten the throw, since i cannot lengthen the shaft between the ball and selector rod joint.

I preffered the stock m3 height over the shortened on the track because i was able to have my compromise of short shift and ease of shifting.

[JRKOUPE]

haha effort analysis is 3 step to give more....detailed feeling?

bend in the 1.9 lever is all you need.

the problem with the m3 lever is that at oe height, the throw is a tad longer, but the shift is smoother. the reason i cut the lever down was to shorten the throw, since i cannot lengthen the shaft between the ball and selector rod joint.

I preffered the stock m3 height over the shortened on the track because i was able to have my compromise of short shift and ease of shifting.

Soda.......,


got it......! .thnx


How much shorter would you
say the 1.9 lever is( in the cockpit) compared to the oe e 30 lever?...


the oe e 36 M3 lever appears to be almost exactly the same ht as the 1.9 lever.....I have em both on my kitchen table and they are sooo close above the ball in ht.