I feel yah. A bad knob can be quite annoying.
Interesting you bring it up, because my stocker is (always was?) separating in an odd way where the wood gives way to the plastic down the right side. There is a seam there which has opened up, and it really bugs me.
So I've been on the hunt for a 6-speed knob that is the same height but just an all-leather affair. I'd love it to be weighted like the ZHP knobs, but I don't think I'm going to be able to pull that off.
So I got
hunting, and I found some lesser E46 models with exactly what I want. So some day I'll probably ditch the wood and just go all black leather. I'm not a wood interior type of person to begin with, and I'm not completely sold on the concept of the wood-trimmed knob. If mine were pale wood I'd send it to you no problem.
And for completeness, here's the knob I'm currently favoring:
BMW part number 25117523817.
(ZHP on left, normal E46 on the right)
