Thought it would be cool to get this, since I'm unwilling to separate from the cash to go with a Whalen. I bought it from NAM sponsor-vendor Coopersport/Bimmian. Went with the "gunmetal" finish to, sorta, match my R53 anthracite interior...

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/5283/pbimknob.jpg

...Just thought I'd share a twilight pic. I realize the pic makes it look pink-ish--twilight shots are always difficult--this is due to it being closer and slightly brighter than the surrounding lighting, but trust me the color-match is actually spot on.

Installation was easy... I ran the two thin wires under the shifter boot, and I tapped into one of the illumination wires (and ground) from the nearby seat-heaters/mirrors connector. Only issue was they only supplied one "vampire clip" wire connector. Obviously, two was needed. Good thing I had more. My biggest fear was not being able to get the stock **** off, but I gave it a mighty two-handed yank and it came right off, first try. This **** has decent weight and feels great...but you may not like it at first if you actually prefer a ball-shaped ****; this one is more like a "conventional" teardrop-shaped **** (which, I actually prefer). It comes with four shift pattern caps. A plain 5-speed and a plain 6-speed, and an "///M" 5-speed and an "///M" 6-speed (if you want to pretend you're driving a real M-tuned BMW, LOL).

 

Nice! Been looking for one of those.

 

Dude your out if gas....LOL

I like it, thanks for the pic. I've been looking for something different in this area.

 

Thanks. One thing I noticed after the fact was that now the shifter shaft and the neck of the boot are narrower than the base of the ****. With the stock ****, it didn't matter because it was ball-shaped. But with this one, it's noticeable because you feel the "step" with the bottom of your hand, as you grab the ****. So, I removed the ty-wrap that secures the neck of the boot, and I replaced it with a small piece of rubber hose. It's currently still not thick enough, but it did help...

 

Any pics ?

 

^^Not of the piece of hose-thing, but there's a link to a pic in the first post, in case you didn't notice it.

 

I want daytime pics of the ****.

 

Where does the power source for the LED come from? Battery? Is it a wire you can see, or is it hidden?

 

From the OP

 

Here ya go...
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/41/p001b2.jpg
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1724/p001b3.jpg
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/1708/p001b4.jpg
So far so good. The **** doesn't get loose or vibrate, and since it's more-or-less a solid chunk of metal, it has a kinda direct mechanical feel to it that doesn't seem to be there with the stock ball. One more thing I forgot to mention: I wrapped one layer of electrical tape around the shaft, under the ****, aiming to make sure it never vibrates.

 

Looks a little like the UUC *****. I like it.

 

I love this ****! (The more I drive with it, the more I realize this...) It makes the whole shifter mechanism feel totally different...more precise and direct, but with the illusion of lighter effort--this is due to the natural change in how you grip the **** due to it's shape. You tend to grip it lower--from the side as opposed to palm-down from the top, on the stock ball--so, it also makes the shift-throws feel slightly shorter.

I bought this thing mainly for the wowee-factor of the fact that it was LED-illuminated, but that now seems secondary to the fact that it's actually just a really good **** in own right.

 

Looks like a good match

 

Did you use the oem boot or thats the alcantara?

 

Lucky you...mine would not come off. At all. I even tried a wrench around the base and whacked that with a hammer for about an hour. All I managed to do was destroy the stock ****. Ended up having to use a hacksaw. Gladly I had a new shift lever waiting to go in...you have a link to where you bought your ****?

 

Coopersport.com, where, oddly, they do not list MINI's as fitting, even when emailed. They asked me for the shaft diameter...