Hey all. I picked up a set of M5 Jed's shifter carrier bushings (he calls 'em "Unicorn Nuggets") for my 2003 M5 and thought I'd post my impressions.
-As a small amount of background, I've been playing with cars of various makes and models for a while, and while I've gone in different directions with different cars there are a few things I almost always do - among them, lower the car for better handling, and usually finding a way to firm up the shift action.
-I do NOT like short-shifters. I have tried quite a few, on several different cars. I tried 10 or 12 different ones on my S13 and hated them all. Generally I find that in their attempt to shorten the throw, they either require too much effort to change gear, or the action is too "notchy", or both. In fact my M5 came to me with a Dinan short shifter in it (pretty sure it's an E60 shifter with a Dinan sticker on it), which I promptly removed for a stock lever.
The toy I had previous to the M5 was an E36 M3. I didn't mod the engine much but I installed the European 6-speed transmission, and the best addition I made was delrin shift carrier bushings from Rogue Engineering (I think). With the stock shift lever it yielded a very solid action with little to no slop either between gears or when in gear.
The M5 has the same transmission as the Euro E36 (Getrag 420G) so when I got this car I went looking for a similar kit, only to find that the carrier is different and no one really made a proper set of hard bushings. I told myself I'd figure something out eventually and lived with what I felt was pretty squishy shifter action.
Fast forward to recently, when I found Jed's offerings on the Facebook M5 group's page. He recently posted them here (post 430): http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...-m5-jed-s-unicorn-headers-15.html#post6958513 I got a set from him and finished the install earlier this evening, and I have to say overall I'm extremely pleased.
They showed up very quickly after I sent payment. Machined aluminum and anodized a nice Motorsport Blue color - too bad no one'll see them under the car
Quick install guide below. Be prepared for barked knuckles and swearing; there's just not a lot of room to work, you have to do a fair amount by feel, and if you're like me you have two little kids who'll interrupt a lot Two things will be your friends - a couple different size prybars, and remembering that working from the driver's side of the transmission will facilitate a number of things.
- Raise and properly support the car. I only raised the front, raising the rear would have given me more room but I'm lazy.
- I did not remove exhaust or anything else. You'll have to pull the plastic belly pan, obviously.
- From underneath the car, pull the spring clip and detach the selector rod from the shift lever (I left the other end of the selector attached)
- From inside the car, pull the shift knob, boot, foam surround, and rubber gasket, and then twist out the retaining ring to remove the shift lever.
- Back underneath, support the transmission with a jack and remove the six (6) 13mm bolts on the transmission crossmember and allow the transmission to tilt downwards a bit. This will give you a small amount of extra room on top of the trans where you'll be working.
- Detach the clip holding the shift carrier to the top of the trans - commonly known as the "b*tch clip." I found that by using a medium-length prybar, I could go up the driver's side of the trans, fit it under the clip, and by simultaneously pushing and prying, get the clip to disengage. WAY easier than the way I did it on my M3, which was with a flathead screwdriver and a 3-lb ball peen hammer. I broke that clip...
- Remove the clip towards the driver's side.
- Pull the shift carrier forward out of the rear rubber mount, and maneuver it out around the tranny/driveshaft/exhaust. *Top tip here - I pulled it out the passenger side and had a hell of a time. I did this to avoid damage to the sensors and wiring screwed into the driver's side of the trans. When I reinstalled it, I threw caution to the wind and put it up the driver's side... where it turns out there's a lot more room, and it went right in. Sigh.
At this point I took the carrier to the bench to put Jed's bushings in. I pushed the factory bushings out with a small prybar (seen below), a big flathead would work also. The new bushings only go in one way; the smaller halves from the inside out, and the longer ones from the outside towards the middle. I dabbed on a very small amount of SylGlide to help things go together (this stuff is also great on the shifter pivot ball).
Installation is the reverse of disassembly. Couple notes here though - First, both to get the carrier up off the "ears" it clips to and then to get it back on, I had to chin up on the trans with one hand and push the carrier upwards with the other. This moved the trans down just a bit more and gave me enough clearance. YMMV on that. Second - when I put the b*tch clip back in, I had some tolerance stacking and the far-right bushing was pushed out. I admit I had been a bit concerned that it might vibrate out with usage anyway, so I went with the fix I used after I broke the clip on my M3 - hit the hardware store. Three dollars later and I reassembled everything with an M10x75mm (or 80mm) bolt, a couple thin washers, and a nylock nut. Worked like a charm and there's no way anything will fall off. To be fair, this is more a manifestation of a slight misalignment of things in my car and my own paranoia; Jed assures me that no one has yet had an issue.
The end result of all of this was EXACTLY what I wanted. Squish or slop in the shifter motion has been all but eliminated and it all feels as if it slots into each gear much more positively. There is no added NVH whatsoever that I can detect, and I'm pretty fussy about that sort of thing. I think Jed's got a good product here; whether you use a short shifter or not, this bushing set will really firm up the shift action without making it high effort or notchy at all. I'll probably look into Jed's diff bushing in the future, and I wish I could afford a set of his headers.
