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I switched gears and just ordered the Raceseng Sphereology shift **** with the shift pattern on top after figuring out how to remove the shift pattern (see below). Thanks for the suggestion Rochester!
So after hearing back from 35Sport (thanks for the idea), I was able to track down some Airplane Stripper from Autozone. (not at Home Depot or Lowe's) It will remove the clearcoat and after another application, also the shift pattern.
You will have to remove the clearcoat from the entire trim ring which will take multiple attempts. So be patient and make sure you remove the ring entirely from the plastic and do it outside on a breezy day because the Airplane Stripper is really toxic and flammable. It would probably bore to the center of the earth if you let it.
I used soft cloth rags to remove the clearcoat and then I will polish up the trim ring with a variety of compounds and polishes. The end result will look much shinier like the trim around the heated seat controls.
2nd attempt loosened up most of the clear coat
After the 3rd attempt, 90% of the clearcoat is removed and I polished the bottom half to see what it would look like
So I got the last of the clearcoat off of the shifter trim ring today. Then I used aluminum polish to clean it up. Finished it off with some paste wax to help avoid finger prints. It turned out really well and is very shiny. Should go well with the new shift **** that will be here very soon.
I installed the Raceseng Sphereology shift **** the other day and I am surprised how easy the car is to drive smoothly now. It is much easier to shift into gear due to the weight of the shift **** (over a pound). It compliments the MTEC shifter springs nicely. In fact, with the Transmission mount, B&M shift kit, and Jsolo clutch spring, this car has gone from one of the most difficult to drive smoothly to one of the most rewarding stick shift cars I have driven. The shift **** was easy to install, is of very high quality, feels nice, and looks great. It matches the newly refinished shifter trim perfectly. No complaints.
That design really does look good. The SS flared section at the bottom as an integrated boot ring looks better than the previous **** sitting directly on the shift boot. But I've seen you take better pictures than that. Can we see it from the POV of the driver, and though the door, etc?
You make me tempted to get a heavier ****, now. Love the look of my Ti teardrop, but if it really makes that much of a difference driving with a weighted ****... that's something which interests me. Can you talk about that some more?
I know it's not winter yet, and the super hot days are probably behind us, still... do you think the material choice was what you were hoping for? In other words, other than the weight, how does the overall size and touch feel?
Oh, and what about the height consideration? Didn't you say it was height adjustable? (IDK how that works, curious.)
Your trim ring looks all scratched to hell. Man, that sucks, since the whole point of removing the shift pattern was to make it look better, not worse. Going to paint it now? I know it's a really small piece, and super thin, but have you considered having it powder-coated?
That design really does look good. The SS flared section at the bottom as an integrated boot ring looks better than the previous **** sitting directly on the shift boot. But I've seen you take better pictures than that. Can we see it from the POV of the driver, and though the door, etc?
You make me tempted to get a heavier ****, now. Love the look of my Ti teardrop, but if it really makes that much of a difference driving with a weighted ****... that's something which interests me. Can you talk about that some more?
I know it's not winter yet, and the super hot days are probably behind us, still... do you think the material choice was what you were hoping for? In other words, other than the weight, how does the overall size and touch feel?
Oh, and what about the height consideration? Didn't you say it was height adjustable? (IDK how that works, curious.)
Your trim ring looks all scratched to hell. Man, that sucks, since the whole point of removing the shift pattern was to make it look better, not worse. Going to paint it now? I know it's a really small piece, and super thin, but have you considered having it powder-coated?
I agree that the extra SS dresses it up quite a bit and matches the interior nicely.
How much does your shift **** weigh? It was a dramatic change for me because the Sphereology weighs more than 4 times as much as the old shift ****. This meant that with the old shift **** it was so light that you had to use quite a bit more effort to get it into gear. This would create a slight delay between shifts and made it much more difficult to shift smoothly. Now it literally shifts like a warm knife through butter. If your shift **** already weighs 300grams or so, you probably won't notice much difference.
Size and feel is great. There may be days where the top is hotter or colder than I like, but the delrin wraps around most of the area that you touch.
Height is adjustable. There is a thick metal sleeve that is threaded inside and outside that threads into the shift **** and onto the shift lever. Below that is a thick lock ring that treads up beneath the sleeve to lock it in place for whatever height you want and also to line up the shift pattern. I went as low as it would go and only brought up the height to line up the shift pattern about 3/4 of a turn. I also kept it low to engage as many threads as I could so it would be more solidly attached. It is still a bit higher than the last shift ****. Feels like a good height to me.
Haha no worries! The shift trim does not have a single scratch on it. What you are seeing is the reflection of multiple light sources because it is so shiny. It is like when you look at a car in direct sunlight and you see what look like circular scratches. I just spent an hour screwing around with different light sources to get you some better pics since the shift **** and trim are so reflective, but in completely opposite ways. Will post soon...
