mullenc525

Totally right, though I've built a bicycle I ride around so I'm not too worried about failure. Then again I could just order the shifter and write it off as a maintenance expense ;p

v_therussian

Seriously?

I go through my synchros weekly... no, I don't. It's the same exact thing, except the shift lever is shorter. Unless you mess something up during the install, there's no danger of early wear to anything.

If you have more stress on your wrist and arm, the "short shifter" to blame is not on the car

I love my new knob - the old one was way too big/tall... And I don't know why it's considered such a "racer's" mod. I drive very carefully, especially since I lowered it, and I still really love the short throws, makes the car come together more. Gives it a more confident and inspiring character

I got the Z4 lever, and had the shop bend it. Was a bit of a pain in the neck bending it, because the shop I did it at was doing it for the first time and had to improvise a way to grip one part of the shifter and apply torque to the other, without damaging it. In the end, it was well worth it though - after I had the lever bent, the shift action is perfect. I drove for a couple of weeks with the short lever before it got bent, so I know the difference first-hand.

Dude, you don't even have a manual transmission LOL GTFO this is for real drivers... oh, never mind, yeah the 335

j/k

545felix

I live down the street from Active Autowerke, they have a jig set up to bend shifters, so I just dropped it in the jig and used a large pipe to do the bend. 10 minutes. Of course, this was after I spent an entire weekend at home trying to bend a shifter that I ended up breaking.

The UUC and Rogue products are good, if a bit pricey. they are both better than stock, but I have no idea if either has one that goes as low as the Z4 3.0 shifter does. I don't know how to explain it, but for some reason the z4 3.0 shifter with the tall weighted knob takes less effort to shift than the -373 or 0678 shift levers with the short ZHP knob, even though all three have the same length below the ball and the z4 shifter with the tall knob is still shorter on top than the other two with the ZHP knob.

545felix

remember the lever undergoes a good bit of shearing stress on that joint, a bike frame distributes the stress over multiple joints and isn't actually pulling or pushing anything else.

I'd say write it off as maintenance. You'll love it and wonder why they even bother with the stock lever.

bruce_miranda

Short shifters are not for everyone. I did mine using a Z4 one (oh btw you can do the entire swap from inside the car). I don't know if the diesels are different but after a week my hand was so sore, I swapped it back for the regular shifter.

vkhong

Just doing the knob change from standard to the shorter (0.8 inch less) and heavier ZHP knob (5.4 oz vs 3.0 oz), the shift action was shorter and requires more effort, especially getting into R. I like it for the shorter throw. I do not drive with a hand on the shift knob, so there is no vibration issue to speak of.

Someone else's pics:

BMW ZHP Style 6MT Shift Knob vs Stock E60 Manual Shift Knob w/ Pics

mullenc525

What I mean to say is I'm a capable welder. I'm a mechanical engineer so I'm fairly comfortable to say the safety factor on that bar is quite large and it should be OK after welding. I've done a lot of car modding in my day too

Nonetheless, its also not worth my time if I'm ordering other parts online as well.

z4 shifter or the short version 550i shifter?

545felix

I assume this is for a 525 based on your screen name?

anyhow, to decide between the two shifters you need to decide if you want the stubby ZHP knob. If you do, go with the 550 shifter. If you want to keep the taller knob, go with the Z4 lever. the Z4/tall knob combo is still a bit shorter than the 550lever/ZHP knob combo, but the Z4/ZHP combo is too short and hard to shift, IMO.

the picture in my .sig has the 550 lever with the ZHP knob. I've changed to the Z4/tall weighted //M knob since then.

Also, I am basing this assumption on the 525 having the same shifter as the 530 and 545.

purin

hi felix,

Sorry to dig up an old thread but looking into options for a 2008 535i 6mt shifter option. I dont want to spend high dollars for a UUC kit.

How can you tell if the Z4 3.0 or 2.5 with bends will work for 535? I have seen very little info on teh 535 shifter options. Will the 550 be better?

I have seen understeer's comparison but is not e60 specific. You are one of the few that seems to have done some experimentation in this field not on the UUC.

I tend to rest my arm on the center arm rest when shifting so I am not sure if the z4 + ZHP will be too low like you say. I like how it looks.

The other question is why do short shifters become notchy? What about the link or shifter that makes it so in exchange for "tighter/shorter" throws?

thanks
-p

west

Anyone think a UUC SSK with a ZHP shift knob will be too short? I've heard stories about how difficult it can be to bang the car in to second and am wondering if this will be an issue with the reduced leverage.