New gear knob, pictures and how to guide.

[Steve]

I found it hard getting the info about removing the OE gear knob so thought I would post up my method on here for those who don't fancy getting the hacksaw out.

1. Pop the silver insert out with a flat bladed screwdriver, to avoid damage.
2. Heat the bastard up with a hairdryer until it is hot to the touch, try and get some heat into the underneath of the gear knob, where it is glued to the gear stick.
3. Protect the gear knob with by wrapping it in a tea-towel or similar.
4. Grasp it with a good long handled wrench, one with jaws that wrap around the gear knob preferably.
5. Turn very hard until it clicks around, it takes a lot of force.
6. Re-grasp the gear knob for pulling up rather than twisting.
7. Pull up while twisting slightly either way, it will suddenly go and smash you in the teeth if you're not careful.
8. Clean up the melted glue and plastic filings from the knurled gear stick.
9. FIt new gear knob as per instructions.

I chose a Richbrook slant titanium gear knob, as it was a nice and simple design that still had the gear pattern on, didn't look too after-market and the slightly darker metal of the titanium finish looks good in the car. It feels great and because it shortens the throw of the stick slightly and because it isn't damped by rubber the shift action feels more positive, metallic and direct. A new OE one will be going on for sale but I couldn't bring myself to fit another one of the nasty, cheap, rubbery things in the meantime.

 

[trophy176]

I changed mine like for like and now wish I d bought aftermarket as it is starting to wear already!!

Richbrook looks a good choice.

 

[__CA__]

Now that I see that on the car it looks nicer than I thought - and if it makes the gearchange feel better then that's a real bonus as it's one of the few things I'd like to improve on the car.

I'm still not totally convinced by the design though and would prefer something completely round rather than flat-topped - even if it means not having any markings on it. Will any aftermarket knob fit the shaft of the lever or is it an odd size?

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Ah, he loves those lists

Gear knob looks good Steve - good little guide you've posted too.

Quick question though - i though the point of doing it that way was to avoid hacksawing it and save the OEM gear knob - is that not the case? I know yours was showing signs of wear but if it wasnt could the old gear knob be put back on?

 

[trophy176]

You can get an all round Isotta which supposedly fits clio. But after last times change think I ll wait till I ve worn it more befor I resort to gear knob wrestling!

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

These are rated very highly amongst BMW and Mini owners, i always wanted one but never got round to it.

http://www.whalenshiftmachine.com/index ... page=index

The guy produces very high quality work and he can do pretty much any custom design you wish (check out the gallery for pics) - bead blasted or brushed finish with the Trophy logo with your car number on it?

To be honest i dont think he does lift reverse ones at all but it could be worth an email....

 

[trophy176]

I ll go in for a custom one like with TROPHY on.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Also just noticed i have a nearly new MOMO race air leather/aluminium gear knob sitting in my cupboard still in its box that was fitted to an old car i had. Unfortunately its not the reverse lift kind - just wondered if anyone would be interested in it for their 'other car'? Drop me a PM if so....

 

[artdealer]

Nice choice.

 

[Cue]

stick this in the 'how to' technical section- i'll be useful as to refer to.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

These are rated very highly amongst BMW and Mini owners, i always wanted one but never got round to it.

http://www.whalenshiftmachine.com/index ... page=index

The guy produces very high quality work and he can do pretty much any custom design you wish (check out the gallery for pics) - bead blasted or brushed finish with the Trophy logo with your car number on it?

To be honest i dont think he does lift reverse ones at all but it could be worth an email....

I fired off a short email last night regarding the possibility of a custom Trophy gear knob being made, the guy got back to me today with the following

Glad that you liked the gear knob so well!

I don't have a clue about what it would take to make a knob to fit the Renault, and to accommodate the reverse lift.
How does the stock knob fit onto the lever? If it's threaded, I can easily whip something up.

Let me know, and we'll proceed from there.

Best regards,

Doug

So can anyone help with regards to how the OEM gear knob is fitted onto the lever? Pics maybe?