Here you go Rochester, here are some better pics. It was really tough to get good pics. I was taking these inside my garage to cut down on light. My car has tinted windows, but I was still getting too much glare from even the garage lights?!?
So I had to cover my windshield with a towel. But then it caused the camera to use the flash and those pics were awful. So I tried opening one door. Still too bright, so I turned off half of the interior lights. Again, too bright so this is with a towel over the windshield, all windows up, one door open, and one map light. Good grief!
This shot required a little more trickery to not get the reflection that looks like scratches on the bottom half of the shifter trim. I did all the same stuff listed above, but also had to hold the camera and take the picture with one hand while I blocked the glare from the single dome light with my other hand. For my next trick, I will do it blindfolded with one foot out the door while whistling Bach's Art of Fugue
I agree that the extra SS dresses it up quite a bit and matches the interior nicely.
Exactly. Works for me... no extra boot ring necessary, IMO.
Originally Posted by 4DRZ
How much does your shift **** weigh?
I honestly don't know, and am kind of curious. Where can I go to measure the weight of something small in grams? (Don't say "your dealer", LOL.)
Maybe the pharmacist?
Originally Posted by 4DRZ
Height is adjustable. There is a thick metal sleeve that is threaded inside and outside that threads into the shift **** and onto the shift lever. Below that is a thick lock ring that treads up beneath the sleeve to lock it in place for whatever height you want and also to line up the shift pattern.
That's a brilliant, simple design. Other **** manufacturers should do this. It would actually cut down (no pun) on variations in shaft diameter and thread pitch, because all you would have to do is use a different insert.
Originally Posted by 4DRZ
Haha no worries! The shift trim does not have a single scratch on it. What you are seeing is the reflection of multiple light sources because it is so shiny. It is like when you look at a car in direct sunlight and you see what look like circular scratches. I just spent an hour screwing around with different light sources to get you some better pics since the shift **** and trim are so reflective, but in completely opposite ways. Will post soon...
Okidoki. I'll take you're word for that. Just needling you, anyway.
Ah, and there's the pic now. Yep, looks totally scratch-free. My bad entirely.
And the height looks great. Glad you finally got where you wanted to be. It's actually a lot of work, getting the little things right, isn't it? Boot, ****, ring, trim, height, STS, etc.
I honestly don't know, and am kind of curious. Where can I go to measure the weight of something small in grams? (Don't say "your dealer", LOL.)
Maybe the pharmacist?
Okidoki. I'll take you're word for that. Just needling you, anyway.
Ah, and there's the pic now. Yep, looks totally scratch-free. My bad entirely.
And the height looks great. Glad you finally got where you wanted to be. It's actually a lot of work, getting the little things right, isn't it? Boot, ****, ring, trim, height, STS, etc.
Actually, your dealer should have a shipping scale that can convert to grams or any post office, fedex, etc. Is it not listed on the website of the place you got the shift ****?
Well, what would this forum be without a couple of older sarcastic **** retentive gents who like to give each other sh#t? Boring! That's what!
Yeah the simple tasks can become a chore when you are a perfectionist like me, but they are totally worth it in the end. Plus I know a few tricks to speed things up anyway.
I said "dealer", not dealership. Swing and a miss there, buddy.
Emailed LatheWerks just now, and will let you know how much it weighs when he responds. Maybe I'll write it down this time so I don't forget. And yes, I get the irony how that dovetails into the last comment, LOL.
[edit]
Chris tells me it's between 400 and 430 grams. With the SS extension inside, that pushes it to slightly less than one pound; (which is 453 grams.) Whereas your 470 gram **** is slightly more than one pound.
Hmm. OK, I'm feeling better about this now. Thanks!
Big fan of this shifter setup, looks great especially the height.
Now I had a question about your setup with your Tein basis coils, did you adjust the height? If so how much and how difficult is it? If not how big was the drop?
Now I had a question about your setup with your Tein basis coils, did you adjust the height? If so how much and how difficult is it? If not how big was the drop?
I set the coilovers at the factory recommended settings. Then I adjusted the back slightly to compress the spring a bit more which actually smoothed out the ride a little bit. The more you compress the spring, the more difficult it is to do. I would try to adjust the rears off of the car. Much easier.
I had to replace the two front tires this morning, not by choice. My rear ABS sensors melted at Road America from the differential getting hot. This caused the ABS to fail and I flat spotted one of the tires. Bummer. At least I did not slide off the track and hit a wall. Could have been worse...
I am surprised that Tire Rack says they have 8/32's of tread. Not even close. They barely come with 7/32's. My rears after almost a year of driving and a number of track days are still at 5/32's so at least they wear pretty evenly.
I will soon also be upgrading the fluid in the rear diff to Redline and adding 2 new ABS sensors. Necessary upgrades are so boring compared to performance upgrades.
09-12-2016, 11:46 AM
