RogueM3

Hey guys,

I work for a BMW tuner during the summers when I am home from school and I checked out a few sites and didnt see any short shift kits available for 951s and 944s in general. Is there a market for these, or are most of you guys happy with the stock shift levers and carriers in your 951s.

I love the shorter throws in my m3 and now that I am thinking about 951s I thought I would check the market to see if there would be any desire for a 951 SSK.

I would be able to pass any interest on to the guys I work with and then could aid in the process of development.

The site is www.rogueengineering.com if you want to see the BMW parts they produce...

Let me know if there are any other parts you guys might be interested in that isnt currently produced for your cars.

-Richard

faithless

Hey Richard,

I suppose I might be interested. Could you give some general information on what modification it might require, and a very general introductory price? Thx.

Sam Lin

There are on-tranny kits currently available from Autothority, and knockoffs of them from Speed6 and 944racing. However, if Rogue is interested in making one, I'm all ears, previous experience with your stuff has been very impressive.

There are also lever replacements from SFR and Kokeln. SFR is a cut-down stock lever, Kokeln is a replacement piece with adjustability of pivot.

Sam

sweanders

I don't really see a point of having a short shifter, it will just make the shifting take more effort.

Mike Buck

Not IMHO Anders. I have had an Authority SSK in my car for a little over a year now and love it. Keeping good fluid in the tranny is the most important thing. Much prefer the shift action of my car over my dad's 951 or 968. Its one of things where once you have it, you really question how you lived w/o it. Sorta like my cordless impact wrench

Only problem is the Authority unit is perpetually out of stock or NLA. Found mine on Ebay!

Ian Carr

Anders I have to dissagree I have the short shift lever from speed6 (not the shift linkage) and having the **** down lower really makes it easier because you can rest your arm lower and the shift is shorter. It really does not require more effort.

-Ian

RogueM3

Thanks for the responses guys. I will definantly run this by the guys at Rogue... as the 951 seems like a car similar to an e36 m3 in which most all owners are looking to mod them, its not a bad market to enter.

About the action:
As Mike Buck said, it really isnt a burden to shift, but a positive shifting effort, which does in fact make shifting feel much more precise. I didnt know about getting a short shifter in my m3...but after so many positive reviews, I just couldnt resist. I cannot imagine driving without one now...the shifts just seem absurdly long in a stock m3. (as is the same experience I have had with our Mini Cooper S and its stock shifter...vs. the one produced by Rogue.)

Using good Tranny fluid definantly helps...and as the BMW community knows, Rogue shifters are designed so as to reduce the notchiness created by many shoft shift kits.

Ill see what they say. In the meanwhile check out the website and feel free to suggest a product for which you all feel there is a want in the market.

-Richard

Techno Duck

Like Mike said, i am pretty sure the Autothority SSK is discontinued. The only remaining ones are the Weltmesiter ($200) and fully adjustable and the 944-racing / speed-6 kit. I just recently bought the 944-Racing kit and put it on, though there is a bit more effort involved with shifting, it makes everything actually feel solid and shortened the throws quiet a bit. The thing about the 944-Racing setup is that its extremley notchy. But in my opinion i like this, as there is no longer a question if whether or not the car is in gear correctly or not.

Eyal 951

I have a 944-racing version waiting to go on the car. I personally dont like the kits that lower the shifter. I like having the shifter close to the wheel, so that its less time with that hand off the wheel, and easier to grab while at the track. Its really not a huge issue, just a personal preference.
~Eyal

brad-cam

I've had the 944Racing SSK in my 951 for a few months now and absolutely love it. I also find it very notchy, but it gives it a very mechanical, positive feel. You definitely know its in gear because you feel it going in.

Richard, we certainly do like to mod our 951's. I'm all ears for more mod ideas !!

Adam H

One suggestion I would make is that you make a lever (/kit) that will allow aftermarket ***** but do away with all the vibration that apparently comes with products currently available.

Can anybody with firsthand experience fill in Richard further on this matter?

RogueM3

Any extra info I can pass along would be great. Rogue Engineering made a name for itself selling Shoft Shift kits to the BMW market and now sells them for the 350z as well as Audi A4 shifters. With time they developed more and more for BmWs to the point where we now produce flywheels, spring hub clutches, different bushing and mounts, control arms, underdrive pullies, etc...

I thought I would get a feel for what you guys might be interested in and then present that to Ben and Mark at Rogue Engineering, who I work for whenever I am off school and in the summers.

Let me know what kind of shifter there would be a market for....what could be improved upon from the already offered kits...any other parts you might feel the 951 guys would be interested in.

Check out the website, www.rogueengineering.com and that will give you some idea of what they sell currently...so long as there is a market for a modification, there is no reason not to pursue that market.

Let me know what you guys might be interested in (preferably after viewing the site and checking out what they offer for BMWs...) and then we can go from there.

I will email this link to the guys and see what they say.

-Richard

faithless

Not true.

Edit: Just to clarify. I know what you mean Anders, but it is essentially the same thing. Levers allow you to change the force magnitude required to do the same work, but it requires more movement. Reducing the throw requires more force magnitude, but it reduces the throw. Its all the same in terms of amount of work... so technically it isnt any harder, just a different feel.

After taking a brief look at Rogue's AMAZING website, it seems that a product of this quality would ONLY get rave reviews. You need some real engineering and high quality components for a good product, and Rogue seems to be on the ball for this aspect. Their website is more informative than I would have ever expected, and the quality matierials are more tha sufficient...

With higher quality matierals at play, I would bet that even with a shorter throw and less leverage, it would feel smoother and not too much more difficult to engage the gear.

Evan70

The one thing I dislike about my 944racing SSK is how stiff it is going into 1st and 2nd, otherwise I love it. Of course, that could be the tranny or synchros causing the problem, since 3rd, 4th and 5th feel just fine and are nowhere near as stiff/notchy to get into gear.

Perry 951

Try adjusting the pivot where it attaches to the tranny. I messed with my Autothority SSK a number of times before I got it to shift as easy as stock.... just shorter. I noticed that 1st and 2nd were smoother if I moved the pivot away from the tranny a little bit.