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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!)
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 cars’
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 simple spring mechanism used in the
SAPP removes any play in the pivot assembly, which continually loads the
pivot assembly with a 6 lb. load (force), continuously compensates for bushing wear. The effectiveness of the SAPP is also
enhanced by its simplicity, as there are no intricate mechanisms to ever
fail.
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