[cpxchewy]

Originally Posted by Midtown2020

Did you have your car on a lift, or were you able to do it without removing the driveshaft and still wiggle it out while the car was on jack stands?

I did everything on quick jacks. So maybe a bit higher than jack stands but not much.

[mrdstr]

Just did this over the weekend. Also on quick jacks. I have the full active autowork signature exhaust, and could not get the heat shield out with it there, so it had to come down. I also needed dropped the driveshaft to give better access. The rest was fairly easy, with the hardest bit getting the pin thru the new nose on the transmission selector shaft. It required quite a bit of force to compress the elastomer bushing in order to get the pin lined up, at least more than I was thinking. Very pleased with the outcome.

[Jamdwn3]

Originally Posted by Jeffe

Just added the autosolutions shifter to my m2c. It's legitimately a different car. You can't really understand how terrible the stock shift mechanism is until you jump over to what Ron makes at autosolutions. Worth every single penny to have this kit, I can't imagine going back to that vague BS from before.

I chose stock height & center, 15% reduction with the upgraded bushing (a must), and medium hardness. Ron is a world class vendor and is super helpful when it comes to explaining the methodology behind the shifter and why it's so far improved from the stock setup.

I did the autosolutions SSK for my M2C. Ron was a wealth of information and we chose the best shifter for my tastes. Went of 25% reduction and 90a bushings. Aggressive yes...and it is a bit noisy. vibration and harshness does not offend me as this is a used a sports car mostly. Summary is I love it! I feel so much more connected to the car and have not missed a gear in over a year I had it installed. Can't say the same with stock.

[jkoral]

Had my SSK installed yesterday. Went with 17% reduction, stock height/position, with the 80 bushings (yellow colored). Feels great, although if I'm honest I don't love the increased weird noises and vibration in the M perf knob. Probably should have gone with the 70 bushings.

17% feels shorter than I expected, probably should have stuck with my initial ask of 15%. But like all short shifters, you quickly get used to it.

Not sure my shop's hourly rate (not posted), but I paid a flat rate of $300 installed.

[doughboy]

I found the Mperf shift knobs rattle and buzz with a short shift kit, too much cheap plastic parts in them.

Changed mine out for a heavy, smooth Raceseng knob, THIS is what makes the shift kit 100%, best mod ever.

https://raceseng.com/sphereology-gate-1-bmw-shifter-arm

[jkoral]

Stock:

17% SSK:

[(K)]

Mine's about a month out, I went with 22.5% reduction, 95A, and stock height. I'm starting to wonder if the MP shift knob will be "enough" for my proposed specs based off of everyone's feedback...

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by doughboy

I found the Mperf shift knobs rattle and buzz with a short shift kit, too much cheap plastic parts in them.

That may be but it's not just the shifter knob buzzing. Googling around I see a few posts reporting similar noises, kind of like this guy:

https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1678084

I'll definitely give it some time and possibly buy some softer bushings. Problem is I've only put 200 miles on the car in the last 8 months. Hoping to do some more driving as we come out of the pandemic.

[AKD]

Originally Posted by jkoral

That may be but it's not just the shifter knob buzzing. Googling around I see a few posts reporting similar noises, kind of like this guy:

https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1678084

I'll definitely give it some time and possibly buy some softer bushings. Problem is I've only put 200 miles on the car in the last 8 months. Hoping to do some more driving as we come out of the pandemic.

I had this fear and my setup is similar (25% reduction 80a bushings). Noise for me is pretty minimal with the stock shift knob. I've heard the 95a bushings can be pretty loud and maybe I'm going deaf, but I'm extremely satisfied with the lack of whirring and clunks vs my older UUC setup.

