Rogue engineering vs the rest of the world.

[fourbanger]

So, I was reading some articles on the Rogue Engineering site, and one caught my attention particularly.. The one about the weighted shifter. If I understood correctly, having a heavier shifter damages your transmission, as does placing pressure down on the shifter while you drive. Now, while this makes sense, how come you don't hear about it more? Why do so many other car tuners put weighted shifters on the stick? Hell UUC has some heavy ass shifters and I have a great deal of respect for the quality of their work. So who's right?

[1996 328ti]

I always felt the heavy shift knob was just a kludge for notchy short shifts. Who is right? I think you just have to draw your own conclusion. I have one of those heavy knobs in my basement that came in a box of spare parts when I bought my car from the previous owner. I never thought it was a good idea. They get hot to the touch in the summer and cold in the winter. I know people who have to keep them covered just to be able to shift. The weighted rod makes better sense to me than the heavy mass on top if added weight is ecessary.

My old MZ3 shifter was very notchy until I installed an ERK [Effort Reducing Kit]. That shifter lasted maybe 4-5 years. I have since replaced it with a UUC shifter. I feel I have no need for a heavy knob or a weighted rod. The ERK is what made the difference.

I think Rogue is good at engineering and UUC is good at marketing. Both design good products. I have not purchased anything from Ben. But I would trust anything he manufacturers. My experience with UUC is that they stand strong behind their products.

Competition is tough out there.
Hard to say which is better or if it is even necessary.

[96cali]

My old MZ3 shifter was very notchy until I installed an ERK [Effort Reducing Kit].

Steven- is that to say you felt a Z3 shifter is no better than the stock ti shifter? I am surprised because I've heard good things otherwise. Bimmer95 sells ssk's for the M44 engine at www.understeer.com. Both are about the same price ($75 or so). I like the idea of staying OE. Opinion?

Phil
96 Cali Edition

[1996 328ti]

On my 98 318ti I had a Z3 1.9 shift lever. It required no bending and was a direct fit. It shortened the throw somewhat. On my 96 328ti the previous owner installed a lever from a MZ3 which shortens the throw even more. As I said, it was notchy but good once I added the ERK. I recently had a hard time getting into 3rd from 4th at the track. I was somewhere between 1st and 5th. Once I replaced the shift lever to the UUC version I saw that the plastic bushing at the bottom of my lever were broken.

So generally I think using a stock lever is fine. Best bang for the buck. I don't recall which needed to be bent and which just drop in. I think going with stock BMW parts is just fine. It just won't last as long as a UUC shifter or a Rogue shifter for that matter. Perhaps the additional torque from the 2.8 made it more difficult for me to shift and caused the failure. I think for a stock 4-banger, OE BMW is the way to go.