Buyer Beware: Chrome BMW Roundel Manual Shift Knob. Thumbs Down!
I wanted to add a little pizaaz to my manual shifter. I love chrome and thought the shift knob listed in the 1 Series Accessories Catalog would fill the bill. Wrongo.
Two Major Issues: #1 Heat retention. Unbelievable. Bad. Please note I had a Whalen chrome knob on my MINI MCS and it never got this hot and retained the heat as long as the BMW knob. Even evenings. If I drive for awhile. Go to dinner--the knob retains heat from the drivetrain. No sun involved. That never happened with my Whalen. Also the chrome knob is about 1 1/4"--which feels a little too small for me.
#2 Removing the OEM knob--the chrome knob doesn't hook up to the boot at the base of the shift knob. The oem has a plastic piece that fits and connects. No such luck with the chrome Roundel shift knob. Remember this is a BMW "engineered" part.
I am very disappointed. I have contacted Doug Whalen (Whalen Machines, Inc.) and am going to have a billiard ball knob made for my car. I had a #3 billard ball knob(2 1/4") for my Red MCS and had no heat(of course no metal) or fitment issues.
I know my fellow addicts were probably all lined up to get this shift knob. Save your money. Nick
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'09 128 BSM-Taupe/AT("Snoppy") my wife's.
'09 135 CR-Taupe/MT/BMW Performance Exhaust("Red Baron") my bad boy. Peacefully sharing the same garage.
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