Comments welcome. Thanks for looking.
-As a small amount of background, I've been playing with cars of various makes and models for a while, and while I've gone in different directions with different cars there are a few things I almost always do - among them, lower the car for better handling, and usually finding a way to firm up the shift action.
-I do NOT like short-shifters. I have tried quite a few, on several different cars. I tried 10 or 12 different ones on my S13 and hated them all. Generally I find that in their attempt to shorten the throw, they either require too much effort to change gear, or the action is too "notchy", or both. In fact my M5 came to me with a Dinan short shifter in it (pretty sure it's an E60 shifter with a Dinan sticker on it), which I promptly removed for a stock lever.
The toy I had previous to the M5 was an E36 M3. I didn't mod the engine much but I installed the European 6-speed transmission, and the best addition I made was delrin shift carrier bushings from Rogue Engineering (I think). With the stock shift lever it yielded a very solid action with little to no slop either between gears or when in gear.
The M5 has the same transmission as the Euro E36 (Getrag 420G) so when I got this car I went looking for a similar kit, only to find that the carrier is different and no one really made a proper set of hard bushings. I told myself I'd figure something out eventually and lived with what I felt was pretty squishy shifter action.
Fast forward to recently, when I found Jed's offerings on the Facebook M5 group's page. He recently posted them here (post 430): http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...-m5-jed-s-unicorn-headers-15.html#post6958513 I got a set from him and finished the install earlier this evening, and I have to say overall I'm extremely pleased.
They showed up very quickly after I sent payment. Machined aluminum and anodized a nice Motorsport Blue color - too bad no one'll see them under the car
Quick install guide below. Be prepared for barked knuckles and swearing; there's just not a lot of room to work, you have to do a fair amount by feel, and if you're like me you have two little kids who'll interrupt a lot Two things will be your friends - a couple different size prybars, and remembering that working from the driver's side of the transmission will facilitate a number of things.
- Raise and properly support the car. I only raised the front, raising the rear would have given me more room but I'm lazy.
- I did not remove exhaust or anything else. You'll have to pull the plastic belly pan, obviously.
- From underneath the car, pull the spring clip and detach the selector rod from the shift lever (I left the other end of the selector attached)
- From inside the car, pull the shift knob, boot, foam surround, and rubber gasket, and then twist out the retaining ring to remove the shift lever.
- Back underneath, support the transmission with a jack and remove the six (6) 13mm bolts on the transmission crossmember and allow the transmission to tilt downwards a bit. This will give you a small amount of extra room on top of the trans where you'll be working.
- Detach the clip holding the shift carrier to the top of the trans - commonly known as the "b*tch clip." I found that by using a medium-length prybar, I could go up the driver's side of the trans, fit it under the clip, and by simultaneously pushing and prying, get the clip to disengage. WAY easier than the way I did it on my M3, which was with a flathead screwdriver and a 3-lb ball peen hammer. I broke that clip...
- Remove the clip towards the driver's side.
- Pull the shift carrier forward out of the rear rubber mount, and maneuver it out around the tranny/driveshaft/exhaust. *Top tip here - I pulled it out the passenger side and had a hell of a time. I did this to avoid damage to the sensors and wiring screwed into the driver's side of the trans. When I reinstalled it, I threw caution to the wind and put it up the driver's side... where it turns out there's a lot more room, and it went right in. Sigh.
At this point I took the carrier to the bench to put Jed's bushings in. I pushed the factory bushings out with a small prybar (seen below), a big flathead would work also. The new bushings only go in one way; the smaller halves from the inside out, and the longer ones from the outside towards the middle. I dabbed on a very small amount of SylGlide to help things go together (this stuff is also great on the shifter pivot ball).
Installation is the reverse of disassembly. Couple notes here though - First, both to get the carrier up off the "ears" it clips to and then to get it back on, I had to chin up on the trans with one hand and push the carrier upwards with the other. This moved the trans down just a bit more and gave me enough clearance. YMMV on that. Second - when I put the b*tch clip back in, I had some tolerance stacking and the far-right bushing was pushed out. I admit I had been a bit concerned that it might vibrate out with usage anyway, so I went with the fix I used after I broke the clip on my M3 - hit the hardware store. Three dollars later and I reassembled everything with an M10x75mm (or 80mm) bolt, a couple thin washers, and a nylock nut. Worked like a charm and there's no way anything will fall off. To be fair, this is more a manifestation of a slight misalignment of things in my car and my own paranoia; Jed assures me that no one has yet had an issue.
The end result of all of this was EXACTLY what I wanted. Squish or slop in the shifter motion has been all but eliminated and it all feels as if it slots into each gear much more positively. There is no added NVH whatsoever that I can detect, and I'm pretty fussy about that sort of thing. I think Jed's got a good product here; whether you use a short shifter or not, this bushing set will really firm up the shift action without making it high effort or notchy at all. I'll probably look into Jed's diff bushing in the future, and I wish I could afford a set of his headers.
Comments welcome. Thanks for looking.