This may be a silly thing to blog about but I like this feature on our 2002 BMW M3: the illuminated gearshifter. Now, I'm just speaking from the perspective of someone who jumps in a different car every night. I hate how when I'm driving a long-termer on the freeway and I can't tell if it has one more gear above 5th. I'm always afraid that I'll inadvertently shift it into Reverse.
Anyway, the M3's gearshifter actually has its own lights inside. I think it's the first time I've noticed that in any car. Are there other cars that have that?
I checked to make sure it wasn't the orange lights overhead that were illuminating the shifter by blocking it out with my hand. And sure enough, it glows on its own. Nifty!
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 69,844 miles
joefrompa says:
02:40 PM, 04/ 1/09
Yep, it has a little power wire that runs up into the shifter. One of the "upgrades" alot of BMW owners like to do is put an "illuminated m-shift knob" on their ride.
roadburner says:
02:46 PM, 04/ 1/09
The ///M cars have had that feature for a while, and you can retrofit it to other Bimmers. I considered fitting one to my Club Sport, but a friend gave me a way-kewl UUC Motorwerks RK II shift knob: http://www.shortshifter.com/RK2NEW/rkss/BMW_Motorsport_pattern.jpg
As an aside, a UCC short shifter and DSSR(Double Shear Selector Rod) would make an incredible difference in the shift quality.
carguy622 says:
03:09 PM, 04/ 1/09
I love this feature... very cool.
You can try and shift into reverse but I doubt you'll be able to achieve it. Also most cars have a lock out feature that prevents going into reverse from any of the higher gears.
I still remember a few months ago when I got my Miata with a 5 speed manual and the TSX was a 6 speed I tried to go for 6th in the Miata but ending up with a lot of grinding. I have not made that mistake again!
caroscuro says:
03:21 PM, 04/ 1/09
carguy622,
Nice to know. I was always curious what would happen if I shifted in reverse while driving. :)
dragonflight says:
03:45 PM, 04/ 1/09
Another nice touch on a well appointed car. Who said BMW interiors have to be subpar?
greenpony says:
04:02 PM, 04/ 1/09
"Nice to know. I was always curious what would happen if I shifted in reverse while driving. :)"
Mythbusters pulled that a while ago. I think the myth was that if you shift your car into reverse while slowing down, you'll slow down quicker. Trouble was that they couldn't get their test cars into reverse. The automatic's gearshift moved to R but nothing happened (I guess the computer decided that the driver was an idiot). And the manual just made grinding noises but the driver couldn't physically engage reverse. Myth: Busted.
youngdriver says:
07:40 PM, 04/ 1/09
Indeed, anyone who actually understands how a transmission works knows that it is IMPOSSIBLE to engage Reverse while moving Forward faster than about 2mph - this is true for Autos and Manuals.
Which is not to say that trying won't harm the shift linkage quite a bit... but you'll never actually get it in.
benson2175 says:
09:25 PM, 04/ 1/09
@ dragonflight: Actually I just came back from my local Auto Show and BMW had some of the nicest interiors there. I was underwhelmed by pretty much everyone else. Honda, Mercedes, Nissan (except the 370); all had pretty cheap feeling interiors with stinky oily plastics that felt like recycled trash bins. I sat in a Malibu and it squeaked just from me sitting in it and touching some of the dash, a really annoying high pitch squeak - I can just imagine what it sounds like when moving. Not all bad though; I was totally surprised by the Hyundai and Kia interiors; they were good and the cars were an excellent value compared to the competition, the 370Z looks way better in real life than in photos, and Mazdas have some nice interiors too. Other things I noticed; the interior in the MKS must be some kind of joke, it was absolutely horrible and the car is fifty grand, the center stack faux-aluminium trim in the CTS is exactly the same faux-aluminium material in the Aveo. All Acuras look exactly the same and it's not a good look.
tryan says:
03:58 AM, 04/ 2/09
While I would hope that most people know what gear they were in when driving a manual, it's an intriguing feature, but in the longrun is made obsolete in its usefulness by simpler LED console lighting.
dougtheeng says:
05:53 AM, 04/ 2/09
Seems like a nifty feature. I agree that once you have driven the car a few times, you'll have a good handle for the shifter and the gears. Still, it looks cool.
drmillerM3 says:
05:54 AM, 04/ 2/09
I like it.
redwoodaggie says:
07:14 AM, 04/ 2/09
My '99 M3 had this feature as well. I liked it so much, I added the same shift knob to my E46 3er.
m_thrizzle says:
09:10 AM, 04/ 2/09
@ tryan. Can you explain your statement better? I'm not sure how console lighting would apply here. If you are talking about a soft light from the roof that illumates the console, the M3 has that too. Still, on most manual cars, you would need to turn on the dome light to see the shift pattern at night.
roadburner says:
09:15 AM, 04/ 2/09
AC Schnitzer has the ultimate shift knob for those who can't remember what gear hey selected:
http://www.cecwheels.com/news1-1061/NEWACSCHNITZERDIGITALSHIFTKNOB
m_thrizzle says:
09:34 AM, 04/ 2/09
That AC Schnitzer knob looks like the number is photoshopped on it.
roadburner says:
10:18 AM, 04/ 2/09
"That AC Schnitzer knob looks like the number is photoshopped on it."
It does. I first saw the write-up on the thing in the British mag BMW CAR; they had a much better picture. If I buy a new 1er or 3er I'm definitely buying the new BMW Performance wheel that has the shift lights, lap timer and digital readouts built into the upper rim:
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=32300443170
caroscuro says:
10:40 AM, 04/ 2/09
roadburner,
Now THAT's awesome! Want.
cruiserhead1 says:
08:51 PM, 04/ 2/09
no one else think that a glowing knob is GHEY? looks stupid to me.
maybe good on a rental or sedan but totally out of place on a real sports car.
m_thrizzle says:
02:09 PM, 04/ 7/09
@cruiserhead1,
if the glowing ///M shift pattern is ghey, I don't wanna be straight :)