SSK: Rogue Engineering vs. UUC vs. Shifteck

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by SROC3

+1 - I have an M4 too Tom that you could use for testing!!!! )))))))

Originally Posted by Brasko

Anyone know of a company that makes Delrin (or better) bushing to replace the OEM rubber bushings? Would love to retain the OEM shifter with proper bushings and a clutch pedal upgrade. That would be my ideal.

Tom, If you decide to develop some, I've got an LSB M3 CP on the way that would be the perfect test bed.

Possibly. I'll look into this a bit more.

[dhoggm3]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

The Shifteck shifter has been fairly popular. It was extremely popular in the E9X chassis. Good value per dollar.

I'm hoping some recent customers share the experience but I dont know if they are on the boards.

Just ordered one based on Shiftek's reputation. And they've got a crazy promo price running right now - nearly free! Well almost...

[RocketBoots]

Originally Posted by dhoggm3

Just ordered one based on Shiftek's reputation. And they've got a crazy promo price running right now - nearly free! Well almost...

Give us some feedback when you get in installed. And specifically, if it sits straight like OEM. Please

[tom @ eas]

Got a set of the stock shifter bushings in this morning:



The harness level on the bushings is on par with polyurethane. Going to Brass or Delrin would show zero improvement, while introducing NVH through the shifter.

Sorry to say, there's no improvements that can be made in this area.

[Brasko]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Got a set of the stock shifter bushings in this morning:



The harness level on the bushings is on par with polyurethane. Going to Brass or Delrin would show zero improvement, while introducing NVH through the shifter.

Sorry to say, there's no improvements that can be made in this area.

Thanks for putting in the R&D for this Tom. Are those the only 3 bushings in the shifter assembly? So are you saying there wouldn't be a noticeable difference vs. OEM?

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by Brasko

Thanks for putting in the R&D for this Tom. Are those the only 3 bushings in the shifter assembly? So are you saying there wouldn't be a noticeable difference vs. OEM?

Only 2 bushings isolate the shifter, there is an extra pictured. There will be no noticeable difference as the OEM bushings are very stiff.

[Brasko]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Only 2 bushings isolate the shifter, there is an extra pictured. There will be no noticeable difference as the OEM bushings are very stiff.

Gotcha! Thanks for taking the time out to R&D this. Based on your findings, what would you attribute the "slop" of the shifter to come from. First instinct would be the OEM bushings, but based on your findings it seems to be something else.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by Brasko

Gotcha! Thanks for taking the time out to R&D this. Based on your findings, what would you attribute the "slop" of the shifter to come from. First instinct would be the OEM bushings, but based on your findings it seems to be something else.

Try shifting an E46M3, the F8X has improved greatly from previous gens.

I don't feel any slop in the current shifters, not exactly sure what can be changed other than fulcrum point, which doesn't effect what you're referring to.

[dhoggm3]

The Shiftek shifter is in. Throws are roughly 1/3 shorter, shift rod is shorter. Feel is somewhat notchy, with a little more force required to shift, but altogether a very nice shift feel. I'll enjoy driving this everyday.

The instructions provided with the shifter were flat wrong. I've never seen the mechanic who installed it as frustrated as he was with this, and he can tear down a whole car and reassemble it. One item that sticks out is that he had to remove a floor pan bushing to access the shift mechanism; this was not mentioned in the instructions. Maybe it's an M3 vs. M4 thing? Dunno. Buyer beware, it's not easy.

Then there's the positioning. It's positioned and canted substantially to the right compared to stock. The one thing that I noticed besides the shorter, firmer shifts was that apparently I hang my fingers down over the passenger side of the knob. I pinched my fingers between the shifter and the console the first time I shifted into 6th - never happened before. I don't do that anymore.

I'm going to live with the strange positioning because of the assembly frustration factor. And I've never heard anyone comment on the position of my 6MT.

It feels good with nice shift action. If I were to do it again, I'd go with something else. UUC now seems to have overcome the leaning shifter issue. Shiftek has not.

[Brasko]

Originally Posted by dhoggm3

The Shiftek shifter is in. Throws are roughly 1/3 shorter, shift rod is shorter. Feel is somewhat notchy, with a little more force required to shift, but altogether a very nice shift feel. I'll enjoy driving this everyday.

The instructions provided with the shifter were flat wrong. I've never seen the mechanic who installed it as frustrated as he was with this, and he can tear down a whole car and reassemble it. One item that sticks out is that he had to remove a floor pan bushing to access the shift mechanism; this was not mentioned in the instructions. Maybe it's an M3 vs. M4 thing? Dunno. Buyer beware, it's not easy.

Then there's the positioning. It's positioned and canted substantially to the right compared to stock. The one thing that I noticed besides the shorter, firmer shifts was that apparently I hang my fingers down over the passenger side of the knob. I pinched my fingers between the shifter and the console the first time I shifted into 6th - never happened before. I don't do that anymore.

I'm going to live with the strange positioning because of the assembly frustration factor. And I've never heard anyone comment on the position of my 6MT.

It feels good with nice shift action. If I were to do it again, I'd go with something else. UUC now seems to have overcome the leaning shifter issue. Shiftek has not.

