Has anyone found a vendor that does custom shift *****? I would love to have a black ****, a round one, about the size of a cue ball, with a custom design on top, but all the ones that I have found are wood. Any suggestions?

 

whalenshiftmachine.com

 

I agree with minimarks.
Doug Whalen is the person to ask.
He's beginning to use Delrin (a black plastic) in some of his ***** (including mine) so he may be able to do a ball. He can definitely do designs.

 

Yeah, I checked with him, but what I want involves adding a colored design to the ****, and he doesn't do that....that's why I'm having a hard time finding someone who can do what I want.

 

NAM member Robin Casady also offers his own custom *****.

http://www.robincasady.com/ShiftKnobs/

 

Doug Whalen is doing ***** with a vinyl sticker inlaly. You might be able to get Aesthetic Creations to do a custom sticker and Doug to do a black Delrin **** to fit it.

 

Something like this?

 

Metal gets HOT in the summer...At least here in Texas with a metal **** in my RSX it was too hot to shift in the summer. That is why I am going with a Robin Casady as soon as I get my car. Just have to see the car before I order any other toys for it

 

Thanks. That is one of the appeals of wood -- cool in summer, warm in winter.

 

I think some of it may have to do with the type of metal and finish, as well. I had a chrome shifter years ago that was *miserable* in the summer, but my current Whalen shifter has a bead-blasted finish that doesn't seem to get nearly as hot to the touch.

 

Hmm, I thought it had to do with the thermal conductivity of the material.

 

It does, but it also has to do with how much of the material comes in direct contact with your hand, on a microscopic scale. If you have a highly-polished or chromed piece of metal, it's going to feel "hotter" on a hot day or "colder" on a cold day than a piece of the same metal with a rougher finish.

If you were to take a polished shift **** and cut grooves into it such that half of the surface were covered with grooves, there would only be half the surface area to transfer heat to your hand. Where the grooves are, there would be trapped air acting as an insulator. But, those grooves would actually *increase* the total surface area of the **** that's exposed to the air, so if the **** was hotter than the ambient air, the grooves would help the **** shed heat more effectively into the surrounding air.

 

That makes sense. Next summer, I'll give this one a try.

 

Whoops! Where did the picture go?

Question for those who know more about this stuff than I do (and that's everybody).
Can I not attach a picture, (when I've included it in a previous post), if I change the name of it?

 

What I am looking for is a black, round shift ****, with the 6 speed pattern done in silver and the R,5 and 6 done in red. Since I have a red R56, I thought that would be a cool idea for a shift ****, now I'm just having trouble finding someone who can do it. ANy suggesstions of how it might be done?

 

+1 Your air volume in the grooves will provide marginal R value and thus feel cooler if you don't grip your **** but not for long!!!