Not for a while most likely. Moneys tight and with 2 writing heavy classes right now I have Zero free time to work on it. Prolly won't be a project for later in the year. All of my funds right now are saving for when I can get my wing installed.

Red Bulls cheap :icon17:

What shift knob are you looking to mod?

I don't sleep enough as it is, lol I don't need anything taking More of it away... :bowrofl:


I'd really like to do the Balance PW:JDM knob like Phelan has. I really like the look of it, just trying to figure out how to make the AT shifter shorter so it doesn't sit so high.

Gotcha!

It doesn't look to bad that high :ugh2:

@xwchriswx
Is the knob fixed to the shifter, or is it free floating and you just have to remember not to pull it Up?

Its affixed with a collar that tightens the bottom and top wrap around and are threaded and there is a spring inside. I love it as my first real knob on an A/T but will need more time with it to know its faults. For now though its perfect. I wish we could lower the stalk but apparently thats a big no with our car and I wont argue with those more savvy than myself.

Which knob is it? Do you have a link?

@chris - pm'd

:tiphat:

So I got tired of the big silver ring piece popping up and having to push it back down all the time. This weekend I pulled it back off to see what could be done about it. Turns out it's just one of those design's where Nissan got lazy. Instead of the ring having purposeful "indents" for the spring clips to catch into, Nissan just left them flat and put some velvet pad stickers on. Well as usual with sticker pads, they either move (slide) or work themselves off completely.

So the number one thing I did was remove them altogether and used some Bestine to get rid of the goo. My first thought on a fix was glue, but then I decided if I ever wanted to pull this back up that wasn't a good idea. Then I figured the best fix would be to dremel some notches into the inside of the ring for the clips to snap into. But I was too lazy for all that and was afraid I might not get the notches in the right place. I still think this would be the best thing to do, so maybe sometime in the future if plan C doesn't work.

Plan C was to cut some small pieces of male hook velcro (not the softer female loop) and stick it where the old velvet was. My thought here was that the velcro would be hard enough to make it tighter, but it would also give enough to allow the clips to spring into it and make a "catch," particularly over time as the clips wore into the velcro a bit. Of course the down side to this plan is that the velcro will do the same thing as the original velvet and move over time. To help stop this I put the velcro on and let it set on the piece for a day before putting the ring back on. Only time will tell if this fix does the trick.

glad to see this thread is still helping people :)

Yep. Awesome. Thanks.

I also added a step to your original option #1 that helps a great deal with the boot itself. As a matter of fact, I was pissed at you at first because it was giving me such a hard time until I did my step. I thought it was just another DIY thread that fell short of showing some of the hard steps like many do. Once I got my added step figured out, I was back to thanking you again. ;)

See here.....
http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...ml#post1630186

And I also took the time to swap out the dummy button on the right for the actual shift-rev button. It doesn't "do" anything, but it "looks" like it's meant for something now; it's no dummy any more. :tup:

So I had to get working on my silver ring issue again. My original velcro fix didn't work, so I was ready to do the dremel thing I had originally thought about.

That was until I really researched what was going on here. It wasn't just that the clips didn't catch on anything, it was that they were hardly able to catch on anything. Because of the design of these parts on an automatic, the sliver ring just CAN'T go down like it should. The issue is the black plastic shifter gate piece that is too tall. The silver ring comes down and hits the shifter gate, and can't go any further. I figured this all out when I removed both the leather outer piece, and the silver ring. Apart outside the car, the silver ring goes all the way down inside the leather wrap, almost like the stick version.

SO, I decided a new plan, but also involving my dremel. I decided since the gate piece was the problem, that dremeling it woudl allow the silver ring to go in further and have more "grab." it would also look cleaner in the end.

It was a beautiful day out so I did this out on my patio last weekend. It's been a week now since the reinstall and so far the silver ring is staying put perfectly.

I will post some pics next.....

Here's what it looked liked before the boot mod, as everyone's auto looked. By looking closely you can see how the silver sticks up over the leather by about 1/4" in the back.

Here's what it looked like after my original go at this mod. You can see the silver still sticks up in the back about 1/4".

Here are some pics of my dremeling on the shifter gate piece. You can see that I took out about 1/4" of it all the way around. I had to be careful not to cut down too far or I would have gotten into the support "ribs." I wanted to keep all those in place, otherwise there wasn't much point in keeping the gate piece in the first place.

And here's some pictures of it back together. You can see now that the silver ring is much more flush. Pictures don't show it as well as it really looks. It's now much cleaner and smoother looking than before.

A few more pics...

Yikes -- I am having this problem too and was about to try all of the workarounds you had iterated through.

I might try some double sided velcro strips to stick to each other rather than the (useless) spring clips.

I'm kind of leery of taking the whole assembly apart...

Any other suggestions, or is this just a PITA to solve if you want a boot there?

^^ Thats why I just used the whole MT surround, much easier than trying to make just the boot fit.

:iagree:

I may have found a work around -- I trimmed the boot so less material pulling on the bezel, and replaced the velvet clip stays with strips of leather from the trimmed boot.

Amazingly, so far so good. Clamped down tight. Does not dislodge when using shifter, even in manual mode.

Quick comment -- using leather strips in place of the velvet ones on trim clips works very well, and all is still good! Replace at least 3/4 with leather strips as I described above and the trim will stay tamped down firmly :tup:

I'm thinking about this great mod. Price has jumped a bit. Best I could locate is around $93 + shipping.... :(

Not to be a hater, but, why the look of a manual when its not?

Same reason many autos come from the factory with some sort of boot for the shift knob -- it looks nicer.

See the one for the FR-S/BRZ or really any lux car, for examples.

