04-09-2012, 10:18 PM | #1 |
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Swapping the shift lever from a Sport AT
So, I know there are obvious differences from the sport AT to the regular but besides the paddles the one thing I noticed is that vehicles equipped with the sports AT have a nicer shift lever with a leather boot and softer shape. Does anyone have any idea what it would take to swap these? Do you think it's an easy undertaking / affordable or should I just live with my plastic base?
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04-09-2012, 10:39 PM | #3 | |
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Although I agree with Justin it would be neat to have someone look into this. you're probably not the only one with this question. I had sport auto with this shift lever on my E60. after this I couldn't go back to an E90 without this lever. LOL. |
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04-09-2012, 10:48 PM | #4 |
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Guess I shoulda stuck with my manual :-) It's not a huge deal. It's just a looks thing. Hell I did the same thing when I had a manual (swapping out the knob) but I have to imagine it's a bit more complex with the joystick.
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04-09-2012, 11:23 PM | #5 |
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Part numbers, but no prices yet: http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...19&hg=25&fg=15
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04-09-2012, 11:29 PM | #6 | |
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I tried looking up similar vehicles to see if they had any part prices. The closest thing I found was an E60 where the price was $200. Less than the whole sport auto package but really, is it worth $200? |
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04-10-2012, 06:49 AM | #7 | |
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04-10-2012, 06:57 AM | #8 | ||
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It's frustrating because so little information was available in the UK when I ordered and I mistakenly thought that the only difference was the paddle shifters. Having barely used them on my Audi I figured it was a waste of money. Plus, assuming the sports auto is faster (and BMW are suitably vague on whether or not it really is), I cannot understand why given that the hardware is identical. That would require then to intentionally slow the shifts & shift pattern. I would have hoped that in Sport mode the shifts would be identical for both gearboxes. If not, I would be interested in the possibility of installing the sports auto software, certainly more than I would care about the shift leaver design. |
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04-10-2012, 08:26 AM | #9 |
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Amazingly, in my opinion, BMW Canada does not offer the sport auto for the F30 328i at all - even as a Sport Line option. In Canada the only way to get the sport auto is with the 335i. That's one reason I'm sitting on my hands re the F30 - waiting, likely in vain, to see if this changes in the fall.
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04-10-2012, 09:51 AM | #10 | |||
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04-10-2012, 10:31 AM | #11 |
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Thanks Highland Pete. I have seen these but I'm not sure I would call them 'specific', at least not in performance terms.
Which is to say, 'precisely how much faster' is it than the standard gearbox? Equally, does a sport box equipped F30 accelerate faster than it's standard counterpart? The published 0-60 and 50-75 mph times make no such distinction. Not that it matters much, it's just that, other than some BMW marketing BS I have yet to see any hard facts to substantiate the sport box being faster or by how much and I figure BMW should make it clearer. That said, I'm sure I read a review which commented on the downshifts being quicker in manual mode (it may even have been Jason who said this). |
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04-10-2012, 03:48 PM | #12 | |
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Here in Australia, BMW only offer the sports auto with steering wheel paddles as standard on all the F30 cars, even on a non line car, except for the 318d
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04-10-2012, 08:31 PM | #13 | |
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Now, back on topic. I never even realized there was a difference between the two shift levers. I had to actually dig up some images to see the difference. For those people who were unaware like me: Last edited by Raspartan; 04-10-2012 at 08:44 PM.. |
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04-10-2012, 09:16 PM | #14 |
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I actually prefer the look of the non-sport shifter. It is cleaner looking and since I own my cars for a while, there is no leather boot to tear or come apart.
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04-11-2012, 01:49 AM | #16 | |
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04-11-2012, 07:56 AM | #18 | |
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04-11-2012, 08:32 AM | #19 | |
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Here we can currently only get the 335i in Sport Auto, even though we make the 335i in manual in the factory here for other countries.
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04-11-2012, 09:23 AM | #20 |
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04-11-2012, 12:43 PM | #21 | ||
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04-11-2012, 04:22 PM | #22 | |
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We pay top $ for our BMWs here in Australia, but a small upside to what the car costs here is that they generally are better base specced than in most other countries. In addition,we can, in most circumstances, order option on a single item basis as well, unlike the US, which has to order packages. Did i mention small upside? Let's cal it tiny. Cheers.
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