One thing that has made a difference is to check if the shift knob is seated all the way down. If it's not, it'll make a ton of noise (like a baby on crack with a toy rattle). You might also want to use some tape on the shaft so that the knob fits more snugly.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by jkoral

That may be but it's not just the shifter knob buzzing. Googling around I see a few posts reporting similar noises, kind of like this guy:

https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1678084

I'll definitely give it 2lousome time and possibly buy some softer bushings. Problem is I've only put 200 miles on the car in the last 8 months. Hoping to do some more driving as we come out of the pandemic.

A lot of people there misunderstanding the issue and taking about diffs and engine mounts.

The sounds are normal internal gearbox gear lash noises / whining / whiring usually isolated from the cabin by mushy shifter bushings etc. The internal selector forks are touching the rotating parts in the gearbox, that is the noise, it changes pitch/frequency with gear selection not fixed to engine speed so its from the OUTPUT shaft side of the box. Nobody seems to talk about that so it can't be engine mounts for example.

Remove the NVH damping add the SSK and bingo it certain cases the whole selector / linkage train acts like a loudspeaker transmitting those noises into the cabin. The standard knobs can act like resonating amplifiers making the noise louder.

I found if I just touched the shift knob with one finger the noises allmost stopped. Cover it with your hand stretched out flat and it went quiet even withouth touching it.

Pull the knob off and go for a drive that was quiet too.

Equally the weighted Raceseng knob is completely silent for me. I think the OE knobs are just a bit lightweight and also hollow plastic inside which just doesn't quite work in some cases.

Resonance and vibrations are the bane of any NVH engineer, very complicated and hard to predict.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by doughboy

A lot of people there misunderstanding the issue and taking about diffs and engine mounts.

Agreed, that was not a good thread to reference. I was just looking for others with the 80a bushings complaining about the noise and this thread is almost exactly the same as me:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1693485

But I took my car out yesterday around town driving with window 1/3 open. Didn't seem to notice all the noises I heard the day before with windows up, radio off and going speeds 40-60mph and listening intently.

Just to be clear, definitely do not regret, just as the OP in the M3 thread, just a bit more noise than I expected. Windows open or radio on, it's not very noticeable.

It's a tradeoff, go with a quieter (or even new OEM) bushings and it won't stabilize the shift arm, taking away some of the crisp, precision of the shifts.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by jkoral

It's a tradeoff, go with a quieter (or even new OEM) bushings and it won't stabilize the shift arm, taking away some of the crisp, precision of the shifts.

Exactly, that's why I stayed with the hard bushings and sorted the noise with a new shift knob, which actually turned out to improve the drive and shift feel even more! win win.

The noise wasn't that bad, just annoyed me on quiet runs. On a blast with the window open a little you couldn't hear it anyway.

PS - I bought my AS SSK before Ronald even offered softer bushings, so mine just has what are now the firmest bushings.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Had my SSK installed yesterday. Went with 17% reduction, stock height/position, with the 80 bushings (yellow colored). Feels great, although if I'm honest I don't love the increased weird noises and vibration in the M perf knob. Probably should have gone with the 70 bushings.

17% feels shorter than I expected, probably should have stuck with my initial ask of 15%. But like all short shifters, you quickly get used to it.

Quoting myself to update my original impressions. I no longer notice any increased NVH and 17% feels too long -- I should have gone with 20%! Love, love this shifter.

I (unfortunately) had to let my wife take the M2 one day and she loves it too! She's driven multiple manual BMWs and felt this is the best shifting BMW yet.

[Midtown2020]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Quoting myself to update my original impressions. I no longer notice any increased NVH and 17% feels too long -- I should have gone with 20%! Love, love this shifter.

I (unfortunately) had to let my wife take the M2 one day and she loves it too! She's driven multiple manual BMWs and felt this is the best shifting BMW yet.

Did the sound disappear or have you tuned it out and don't notice it anymore?

I have -22.5%, stock height and 80a bushings sitting in my spare room waiting for me to install when I find time. I can't wait! I'm considering whether or not to swap my bushings for the 70 bushings before setting about the install.

I will be using both the stock shift knob andthe M Performance Carbon/Acantara shift knob and plan to switch between them from time to time.

