I was originally posting about this in a thread that I made specifically for my car and things that I do to it, but this is becoming a big and hopefully interesting enough project for me to justify making a whole new thread about!
Basically I'm after a new shift knob and I'm not super happy with anything on the market. I think the stock knob doesnt fit my hand super great. Its basically an oval. Do people like oval shift knobs? I sure dont. The shape of the stock knob also doesnt have the finger retaining properties on the "back" side of the knob that faces the dash that I'd like to see to help during 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 shifts.
The OEM knob is ~181g
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
-fit my hand better then OEM
-height as low as, or preferably slightly lower than the stock knob
-no modifying the OEM shifter shaft beyond what is absolutely necessary
-completely reversible to OEM if needed/wanted (separation of OEM boot from knob unfortunately unavoidable)
-no visible mounting hardware/seamless as possible look
-wont burn you in the summer.... well maybe a better way to put this is - wont burn you if you're careful.
-weight? well thats an interesting question. more on that later.
VERSION 1:
V1 was a totally spherical 1.9in diameter knob made of stainless and delrin.
The idea is that you tighten the 4 set screws onto the shifter shaft and then thread the delrin piece over the whole thing, concealing the screws for a totally seamless look.
I 3D printed V1 and learned a lot from this.
First off, its too small. Well, too short really. The diameter felt pretty good but my top finger didnt really have anywhere to go as shown below. For reference I am a 5'10" male with what I can only assume are average sized hands for someone my size.
Good things about V1
-diameter is great. Maybe a tad too big. V1 was 1.9in diameter at its largest section. V2 will be 1.8in
-I like the recess at the bottom of the knob that my pinky rests in
-I like the flat top, very comfortable for palm-down casual shifts
-I like the feeling that the top radius of the knob gives when my palm is on it doing a 2-3 or 4-5 shift
Ok, so I need to make it taller and give my pointer finger more support/a place to hang out. Version 2 incoming!
VERSION 2:
Taller and more of an egg shape now. That's about all that changed!
I 3D printed version 2 as well. I put a set screw in this one too, because V1 didnt have that and it just kinda spun all around and wanted to come off the shift shaft when I test drove it.
I really like V2! I'm perfectly willing and able to do V3, V4, V5, etc but I'm not really sure what I would change. I drove home from work with the 3D printed V2 knob and loved it. I'll probably drive a couple more days with the 3D printed knob before saying for sure that I dont want any more changes.
And here's V2 installed with the OEM shift boot. I actually picked up a used M2 knob + boot on ebay for $80 so I didnt have to do anything at all to my own stock knob/boot. If I ever want to go back to stock its a 3 minute procedure.
Oh, and what weight am I targeting? Well this is gonna sound weird but I actually really liked how the shifter felt with the super light 3D printed plastic knob. The 3D printed V2 is 25g. You could really feel the shifter clicking into gears without the numbing effect of a heavy knob's inertia. Version 2 weighs a theoretical 230g, which is ~25% heavier than the stock knob. Most aftermarket knobs are even heavier than this, so honestly I have no clue what a good weight is. I'll probably just make it the 230g and then see how I like it. Conventional wisdom is that a heavier knob makes for better shifts but I'm not completely convinced of that just yet. I always have options like anodized aluminum or titanium if I want it lighter. If made of aluminum instead of stainless the weight drops to just 110g.
Let me know if you have any suggestions, thoughts, or comments and I'll be updating this thread as I make progress.
