Rogue Engineering OCTANE Short Shift Kits

The Rogue Engineering OCTANE short shifter represents years of experience and research in BMW short shifting products.  With feedback from thousands of users and the measuring of countless prototypes, OCTANE is the culmination of a tremendous amount of research and development.  This R&D is a continual process and does not stop.

Rogue Engineering idea of a short shift kit is not substituting levers in place of factory ones just because "they fit".  Throughout the 80s until recently, BMW was notorious for using only a few specific shifter levers for their manual transmission vehicles.  For other companies, making just a few "replacement levers" and offering them in place of those factory part numbers was an easy way of calling it a short shift kit.  Unfortunately, for those companies, BMW started using many different part numbers making it more difficult to just "swap in a lever".

Rogue Engineering only develops it's short shift kit with test vehicles in their facility, testing numerous prototypes, offering others to test it before settling on it's final design.  We feel that this old school, real world testing is the best way when modifying OEM ergonomic, sensory-based controls.

To appreciate the specific advantages of the OCTANE short shifter lever, one must understand the details that make it unique to all others, the heart of the OCTANE short shift kit.

Shifter Lever Upper
The RE OCTANE features a CNC-machined 303 stainless steel upper section.  This adds 150g more to the top of the shifter lever (compared to aluminum), helping to improve shifter feel.  This small increase in mass above is compliments the incorporated WSR (not all models).  The outside profile has been designed to mimic the factory lever.   This means that you can use your factory shift knob (including illuminated ones!) 

E46 M3 OCTANE CNC 

E36 M3 OCTANE

Superior Technology, Constantly Evolving
Until now, only the factory shifter lever was designed to be a vibration-absorbing, acoustically damped unit.  BMW engineers employ vibration-dampening materials in their motor mounts, transmission mounts, subframe mounts and in various other areas for good reason to isolate the cabin from excess vibration and noise.  The OCTANE short shifter lever uses superior materials, bonded and secured to achieve a shorter, more positive shift throw without sacrificing the vibration dampening that BMW engineers built in. Some companies may allude that their "manufactured" lever is in some way superior to a factory lever.  Simply machining a three decade old shifter design is not our idea of forward thinking.  We do not take steps backward in shifter technology, only forwards!

Lowering NVH
By using a custom-extruded neoprene rubber insert, the OCTANE shifter is able to both minimize the NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) more than any other shifter on the market.  By being able to design specific characteristics into the insert, we are able to minimize unwanted shifter free play while minimizing excessive harshness.  Without sufficient material to address NVH issues in the driveline, you wind up with a shifter that vibrates and buzzes.  As a matter of fact, the OCTANE shifter lever has now 308% more vibration-absorbing material than the closest competitor.  Shifter "isolation" should not be mistaken for "vibration-absorbing".  Just because a shifter lever is built to be "isolated", do not mean that it has adequate materials to both acoustically dampen or absorb vibrations.   If you want to maintain the vibration absorbing characteristics of a factory shifter, then your shifter lever better be made in a similar manner, using comparable materials!

Shifter Lever Lower
The lower portion of the OCTANE short shifter is made from CNC'd 303 stainless steel. This material was selected because of its superior corrosion resistance and strength.  Although it no difference in manufacturing costs to machine an integrated pivot ball, we decided against this as you will shortly discover why. 

Pivot Ball and Pivot Bushing
After extensive research and testing, we have discovered and implemented what we feel is the ideal pivot material.  The thermoplastic material used in the OCTANE short shifter maintains the vibration-dampening qualities and built-in lubricity of the stock shifter’s thermoplastic pivot, but adds superior resistance to heat and wear.  Unlike rigid metal balls or bushings, Ertalyte TX is proving to be the best material for the application.  With a coefficient of friction that is 421% better than a stainless steel pivot ball, it combines all the benefits of smooth movement with durability beyond all other thermoplastics.  Even with all of the fantastic properties of Ertalyte TX, we have designed the lower pivot point to be replaceable, should it ever need to be replaced in the future for any reason.

Smooth Operator - The RE SAPP
The latest innovation implemented to the OCTANE short shifter is our exclusive Self-Adjusting Pivot Point (SAPP).  Most other shifters (including the factory), rely on a pivot assembly that binds when new, requiring a "break-in" period to allow for new washers and clips to wear in.  By the time these parts have "broken-in", unwanted play is now introduced, resulting in a potentially sloppy shifter feel.

Rogue Engineering's SAPP eliminates this break-in period, allowing the pivot to move freely at all times.  The unique wave spring mechanism used in the SAPP removes any play in the pivot assembly, which continually loads the pivot assembly with a consistent load (force), compensating for bushing wear.  The effectiveness of the SAPP is also enhanced by its simplicity, as there are no intricate mechanisms to ever fail.