Shift Lever and Short Shifters

[Hey-U]

Had a shop install a UUC SSK and drove the car for the first time last night. I was concerned that the shifter was going to be notchy and that I would be swapping it back very quickly. The mechanic I had do the install wasn't a big fan of SSK but after driving the car he had positive things to say. I am very happy, it made a dramatic difference, not notchy like the only other one I had tried (not sure what brand it was). Firm shifting with very little side to side play, definitely shorter through.
UUC lived up to it's advertising in my mind.

[evilnickwong]

I have a Z4 2.5 on my 318i g240. No mods needed, only slight complaint is that the lever isn't oriented perfectly (z4 is straight, stock is bent), but not a big deal once you get used to it.

[e30trooper]

whats the best short shifter with out many mods for a getreg 240 for a 318i?

[xLibelle]

I went for the X5 shifter...

[xLibelle]

yeah, uhm, i think i might bite on that Kaze shifter.

have you pushed the dowel pin out yet? I want to know if they included height adjustability or if i have to modify it myself.

[xLibelle]

What is the updated Z3 1.9 shifter number?

last time i tried to order, i asked for 25117527252 as stated in realoem and got a straight one.
and the proportions looked exactly that of the 25117527253 (2.8/3.0) I thought this was considerably notchy - it slowed my shifts down.

...looking back through order sheets... damn theres a lot... nm, not in there.

[blueapplesoda]

I was messing around with the new ebay ssk today and found that:

1. You can fit a stock nylon bushing (I was testing with an e36 bushing) and use a oem shift lever with this raised shift carrier.

2. It is very difficult to get the stock lever and bushing back out of the carrier because the snap ring groove catches the nylon tabs.

So choose the right lever and buy an extra bushing if you're gonna use the stock setups.

[blueapplesoda]

fixed the 2piece slop problem on the ebay shifter

This is the first one, sloppily brazed together using silver braze. The second one I did was much much cleaner, but my buddy has it so no pics of that yet. Sorry for the shitty iphone photo.



No more snap rings on the shift lever :D

[e30pwr]

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

this.

[B_V]

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

[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.

[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...

[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.

[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!"

[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.