Also if people would be interested in a custom Trophy gearknob please let me know - to gauge numbers - you can check out the gallery on the website to get an idea of how they might look.

 

[Steve]

Tell him if he's interested, to get hold of a Richbrook Slant top one with lift reverse as the diameter of the inner and outer hole fit like they're made for it, the inner hole grips the spindle so well you hardly need the grub screw. Dammit where's a micrometer screw gauge when you need one? Looking now at the OE one, Inner hole diameter: between AAA and AA battery, outer hole diameter: exactly 50 pence piece. Don't sue me.

Having tried the Richbrook for longer now, I can say that I'd rather it was slightly bigger (maybe 5mm across bigger), didn't have a flat top and the hole for the grub screw wasn't where it is. ie. exactly where your index finger sits most of the time. I'm being picky though, it still feels infinitely better than the OE one and I'm sure now that the 'rubbery' gear shift action described by some journalists can 90% be attributed to this, you can see underneath the OE gearknob that it is designed to absorb high frequency vibrations, the core is attached to the outer shell only through four plastic spines, the rest is filled with soft rubber, like one of those proper sound stage microphones.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Cheers Steve - i'll pass the info on to him, the only problem is he is on the states so 'Richbrook' and '50 pence piece' prob wont mean much - i'll prob go for a pic or two and tell him the outer hole diameter is about the size of a quarter

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Looks very smart imo Steve :wink:

 

[Cue]

depending on price and final look i'd be intersted..... not really into cosmetic changes just for appearance sake but Mat's felt more 'sporty' than mine and i think the gear change would be more assured - so i've conviced myself it could be a good idea.

 

[Steve]

I.m the same as you Cue, I spent £30 buying a second hand original gear knob for my GTI because I have to keep things as they're supposed to be, but the Trophy gear knob had been nagging at me since the day I bought it and when it got a worn patch - that was the final straw. Sooo happy I did it now, it's how it affects the feel of the gearchange more than the looks, and when I get bored with it/someone arranges a custom gear knob group buy/have to sell the car (gulp), it's a 10 second job to change it.

quick5i1ver is not your average essex boy and said a new gearknob wasn't exactly high on his list of mods but after seeing it in the metal (so to speak) he's considering one now.

If you are considering taking the OE one off and you don't frequent a gym, you might want to get your dad to do it. Don't even consider skipping the hairdryer part either.

 

[rube79]

definately interested in having 1 of those with a Trophy logo and number on it.
it would look superb.
Ive got a Sparco round 1 on now (alumininum with red band around and black sparco top) which i'm well chuffed with, as already said its a big improvement over the original......
just would have preffered a Trophy specific badge on it tho

must admit i went for the hacksaw and hoover approach to save any pressure on the linkage.

definately interested in a group buy tho
:wink:

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Custom gear knob group buy doesn't seem like its going to happen - will keep ppl posted if that changes though

So Steve - what are your thoughts on the gear knob now you've had it on for a week or two? Still wish it was a bit bigger and didn't have the flat top? Thinking about going for a MOMO one and just wondered whether the Richbrook should be on my shortlist?

 

[Steve]

I'm pretty happy with it but first impressions are important and it still feels slightly too small. It also, quite obviously, gets bloody hot when left in direct sunlight, but if you 'take the pain' it soons transfers it's heat to your hand as aluminium has a low specific heat capacity, just a third of that for water for instance.As for the slant top - I like the look of it, as do most people who see it (and I don't have any Max Power reading acquaintances) but it would feel better in the hand if it was a perfect sphere. I'm glad I went for the 'titanium' colour rather than the aluminium as it suits the interior well. I think the gearknob in the Ford GT is the best I've seen, must steal one.

 

[patrickkonig]

Steve I've just bought the same gear knob as you. Feels great in the hand, just need to get some huge grippers to take the OE one off. As soon as I saw original knob when I bought the car I knew it would have to go. Thanks for the "How to" guide.
Patrick