BMW M3 Forum (E90 E92) - View Single Post

mtl88 · 02-25-2011, 11:42 PM

My intention was to send my stock knob to LeatherZ and they would extract my shift pattern and insert it into their ZHP knob with their lighting. They said there would be a chance that when removing my shift pattern that it could get damaged and that they would not be held responsible. All of this and it would cost me $175 plus shipping. After reading elp_jc and gixxer kid's posts I decided I would buy a dremel and do this myself.

I did this mod and I am extremely happy with the results!

The stock knob does not need to be dremeled as I followed the directions from gixxer kid. You need to carefully lift the stock shift pattern from the knob. I used an eyeglass screw driver to get it out. elp_jc is correct as the double sided tape is just around the edges.

Make sure you keep everything you pull out of the stock knob. Below the shift pattern is a white piece of plastic that has the double sided tape (make sure to keep the white plastic and double sided tape for later). In order to pull out the black housing there is a hex bolt but it is underneath the LED. There are three black plastic tabs keeping the LED in place. I used the eyeglass screw driver to push the tabs in so that I could get the LED out. You’ll need to cut the clear plastic sheath around the wires, remove the wires from the connectors and then undue the leather from the shift knob so that you can pass the wires through the knob. After you get the LED out you’ll see the hex bolt to unscrew. You can now pull out the black housing with some pliers.

I then followed elp_jc’s instructions for the rest. The only thing that nobody mentioned was using the white piece of plastic when transplanting to the ZHP. I preferred using the plastic underneath the shift pattern since without it you would see the metal from the LED through the lit up ZHP.

This mod is definitely worth doing. As others have mentioned, shifts feel much more solid especially going into 1st and 2nd. Visually, it looks much better since the silver ring adds some flash and the fact that the shifter sits lower makes it look much sportier compared to stock.

Thanks to Metak, elp_jc and gixxer kid for their advice and comments.

02-25-2011, 11:42 PM	#92
mtl88 Second Lieutenant 52 Rep 206 Posts Drives: 2011 1M VO Join Date: May 2009 Location: Austin, Texas iTrader: (1)	My intention was to send my stock knob to LeatherZ and they would extract my shift pattern and insert it into their ZHP knob with their lighting. They said there would be a chance that when removing my shift pattern that it could get damaged and that they would not be held responsible. All of this and it would cost me $175 plus shipping. After reading elp_jc and gixxer kid's posts I decided I would buy a dremel and do this myself. I did this mod and I am extremely happy with the results! The stock knob does not need to be dremeled as I followed the directions from gixxer kid. You need to carefully lift the stock shift pattern from the knob. I used an eyeglass screw driver to get it out. elp_jc is correct as the double sided tape is just around the edges. Make sure you keep everything you pull out of the stock knob. Below the shift pattern is a white piece of plastic that has the double sided tape (make sure to keep the white plastic and double sided tape for later). In order to pull out the black housing there is a hex bolt but it is underneath the LED. There are three black plastic tabs keeping the LED in place. I used the eyeglass screw driver to push the tabs in so that I could get the LED out. You’ll need to cut the clear plastic sheath around the wires, remove the wires from the connectors and then undue the leather from the shift knob so that you can pass the wires through the knob. After you get the LED out you’ll see the hex bolt to unscrew. You can now pull out the black housing with some pliers. I then followed elp_jc’s instructions for the rest. The only thing that nobody mentioned was using the white piece of plastic when transplanting to the ZHP. I preferred using the plastic underneath the shift pattern since without it you would see the metal from the LED through the lit up ZHP. This mod is definitely worth doing. As others have mentioned, shifts feel much more solid especially going into 1st and 2nd. Visually, it looks much better since the silver ring adds some flash and the fact that the shifter sits lower makes it look much sportier compared to stock. Thanks to Metak, elp_jc and gixxer kid for their advice and comments.
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