Comments on: Whalen Shift Machine Review

By: Daddyof2

Daddyof2 — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:49:06 +0000

had the same thing on my civic ex. Got a 20 dollar shift knob from pep boys that had at least twice the weight of the OEM one and made for a fun driving experience.

By: mjposner

mjposner — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:27:44 +0000

Virtual Insanity: True but with Whalen it is a little understood due to a small guy who can’t maximize volume pricing.

By: Virtual Insanity

Virtual Insanity — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:36:28 +0000

Nice review, but this is one of the exact reasons I got rid of my BMW. The cost of the aftermarket was obscene for little gain. Don’t even get me started on Dinan…

By: cretinx

cretinx — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:04:01 +0000

you can get these on eBay for next to nothing

I noticed a dramatic difference in my old Civic when switching to a heavily weighted “Type-R” knockoff.

Almost none of the racers I know use short shifters – they all go for the weighted shifter, as using a short shifter increases effort (less torque due to less of a lever) and doesn’t actually increase shift times. The weighted shifter is the way to go.

By: manbou

manbou — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:10:52 +0000

Whalen also offers custom engraving, allowing users to design their own knob top engraving.

Probably not a popular option in Britain…

By: Nopanegain

Nopanegain — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:55:51 +0000

I got my M knob restiched by LeatherZ and they did a nice job.
Kudos to Posner for getting 800 words on this. The Whalen knob can also be used on kitchen cabinets when you need to slam them with more authority.

By: Carzzi

Carzzi — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:29:48 +0000

Takes me back to the days when I had a Z3. Doug had developed this… it gained its following on Roadfly boards.

By: optic

optic — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:27:23 +0000

I was looking for a new knob for my M Coupe (after the little plastic things inside my stock knob broke and it would come off in my hand during autocross). I considered the whalen, but I’ve burned my hand on an all-metal before and didn’t want one again. I ended up getting an OEM BMW knob off ebay for one of the M3 editions that was like mine but about an inch shorter and a little heavier (not lighted, unfortunately). It was just enough of a difference to feel really good, without being too short or too expensive.

By: Mud

Mud — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:11:16 +0000

$130 for a shift knob and you had to fix it with electrical tape?

Grabbing metal knob inside car in Texas summer = some REALLY fast shift times.