Quote:
Originally Posted by Green Dragon
I uninstalled the shark injector tune a time or two just to remember the difference and further justified the investment. It made me love the tune even more....
Just wanted to add that my weighted version of UUC's DSSR should smooth out the "notchiness" as well. Because you have altered/changed the position of the pivot with a short shift kit, you have also altered the dynamics of the shift. A change in the pivot has a direct proportional relationship to effort and feel. You can add a weighted shift knob to help, but personally I like the factory shift knob feel and in my mind, if I could choose where I wanted to add mass to the equation, it would be on the bottom side of the pivot, but that is a matter of preference and feel. Even though I drive a 4500 lb SUV, not a fan of things feeling "top heavy"(unless you talking about women....  ) My goal with my DSSR design is to feel "Balanced, scaple like percision.....(kinda like the feel of a well oiled bolt action on a rifle.) That smooth "click, click" sound reminds me of my father-in-law oiling up the gun as I was picking his daughter up for a date. 
When I converted my e36 to a manual transmission back in the day, I made a weighted selector rod out of two pieces of steel beefy rectangular key stock, parallel with each other, tied together at both ends and in the middle. It was structurally stronger, heavier, and made the shifting like a "hot knife through butter" feel. My e36 did not have an SSK.
I know I'm making a lot of promises for something that is intangible in my mind, but I'm confident that this will help. Adding the EVO SSK alone, however sexy that piece is, doesn't address the whole shifting equation in it's entirety in my mind. Your just moving it to the weakest link. Shifter, links, and bushings/bearings... best to do the whole package. Let us know what you find out with the 2-4-6 shift issue/complaint. We're in this together. |
I hear you GD, good thoughts on the injector tune, now I know I'll be getting one (and an AFE intake) down the line!
As far as the SSK goes, and the "click click" action, that is why I am saying that in addition to that being part of the design, perhaps the UUC Delrin bushings on the shifter arm would be a way to obtain 90% of the feel of the DSSR for someone? On the 6-speed models I can see if adding Delrin on both makes it "too tight" because of the 2 bushings on the shifter arm (which is why I bought two spares in a recent ECS order), but for the brethren with a pre-9/03 production, who have the "old style" linkage with 1 bushing on the shifter arm, wouldn't the adage from all older BMW shift kits apply, that the 1 bushing is a wear item and either replaced with new or a Delrin bushing (oval or round depending on application) installed in place to tighten it back up?
Again we are all theorizing here but I suspect mcurcio has either some lubing to do or something might be loose in his kit, double check your connections man and double check the grease!
Riggo seems to be good to go with no hiccups so I can almost definitely conclude that the UUC design is in fact working as designed and intended for our E53 application. Like he and Rob @ UUC mentioned, on the 6 speeds the only items for wear that remain are the rod joint affixed to the transmission, and the bushings on the shifter arm if the rubber is deteriorated.
Rob mentioned to Riggo that using Delrin on both bushings would make perhaps unnecessary vibration, but I actually don't think that it would cause a negative effect, I think it is just financially easier to sell 1 kit which fits both 5 and 6 speeds, instead of sending out 2 sets of Delrin bushings ($50 from UUC) with each Evo3 kit sold, and trying to keep the price point high enough for someone to buy.
I have no doubt that if the E53 had the "old linkage" with one shift arm bushing throughout production, that Rob would include the Delrin bushing for the arm with his kit, in order to complete the package. However, he needed to package a kit for both models so those are left out. I don't believe it would cause vibrations in cabin if you used Delrin on the new style, "dual bushing" shifter arm, but I believe it might make cold shifting a bit stiffer until the gearbox is warm, and perhaps isn't as desirable. Again, Rob has such a niche market with us E53 guys as is, it took Greg from Switzerland 2 years to get him to put it back into production. If he retailed the Evo3 (w/out DSSR) including the dual set of Delrin bushings for the shifter arm at $450, I think it would be an even tougher sell. I understand why he stopped at just the Evo3 for our cars.
My shift arm bushings should be arrived soon, and when I get under the E53 I'll report back after install. Just cross your fingers my 9/18/03 production has the newer style shift arm, if I for some reason had the "old style" with 1 bushing I'd probably get a Delrin bushing for the arm and definitely update my rod joint as that parts diagram for the older style worries me.