Shift Lever and Short Shifters

[AlarmedBread]

In my case the reason for replacement was my stock shifter was shot and had 3"+ of play while in gear. I'm quite surprised that I never r3v'd my engine while it was like that. I got lucky and just found 4th instead of 2nd a few times

Thats what happens to the linkage when you cowboy shift and slam into gear. Someone should have taught the PO's of my car to be gentle.

As for aesthetics, maybe for some people. The feeling of a nice precise, short throw between gears is something you just have to feel for yourself. A nice 3-2 down shift before a turn. fwiw, the shift knob only sits about 1/2" lower in the car than it did before.

There isn't much (if any) performance to be gained with a SSK, but there is plenty of enjoyment. It's like the difference between regular and sports seats. Sure you don't need it, but it sure is nice to have.

[Mr Deagle]

There isn't much (if any) performance to be gained with a SSK, but there is plenty of enjoyment. It's like the difference between regular and sports seats. Sure you don't need it, but it sure is nice to have.

qft

[e304me]

I have an x5 lever. I ended up welding an extention below the ball on the selector rod to make shifting shorter. I also welded a bunch of weight on to the selctor shaft

[Axxe]

use a sheet metal shift console, with a z3 2.8/3.0 (on my car) i raised the pivot point by drilling out the original and welding in a tube to put the pivot point up 1.3 inches or something like that

it works great on my car, with no notchness and a much shorter throw, also it looks cool because it puts the pivot for the shifter up into the body of the car

someday ill make something for the aluminum shift console that does the same thing

what would be best is a really long rod below the pivot and a really long rod after the pivot, to give it a short throw, but the shifter is still close to you

/end of rant about bending shift linkages

Why not remove the vibration dampener and not worry? I have a Z4 3.0 shifter, no vibration dampener, and a non-modified linkage. Urethane engine and trans mounts already add so much vibration that removing the dampener didn't make a difference.

[Court M3]

anyone running a z4 2.5 on an e30 M3?

Changing out the z3 1.9 on there and putting it on the 323i

[brickwhite]

Z4 2.5 shifter on my 92 325ic e30

I installed the Z4 2.5 yesterday, I like the height and shift pattern, it rubs a little bit in second gear on the balancer. I believe if I bend the shifter a bit it would be even better. I like it alot. When I installed it I could not use the 2 yellow washers everyone else uses when putting on the clip.

[DatUtahGuy]

quick question to clarify... is there a difference in z3, z4, years? like different years have a different throw or what year of car did you guys get your shifters from?

[Mr Deagle]

quick question to clarify... is there a difference in z3, z4, years? like different years have a different throw or what year of car did you guys get your shifters from?

look at the first post for a visual

[thereisnoyun]

2.5 shift lever

install on the cabrio couple days ago. After looking at it after the install some conclusions.

- bending the rod is a piece of cake, and it only requires a quarter turn on the vice to deliver enough bend for the 2.5 z4 shifter to clear the harmonic balancer. Highly recommended vs. taking the balancer out.
- any more bend aka 3.0 would make the rod really bent. I wouldnt recommended, it seem to put quite too much stress on the level, and its really not going the way it should anymore.
- shorter shift level is great, depending on how you sit, if you sit up front and center, you want that shifter to be lower like th 2.5 if you sit back alittle you might feel better longer. Basically, I had the original sport seat in there and the stock feel great height, after I put in the cr1 and sit up closer, I felt the shift lever is way too high, and the 2.5 z4 is perfect height.
- for the cabrio at least, you need one yellow washer replace on the backside of the selector rod, the one that is not connected to teh shift lever. You need none in the front.

can do a write up have tons of photo, but debating cause there is plenty of info out there already.

[Fanzotti]

Could we just get to the bottom of this? What works well. What do we have to get it to work well?

Could we at least compile a top five shifters. Maybe their pluses and minuses and a write up of parts and modifications needed to make the top five work well?

[ian e30 318is]

Could we at least compile a top five shifters. Maybe their pluses and minuses and a write up of parts and modifications needed to make the top five work well?

+1. This would be awesome.

[thereisnoyun]

some photos


stock shifter after removing boot, if your knob doesnt want to come out, use a needle nose plier at the bottom and pivot upward as if you are taking out a hose.

what you'll see on the underside, that big circle is the harmonic balancer

from the side, undo the C clip, you can push it out by your finger, do the same to the other side, but you wont be able to see it, it'll be totally blind work

taking out the cup takes some skillz, if you look at the new cup there is a direction, indicated by two nubs, turn that direction with a needle nose, and keep turning and pulling and it'll come out.

pickture of the 2.5 ssk z4 bend the selector rod with a quarter turn. on the vise after you set it up with the bolts like the uuc description


pop the new cup in, just force it :P

put it back in, just remember that the back one needs one washer the front doesnt need any.

hope this helps anyone who is scared as me :)

[MikeE30325i]

i have the z3 2.5l shifter, and i love it. tight shifts, not too notchy, and feels confident.

[woody]

am i missing something??

hey guys, first post here. i've read this monster thread, along with just about every other article on the web about this shifter/bushing replacement. i just got started on my swap, but i'm stuck at getting the Vib Damper off the driveshaft. anyway here's my story if you have any ideas TIA!

my car: 89 325is
i bought: Z3 1.9 kit from BMA
when installed, my Shift Selector Rod contacts the Vib Damper (especially in 2nd gear and Reverse; I thought this wasn't supposed to happen). anyway, no prob, i'll just remove the Damper.

As you know, there are 6 bolts sandwiching the Driveshaft to Guibo to Transmission Output Flange. I have removed the 3 bolt/nuts that hold the Guibo to the Trans Flange. I also removed 3 nuts from the Driveshaft.

Now what? I can't see what's the next step to get this Vib Damper off. It seems that the 3 threaded posts that are part of the Driveshaft still go through the Guibo...how do you back the driveshaft off in order to get the Guibo and Vib Damper off?

(if you tell me I gotta drop the exhaust and heat shields first, i'll tear my hair out, then i'll go and do it. but i thought removing the vib damper wouldn't take this many steps)

[i'm soo close to enjoying tight short shifts i can't stand it!!]

[thereisnoyun]

bend the selector ROD

it'll take so much less time to bend the selector rod.