Thank you for the great feedback and insight on the installation process. This thread has turned into a lot of great information pertaining to the F8X SSK's. Would love to keep this going and see if we can get more forum members to contribute their thoughts/ideas/insights.

[dhahlen]

Bump. In the market, wish auto solutions had a kit for the f8x. I've used Uuc in the past... looking for some additional feedback if anyone has any ssk installed!

[MMMCOOKIES55]

Originally Posted by dhahlen

Bump. In the market, wish auto solutions had a kit for the f8x. I've used Uuc in the past... looking for some additional feedback if anyone has any ssk installed!

Thread revival!

Speaking of Auto solutions, I have his kit for the F80 coming to my house this week. I will update with a new thread once installed !!!

[SROC3]

I'm in the market for UUC possibly.......I just drove a Cayman S and the darn shifter is amazeballs.....I'm jelly.

[x.shell]

Originally Posted by SROC3

I'm in the market for UUC possibly.......I just drove a Cayman S and the darn shifter is amazeballs.....I'm jelly.

I replied to your PM but your box is full.

[boss2k]

Originally Posted by exo-shell

I have the UUC SSK Version 2. Here are a couple notes.

• My version 2 SSK sits straight and centered.
• The shifts are short and mechanical.
• There is a little more mechanical noise compared to OEM.
• I have it set to the highest setting which is about the same height as OEM but you can go lower.
• According to ACM, you need to go under the car to install this.
• Reverse gear is the only gear that feels weird to me. It feels like the gate is not as deep. Other gears are perfect.

When it comes down to it, driving experience is more important to me than anything else on this car. So the UUC SSK is my 2nd favorite mod on the M3 (after the JRZ Suspension of course). I didn't mind the OEM shift kit but the only thing I didn't like about it was the "rubbery" feel; the UUC fixed this.

Some more info on my specific UUC SSK is here.
http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...&highlight=uuc

Just bought it last week , do you think the effort will be much more than stock and at the lowest height which i will do what is the % reduction in throws? I believe only height is adjustable and not the throw length ?

[x.shell]

Originally Posted by boss2k

Just bought it last week , do you think the effort will be much more than stock and at the lowest height which i will do what is the % reduction in throws? I believe only height is adjustable and not the throw length ?

No.

[x.shell]

I have a Rogue SSK on order. I'll post a review once I install it and get some seat time.

[boss2k]

Originally Posted by exo-shell

No.

Can you expand on the No?

[cnofar]

Bumping an older thread. I'm looking for a short shift kit for my 2015 M3. I had the BMW OEM SSK on my E46 M3 and it was tremendous bang for the buck. Wondering if there's anything similar for the F8X platforms.

Any options other than Rogue engineering, Shifteck, and UUC?

[chetrickerman]

I just ordered a UUC SSK, I will let you know how I like difference.

[ryank382]

I'm also currently looking for a good option but can't seem to find what I want. It seems to me like there's a lot of demand in the f80 market for a good SSK so I can't understand why there isn't enough vendors making SSKs

UUC apparently has great feel and that mechanical feeling engagement but I've read about multiple different people having issues with fitment even with the gen2s if I remember correctly

Shifteck I can't find anything to read about how it feels other then it's supposedly almost identical to UUC including the fitment and positioning issues

Rogue engineering doesn't have that "mechanical" engagement feel to it

CAE is supposedly amazing and has that mechanical bolt action type feel but makes too much noise for a daily

Autosolutions I contacted today. They do indeed have a SSK but after speaking via PM to another member who's tried the autosolutions SSK he advised I stay away because apparently there's a few issues on how they're built (some parts supposedly machined wrong)

That's all the info I've deducted from what I've read of others accounts of the shifters on the forum. I have not tried any of the shifters myself

So I'm optionless on a headache free mechanical feeling short shifter and am wondering if I'll be happy with the rogue engineering kit

[x.shell]

Originally Posted by ryank382

I'm also currently looking for a good option but can't seem to find what I want. It seems to me like there's a lot of demand in the f80 market for a good SSK so I can't understand why there isn't enough vendors making SSKs

UUC apparently has great feel and that mechanical feeling engagement but I've read about multiple different people having issues with fitment even with the gen2s if I remember correctly

Shifteck I can't find anything to read about how it feels other then it's supposedly almost identical to UUC including the fitment and positioning issues

Rogue engineering doesn't have that "mechanical" engagement feel to it

CAE is supposedly amazing and has that mechanical bolt action type feel but makes too much noise for a daily

Autosolutions I contacted today. They do indeed have a SSK but after speaking via PM to another member who's tried the autosolutions SSK he advised I stay away because apparently there's a few issues on how they're built (some parts supposedly machined wrong)

That's all the info I've deducted from what I've read of others accounts of the shifters on the forum. I have not tried any of the shifters myself

So I'm optionless on a headache free mechanical feeling short shifter and am wondering if I'll be happy with the rogue engineering kit

RTD also makes a CAE style SSK for BMW. It comes up as a product compatible with the F80. But just looking at it, my intuition is that you'll have to find a bespoke way to mount the shifter to the tunnel as the hole it much larger on the F80 vs previous gen M3s. An adjustable DSSR (like the CAE) would probably be a good idea to get the angle of the shifter correct as well.

http://www.psdesignsglobal.com/_shop...er-mini-300mm/