[cerealwars]

Alright, it's early on, but I've put maybe 100 miles on the setup now.

I love it! Shifting is an absolute delight now.

It is a bit stiff, that last 1/3 of pedal travel takes some good effort. Nothing crazy though.

Use case: My car is 98% a daily. I have tracked it, but it's just too much money to justify making it an all-out track car when I also have my V8 240sx. I drive ~70 miles into Detroit 3 times a week. This car is so I can cosplay as an adult. Sometimes.

Real quick, summary of all shifting-related items:

-Modified clutch stop (engages ~0.25" off the floor, right on the neutral safety switch threshold when starting)
-CDV delete
-22RPD tune (better throttle response)
-3.73 gears
-Trans fluid changed 30k ago, OE Getriebeöl
-E46 M3 trans mounts and refreshed motor mounts
-Rebuilt ALL soft parts in shifter, using FCP's shifter rebuild kit.
-Turner motorsport SMFW conversion, couple pounds lighter than the stock dual mass
-ZHP knob

So far, thing feels great. Car finally feels analog and pretty much exactly how I want. I turned 33 this year, and I have not been very nice to my joints. Starting to get some muscle-related joint pain in my knee, so I had some apprehension about stiffening the clutch pedal. More hamstring stretching required in the morning before heading off to work.

I didn't even have to adjust the clutch pedal, feels basically the exact same as before in regards to the bit point.

Gear chatter:
Generally, it's not very loud. Likely wouldn't get the attention of most people at a stoplight. Just a bit of clatter in neutral with the clutch engaged. Sounds like a VW diesel from twenty years ago. My fiancée, who is not exactly the most in-tune with these things, noticed it almost immediately. This NVH absolutely would not fly at the new sales lot.

Personally though, I like it. Gives it some character. And just a reminder of HOW GODDAMNED HARDCORE I AM, living my life a quarter mile at a time.

I've also noticed the chatter comes on when shifting at high rpm, sorta sounds like a BOV in terms of timing and loudness, just a different sound. FZZzh! Not sure if other people would like it, but it's pretty subtle. Not a very premium noise though. If you have a loud exhaust you probably won't hear it. Again, I kinda like it. PARDON MY RACECAR.

Lightweight Flywheel:
Not a drastic change, just a pleasant little cherry on top. Car revs only a little more freely and quickly. However, when you let the clutch out, I do feel that the engine engages the driveline with far less hesitance and jerkiness. This is perfect for a daily car, and would pass for OEM. The main driver for this whole job was to ditch the stupid jerky dual-mass. Mission accomplished.

5th gear/lugging
I used to be able to drop the car into 6th at cruise anywhere above 30mph (3.73 gears amirite?). Now the car lugs a little and I actually have a reason to use 5th. Puts a little more responsibility on you to not lug the engine. I'm good with that.

Shifter rebuild
Replaced turret bushings, ball socket bushing, the kerplunk bushing (the one that engages the shift shaft with the foam bit in it).

I'd wager 60%+ of the slop reduction came from the ball socket bushing, which I've actually seen some people replace from inside the car. Not sure I'd want to try that though.

These parts are absolutely worth doing if you're in there.

ZHP Knob
I'm weird and liked the factory knob. It made for anticipation as you waited for the synchros to do their thing. However, arthritis. So did the adult thing by charging speed parts to my health savings account and snagged a ZHP knob.

This, along with the bushings, really makes it easier (less effort) to shift. Mixed feelings on how I like the knob, but I think my wrist will burn less after the commute now. Definitely more "premium" feeling.

We'll see how my impressions change in the coming weeks. Maybe the lightweight flywheel would have paired better with a factory clutch and pressure plate kit for my use case. I'm betting the ACT clutch interchanges with something else OEM, fitment-wise.

I still haven't bothered to get the boot fixed to the new knob. I've got some more research to do on that.

Have I yammered enough?