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      05-28-2020, 04:55 PM   #1
RocketBoots
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Shift Knob Impressions (Raceseng, M-Performance)

There are a lot of existing opinions already about shift knobs and weight. Take this as my own opinion and experience. First off, let me say I really like Raceseng shift knobs, and have had quite a few of them on this car and others. Their quality, fit, and finish are second to none.

I'm familiar with the old post from Rogue stating that the tolerances of BMW's are very tight, and heavy knobs could create premature wear/tear. I'm also familiar with Raceseng's perspectives.

I have the AutoSolutions SSK installed in my car. So far, I've tried the following:

Raceseng Spherology (470g)

Raceseng Circuit Sphere (255g)

Raceseng Circuit Cylinder (250g)

OEM ZHP (223g w/boot)

OEM M-Performance carbon/alcantara (205g w/boot)

I'm currently liking the M-performance one the best.

The Spherology is too heavy IMO. Much of the 'rifle bolt' action and feel went away with this knob. It did improve the notchiness a bit and reduced shifting effort a tiny bit, but when you slid it into gear, it almost felt like it would reverberate, like it was too massive. Imagine a bowling ball on top of a stick, and the stick hits a low wall. Now imagine it was a golf ball. The golf ball would reverberate a lot less when the stick hit the wall. You get the idea.


The Circuit Sphere was at what I would consider the limit of weight. You retain the feel, but the shifts were smoothed out a bit. However, the shifts were also smoother due to the added length and having more leverage. So it's hard to exactly compare apples to apples in terms of weight. I really like the Circuit Sphere. It is super ergonomic, and well designed.


Just for the helluvit, I decided to try the Circuit Cylinder (slightly taller, skinny). Surprisingly, I liked it a lot. The two weigh almost exactly the same, so the differences are strictly due to the shape. The Cylinder felt a little more direct and precise, but less ergonomic and comfortable.


The OEM ZHP knob is good as well. It gives you the most 'snickety-snick' shifting sound.

The M-Performance knob is noticeably smaller in diameter, and a perfect circle rather than the oval shape of the OEM knob. It is also about 1/2" shorter. Since it is slightly lighter and shorter than the OEM knob, I thought the shifting effort would be greater, and it would be more notchy. To my surprise, it's maybe slightly less notchy, but feels more solid when banging through the gears. It definitely feels more precise. It's not any harder to go through the gears, although it is a little more difficult to get it into reverse. I'm not sure how BMW accomplished this with this knob. Even though it is noticeably smaller than the OEM, since it weighs almost the same amount, it's a lot more dense. I also think the weight distribution in the M-Performance knob is different. Also, it's easier to shift faster IME.


Keep in mind, all of this is with the AutoSolutions SSK, which is very solid and precise to begin with. Also, let me say I'm kind of in-between a overhand and sidearm shifter; probably more of an overhand.

Last edited by RocketBoots; 05-28-2020 at 08:56 PM..
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      05-28-2020, 06:40 PM   #2
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Excellent reviews. Bravo
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      05-29-2020, 07:17 AM   #3
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The OEM M Perf variant has white stitching which doesn't match any car. I don't understand why BMW offered it with white stitching. At least make it the M tri-color which then can match the steering wheel.
At least the price is somewhat reasonable: https://www.bmwpartspros.com/oem-par...ob-25112222534

IND offers the M Perf knob with the matching polar blue or the M tri-color stitching but IND lives in a bubble with their product pricing. Seriously $130 more tri-color stitching and $170 more for polar blue stitching? How is this justified? Ryan@IND
https://ind-distribution.com/product...c4c48a46&_ss=r
https://ind-distribution.com/product...c4c48a46&_ss=r

and $19 for the cheapest shipping option on top of that...so much price gouging.
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      05-29-2020, 07:22 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2 View Post
...but IND lives in a bubble with their product pricing.
I love the fact that they offer so many parts in one place, but will not buy anything from them because of their pricing. I did buy the blue start button, but that'll be the end of it.
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      05-29-2020, 07:26 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VisualEcho View Post
I love the fact that they offer so many parts in one place, but will not buy anything from them because of their pricing. I did buy the blue start button, but that'll be the end of it.
I love that they have "sales" too which is just a 10% off coupon. Even with their coupon they can't even beat regular year round prices from other vendors who then offer sales on top of that.
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      05-29-2020, 09:35 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2 View Post
The OEM M Perf variant has white stitching which doesn't match any car. I don't understand why BMW offered it with white stitching. At least make it the M tri-color which then can match the steering wheel.
At least the price is somewhat reasonable: https://www.bmwpartspros.com/oem-par...ob-25112222534

IND offers the M Perf knob with the matching polar blue or the M tri-color stitching but IND lives in a bubble with their product pricing. Seriously $130 more tri-color stitching and $170 more for polar blue stitching? How is this justified? Ryan@IND
https://ind-distribution.com/product...8a46&_ss=r
https://ind-distribution.com/product...8a46&_ss=r

and $19 for the cheapest shipping option on top of that...so much price gouging.
I think they redo the stitching on an OEM one themselves in-house. Regardless IND never ceases to amaze me. Their products are very high quality And the shipping charge is justified with the care they put into it.
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      05-29-2020, 09:43 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Detoxified View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2 View Post
The OEM M Perf variant has white stitching which doesn't match any car. I don't understand why BMW offered it with white stitching. At least make it the M tri-color which then can match the steering wheel.
At least the price is somewhat reasonable: https://www.bmwpartspros.com/oem-par...ob-25112222534

IND offers the M Perf knob with the matching polar blue or the M tri-color stitching but IND lives in a bubble with their product pricing. Seriously $130 more tri-color stitching and $170 more for polar blue stitching? How is this justified? Ryan@IND
https://ind-distribution.com/product...8a46&_ss=r
https://ind-distribution.com/product...8a46&_ss=r

and $19 for the cheapest shipping option on top of that...so much price gouging.
I think they redo the stitching on an OEM one themselves in-house. Regardless IND never ceases to amaze me. Their products are very high quality And the shipping charge is justified with the care they put into it.
It doesn't take much labor to change stitching. Almost $200 for stitching a 6 square-inch boot? It's not exactly difficult design either. Literally straight cuts sewn together.