My shift knob comes from a M45 auto. http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_...506.m270.l1313

There are also visible paddle shifters. It is clearly an automatic. Nothing to hide here.

Honestly, I'd be happier with a bezel that preserves the P-R-N-D, but the G37 one won't fit, and the gear one is in is plainly displayed on the dash.

The boot just looks much, much nicer.

Why swap out the 370Z start button for the red GT-R one -- it looks nicer.

Here's some (crappy) pics of mine

http://www.the370z.com/members/jordo...58013-m452.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/jordo...58014-m451.jpg

I just received my Carbon Fiber & Alcantara Shift Knob back from Tony @ Carbon Fiber Element and added a manual shift boot:

http://www.the370z.com/members/pfdax...er-element.jpg

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:happydance:

wow that knob looks good. :tup:

Agreed, but I'm interested in seeing an all CF one.


Is the "button" the same, or modded as well?

Button is same. I like the Alcantara as it's soft and comfortable. Main reason I won't go with a CF steering wheel... :tiphat:

Cool, any other angles? I'm debating on sending mine in this summer for this.

Here are some shots before Tony shipped it back to me:

http://www.the370z.com/2180553-post69.html
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Very clean, I'm gonna have him paint the silver part black as well to get rid of that.

did you have problems fitting that M45 auto knob on the z? also is it using a clip at the bottom to hold it in place? or is the boot just covering it?

how much is the assembly online?
 

i tried google it, not much web has the whole assembly available. i dont know, im too lazy to go to the dealship, anyone who brought it. how much the assembly cost?

That looks good.

Perfect fit, clips in stock place, actuates like stock.

Replacement Catalog - 2013 - Nissan - 370Z Coupe BOOTCONSOLE
 

parts ordered, it will be here 3~7days,i will post a diy on this if possible, i will try to fit in the whole assembly, and suggestion about the automatic shift knob? i been searching for days, cant find nothing. please. :ughdance::ughdance::ughdance:

Check here...

m45 shift knob infiniti automatic in eBay Motors | eBay

I got the black perforated M45 knob -- fits perfect, clips right in place, actuates like OEM.

There's others listed there to consider as well. Any of the M45 ones should work perfectly in place of stock knob.

When I bought mine, it was over $100, can't remember exact cost though.

I can tell you right now the manual shifter trim will not simply snap into place. There is going to be some Serious trimming done to the AT Shifter base to make it fit. You will absolutely need a dremmel and maybe a keyhole saw as well to get everything.

Also highly recommend having a 2nd pair of hands holding a vacuum nozzle close by where you are trimming as you're going to have a lot of plastic shave trimmings everywhere. I did not have this so there is a lot of it still under the trim piece, but out of sight, out of mind. :ugh2:

I just purchased mine from scott at fontana nissan. It was 106 out the door and shipped to my house. I called OC Nissan beforehand and they quoted me at 132. :shakes head:

Non-OEM Shift boot install.

Hey all. first thanks to somatic and Baer383 for making this possible.

I tried somatic's method but wanted to change a few things.

1. I didn't want to have to buy the OEM Part #969351EA1A just to use the boot.
2. I didn't want to go through the additional work of using that whole assembly and then doing the cutting Baer383 and others have done to get those great results.

So I wanted to try using one of the cheapie boots to see what happens.

I bought this shift boot off of ebay from user "autotrimming."

2008-2013 NISSAN 370Z REAL LEATHER MANUAL SHIFT BOOT GRAY STITCHING
2008 2013 Nissan 370Z Real Leather Manual Shift Boot Gray Stitching | eBay

cost: $25.99


I actually had a really good experience with this seller. Estimated shipping from Texas was a week or so and it was at my door in 3 days.

I am really happy with the quality of the boot.

Stiching is 98% dead on with OEM. The stiches are just a hair bigger but unnoticeable from a few inches away.

Also - This was a benefit to me, might not be to you.

Texture and finish - There is minimal texture to this boot. It is also very matte. This makes it great if you want the boot to blend into the rest of the interior like I did.

You can see how smooth it is compared to the OEM boot.

Sizing - Since I don't have access to a manual Z to test - I can't say it works for both transmissions. It seems fine for the AT mod.

I bought the following for my install.

1. Velcro 4 in. X 2 in. Industrial StrengthStrips 2 Pack

Velcro 4 in. X 2 in. Industrial StrengthStrips 2 Pack-90199 at The Home Depot

Cost $2.97

2. A couple of rubber grommets from HD and other hardware stores. Probably a $1 or less a piece. So say $4 total to be safe.

I cut the velcro lengthwise to use to secure the boot to the shifter plate. My main concern was that after putting the silver shifter trim plate back on that the boot would pull out during use.

EDIT - I ended up using too much velcro. You only need to cut four small pieces about an inch wide and position them along the corners. When I tried to use the full strips on the boot (see pic) it made it impossible to adjust the boot. I recommend putting velcro around the shifter plate but then using small pieces on the boot. This will allow you to position the boot as needed.

EDIT: I bought grommets to make a shift collar for the boot. Completely ended up not needing them at all. The first time I tried using one for the shift collar it put enough tension on the boot that it made it hard to manual shift.

Once you install the stock knob back it compresses the boot and there is little if any vertical play. - This is also due to the height of the stock shift knob.

I had a few unsuccessful attempts - grommets used for testing that prevented proper shifting and they also increased the height of the boot to the point that I couldn't get the shifter knob full seated with the wire installed to prevent the knob from moving.

Less is more is the slogan for this mod. I am also including a few new pics of my final install with Carbon Fiber Element wrapped shifter plate.