Who likes short shifters?

[LeiseyJr]

Who likes short shifters if so what brand and why? Or if you hate them why?

I’ll start I loathe them, auto solutions one is only bearable one. I also dislike how in the z3 one seems to lower the knob a lot. They almost always make it notchy.

I know a lot of people install them trying to gauge how much I’m outnumbered by

[e12euro]

Who likes short shifters if so what brand and why? Or if you hate them why?

I’ll start I loathe them, auto solutions one is only bearable one. I also dislike how in the z3 one seems to lower the knob a lot. They almost always make it notchy.

I know a lot of people install them trying to gauge how much I’m outnumbered by

I'm with you on the issue of notchiness, although many people like this. In the video below an e28 has had a short shifter installed and the owner talks about it.

I think many confuse notchiness, stiffness with precision. That's probably why many liked the narrow gate of the BW Super T10 GM pony cars. With BMWs I preferred the old 4 speeds, when the 5 speed boxes came the throws seemed to become longer, too long, on a 633CSi, M5 etc. Little wonder people install short shifters to get over this. Anyway, that's just my take on things.

Overhauled e28

Plus, maybe people are impressed when a short shifter is put in, because the stock shift linkage had become so warn after 100,000, 200,000 who knows miles?

[austin8753]

'95 M3 shift lever (which is the same as most other E36 shift levers), is the best OE lever, in my opinion. Most of my own cars have one, and every customer car, that requests a short shift lever, gets one. The overall shifter height is very close to stock, and the throw isn't annoyingly notchy. I've installed dozens of them and have not had a single customer complain.

Autosolutions SSK is also a nice kit. I have one in one of my e30s.

[SlickDizzy]

I currently have the Z3 shifter and don’t mind it but wish it was a little taller.

I’m curious about the tunnel-mount E28Goodies shifter that facilitates the removal of the sheetmetal console, bushings, etc. If it’s reasonably tall that may be a good option.

[WVe28]

I don't mind a fully refreshed OE shifter, but I currently run an Auto Solutions ssk and it is very nice.

As for the e28goodies shifter, unless you're running a race car with solid engine and trans mounts you don't want that. It will quickly rip the sheet metal out of your trans tunnel.

[BMWCCA2]

My E39 came to me with a short-shift kit from ECS and, thankfully, the previous owner included the old parts. I don't think it really improves anything.

On both of my E28s and my E34 I've found that simply replacing the stock knob with the style from the ZHP E46 cars is a great improvement with its shorter height and nice weight. Simple solution for about $90 or less. Same knob used by BMW on the M5 sticks until they discontinued the manuals. Still found on M2, M3, and M4, though mine are all labeled for 5-speed patterns.
BMW p/n 25 11 7 896 031

[RonW]

On both my E28s I have a UUC shift lever and an Autosolutions selector rod and coupling. I also have a UUC lever and DSSR for my E46.

When you say "short shifter" I assume you mean a short throw, not necessarily a short lever. On all my cars the lever is the stock length.

On the 535is especially, the shift lever is not notchy at all, and is very easy to shift. The throw is short, and there is very little side-to-side play. Basically, it's spoiled me rotten. The long throw and side-to-side slop the cars had when I got them is simply unacceptable.

[demetk]

I currently have the Z3 shifter and don’t mind it but wish it was a little taller.

I like my X5 shifter. It's a perfect combination of short shift and tall.

[Blue Shadow]

these cars have heavy steering and brakes and lightweight easy to shift manual transmissions with long throws. When I installed the autosolutions, the whole effort to drive the car meshed as a short shift increases the effort needed based on the fulcrum dimension changes involved.

I'm very happy with the autosolutions ssk.

[Nosis]

I’ve been thinking about this exact issue a fair amount lately, as I’ve had the pleasure of driving my e28 a bit. I have the z3 shifter. I don’t mind the lower height of the knob or the short throw from gear to gear. The brute force it takes to make a fast high rpm shift is what does annoy me. Perhaps the e36 level mentioned above has a better compromise between height and leverage. I’m not sure ZHP knobs are available without the silver ring (that’s the weight right?) but i find them unsightly as they are. At this point the longer throw sounds nice...

As an aside, I have the e60 m5 lever in both of my e39s. It annoys me in my m5 for the same reason described above... In my wagon its perfect because fast shifts are not really a thing.

Good luck.

[SlickDizzy]

I’m not sure ZHP knobs are available without the silver ring (that’s the weight right?) but i find them unsightly as they are. At this point the longer throw sounds nice...

The ring is not the weight. There is a taller non-ZHP weighted knob available (it's what I have on my car). 25117503231

https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-2076 ... d-pattern/

[Nosis]

I’m not sure ZHP knobs are available without the silver ring (that’s the weight right?) but i find them unsightly as they are. At this point the longer throw sounds nice...

The ring is not the weight. There is a taller non-ZHP weighted knob available (it's what I have on my car). 25117503231

https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-2076 ... d-pattern/

Cool! Thanks for sharing.

[muleskinner]

I had a UUC on a previous e28, but this time, I went with Z3 shifter. The UUC shifter is much "notchier" or "precision". Between the two, I like the Z3 much better.

[athayer187]

My opinion, FWIW - a notchy shifter needs everything else to be tight. Solid rubber motor and transmission bushings, the entire linkage, etc. I liked my old UUC shifter - had it in the car for 10+ years. I re-built the whole linkage twice in that time out of pure OCD.

I recently changed to a RTD shifter with a CAE adjustable DSSR. Along with solid delrin motor/trans mounts, it's rifle bolt precise. It's super notchy, but in a good way. That said, it's definitely overkill for a daily driver and I wouldn't recommend solid or bolt through motor/trans mounts for a daily driver either.