And definitely makes even less sense for polar blue to cost $40 more than M colors.

Realistically it should be $50-$75 maybe.
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      05-29-2020, 07:06 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2 View Post
It doesn't take much labor to change stitching. Almost $200 for stitching a 6 square-inch boot? It's not exactly difficult design either. Literally straight cuts sewn together.

And definitely makes even less sense for polar blue to cost $40 more than M colors.

Realistically it should be $50-$75 maybe.
You're right. Paid $50 for the boot from Coby Wheel.
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      06-01-2020, 05:40 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2 View Post
The OEM M Perf variant has white stitching which doesn't match any car. I don't understand why BMW offered it with white stitching. At least make it the M tri-color which then can match the steering wheel.
At least the price is somewhat reasonable: https://www.bmwpartspros.com/oem-par...ob-25112222534

IND offers the M Perf knob with the matching polar blue or the M tri-color stitching but IND lives in a bubble with their product pricing. Seriously $130 more tri-color stitching and $170 more for polar blue stitching? How is this justified? Ryan@IND
https://ind-distribution.com/product...c4c48a46&_ss=r
https://ind-distribution.com/product...c4c48a46&_ss=r

and $19 for the cheapest shipping option on top of that...so much price gouging.
Most of our parts are based on OEM cores - meaning we purchase a new item from a BMW center and modify it to sell.

There are online retailers (BMW dealerships with online stores) that are able to sell some of these non modified items directly to you for nearly our cost and sometimes less.

Coby makes some nice products for a very fair price, but the pricing doesn't have a brand new BMW boot/knob/frame included or factored into it.

The F8x M Performance Matte Carbon knob retails from BMW for about $263. We have a very small amount of margin in the boot itself. Then we send it off to our upholstery shop to remove the plastic frame without damaging the Alcantara, remove the white stitching, add tricolor stitching, and glue the boot back to the stock frame. Given that this is something we outsource, I don't think asking $355 retail all said and done is unreasonable.

Our site shipping algorithm varies depending on product and where it's going. A recent quote of $19 to a residential address in Southern California is actually very accurate whether we use USPS or UPS on a 14x10x8" box.
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Last edited by IND-Distribution; 06-02-2020 at 09:53 AM..
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      06-01-2020, 06:00 PM   #10
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      08-27-2021, 07:31 PM   #11
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Great write up - have just installed the m performance carbon shift knob. Still getting used to it but agree on the sentiments shared here. I do find it a touch on the smaller side but that might just need time to adjust coming from the rather bulky ZHP knob. Have people just found it takes time to adjust with the small MP knob? Does anyone actually rotate between shift knobs to change things up?
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      08-29-2021, 09:40 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Great write up - have just installed the m performance carbon shift knob. Still getting used to it but agree on the sentiments shared here. I do find it a touch on the smaller side but that might just need time to adjust coming the rather bulky ZHP knob. Have people just found it takes time to adjust with the small MP knob? Does anyone actually rotate between shift knobs to change things up?
That’s my plan! I installed AS SSK 22.5% reduction, OEM height and intermediate bushings 2 weeks ago. Been living with the OEM shift knob since, and plan to swap it with my IND MP shift knob today and give it a try. I also am considering adding a Raceseng knob to the rotation. I like switching it up from time to time.

I will say that prior to installing the ssk I preferred the oem knob over the MP knob. I wasn’t fond of the mp knob diameter, that it was round and also that the alcantara got dirty very fast and needed to be brushed clean frequently. Having said that, I’m still excited to put it on again with the ssk and give it a try.

I’d love to try out the circuit cylinder! It looks like a fun one to add to the rotation to totally change the driving experience.
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      08-30-2021, 02:13 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midtown2020 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Great write up - have just installed the m performance carbon shift knob. Still getting used to it but agree on the sentiments shared here. I do find it a touch on the smaller side but that might just need time to adjust coming the rather bulky ZHP knob. Have people just found it takes time to adjust with the small MP knob? Does anyone actually rotate between shift knobs to change things up?
That's my plan! I installed AS SSK 22.5% reduction, OEM height and intermediate bushings 2 weeks ago. Been living with the OEM shift knob since, and plan to swap it with my IND MP shift knob today and give it a try. I also am considering adding a Raceseng knob to the rotation. I like switching it up from time to time.

I will say that prior to installing the ssk I preferred the oem knob over the MP knob. I wasn't fond of the mp knob diameter, that it was round and also that the alcantara got dirty very fast and needed to be brushed clean frequently. Having said that, I'm still excited to put it on again with the ssk and give it a try.

I'd love to try out the circuit cylinder! It looks like a fun one to add to the rotation to totally change the driving experience.
Yes - I can see myself switching gear knobs from time to time! Good to know I wasn't the only one thinking that

Crossing fingers that maybe bmw m performance come up with a new revised gear knob for the g42/g87. Their last attempt with the silver LCI knob was one of the most ugliest things I've seen them release from their catalogue.
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      09-03-2021, 04:47 PM   #14
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Don't want to cut into my CS center console but.....

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      09-03-2021, 06:09 PM   #15
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I'm thinking of trying the Raceseng Circuit Sphere. Anyone else using it?
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