Do you still wish you had used the 70's?

I keep seeing people refer to 80a and 80a+ bushings mentioned, are they one and the same? Mine were referred to as 80a, picture here:

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by Midtown2020

Did the sound disappear or have you tuned it out and don't notice it anymore?

I don't notice it, so I think it's a combination, perhaps a bit quieter, but in day to day driving not noticeable. On my drive home from the shop I was, radio off, windows up, listening intently for any noises and keyed into the feeling in the shifter.

Originally Posted by Midtown2020

I'm considering whether or not to swap my bushings for the 70 bushings before setting about the install. Do you still wish you had used the 70's?

I keep seeing people refer to 80a and 80a+ bushings mentioned, are they one and the same? Mine were referred to as 80a, picture here:

Good question, I went back to my emails from Ronald in late January and he mentioned 70a, 80a and 95a. He also stated the following:

"I've had no complaints of noise with either 70 or 80 on stock M2s. this does not means no noise. only no complaints of such. So based on that data 80 is a very reasonable choice. a tiny bit more risky than 70 noise wise but significantly if not overwhelmingly more responsive."

Regardless I have no regrets about the 80/80a (think they are the same) and given the choice would stick with what I have.

Originally Posted by Midtown2020

I will be using both the stock shift knob andthe M Performance Carbon/Acantara shift knob and plan to switch between them from time to time.

The slight vibration in the M Performance Carbon/Alcantara knob does not bother me and I don't really notice it when shifting or my hand is on it. I only notice it when stopped at a light and looking at the shift knob.

[to_riffic]

I just paid for mine, I went with a 15% reduction since I wanted to keep it close to stock but reduce a bit of the "slop". Hopefully it ships soon so I can get it installed asap. With the UCP in already, I hope to do the CDV delete and this SSK at the same time.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by to_riffic

Hopefully it ships soon...

I ordered Feb 2nd, it shipped April 14th, YMMV. (As you know each one is custom made and he does them in batches when he gets multiple orders for the same BMW model in his queue).

[2020M2Competition]

Originally Posted by Midtown2020

I keep seeing people refer to 80a and 80a+ bushings mentioned, are they one and the same? Mine were referred to as 80a, picture here:

I have the 80a+ bushings

They look very similar to yours, but I don't know if they are truly identical

Ronald has refined the formula of his bushings over the past few years

[to_riffic]

Originally Posted by jkoral

I ordered Feb 2nd, it shipped April 14th, YMMV. (As you know each one is custom made and he does them in batches when he gets multiple orders for the same BMW model in his queue).

I've been pestering him since early March. Paid the invoice last week since he said it was done, so now I'm just waiting for the shipping...

[Midtown2020]

Originally Posted by to_riffic

I just paid for mine, I went with a 15% reduction since I wanted to keep it close to stock but reduce a bit of the "slop". Hopefully it ships soon so I can get it installed asap. With the UCP in already, I hope to do the CDV delete and this SSK at the same time.

I already have the UCP installed as well, and plan to do the CDV at the same time as the ssk. If the timing works out, I should be doing an active autowerke EL mid pipe also!

Not looking forward to bleeding the clutch though, sounds like a real pain in the ass.

[to_riffic]

Originally Posted by Midtown2020

I already have the UCP installed as well, and plan to do the CDV at the same time as the ssk. If the timing works out, I should be doing an active autowerke EL mid pipe also!

Not looking forward to bleeding the clutch though, sounds like a real pain in the ass.

I'm going to leave that bit of work to EAS to do
Just got shipping confirmation on my SSK.

All that's left is the EL midpipe...

[Midtown2020]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Regardless I have no regrets about the 80/80a (think they are the same) and given the choice would stick with what I have.

I checked with Ronald. The 80A was the original, then it was modified and given the name 80A+. Since it was better than the original 80A, he stopped selling the original 80A in favor of only selling the 80A+, but he reverted the name of the 80A+ to 80A again.