Changing the shifter actually makes it sportier! I didn't think it would be a huge difference but shifting is much better.
Thanks for the DIY, it helped tremendously.
Unclipping the wires was annoyingly difficult but once off I carefully removed the OEM boot from the ring by pulling with my fingers then using a razor to CAREFULLY scalp/delaminate the leather off. I didn't want to cut up the OEM leather too much in case I want to use it again, not to mention it's just bad form.
I've read how many folks here had a difficult time getting the thicker M5 leather to allow the ring to clip back down so I made sure after the OEM boot was removed the OEM ring was as clean of debris as possible by scraping away all glue and bits of leather remaining. Next I put the M5 boot on, determined and then created the location of where to place holes in M5 leather and voila! I tucked the leather under the ring (NO GLUE, NO CLIPS) and snapped it in. Took me 2 hours while in conversation with my 3M clear bra installer.
I highly recommend this mod. For me this also allows my elbow to rest where it should be while still keeping a hand on the shifter.
