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IRP v3 short shifter install 130i e87

6K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Rustle 
#1 ·
I've had a CAE shifter on my wish list for some time but struggled with cost. Then found this IRP shifter at less than half the cost. As fate would have it a friend of a friend is a chap called Neil at Carbonmotive in Kent, an e82 owner and the uk distributor for these.

Install was fairly easy but fiddly. Removing the shifter is dead easy, I also eventually found it desirable to remove the centre console just to allow enough room to fiddle about with the base mounts etc without cutting your hands to pieces; and that upon trial fitment it became obvious that I would need to trim the ashtray to fit around the IRP gubbins. I followed a diy for shifter removal, then one from a m3 for the underbody stuff. Whilst they are very different undercar, the process was the same. I didn't take many pics. I found all this was possible without disconnecting the drive shaft, but it may have been easier to do so.

Process
- remove shifter surround, knob, gaiter & shifter itself (turn the plastic bit surrounding the ball joint anti clockwise with needle nosed pliers)
- if you haven't beforehand get the car level on axle stands and make sure you have enough room for your fat gut. Adjust height twice as I did[emoji23][emoji23]
- remove the middle two undertrays only. These afford your jack access to the gearbox.
- I also removed a undertray hanger and an exhaust bracket just for room. These are obvious once you try to get your jack in position.
- unbolt the silver heat shield and slide it backwards to the rear of the car. It might object but it will go. to do this you also need to unbolt the small strut brace (13mm)
- position jack under gearbox. I used a piece of 9mm ply between jack and box.
- I decided to only unbolt the lower gearbox mount nuts, then loosen the four of the transmission carrier. All 13mm. Torque value for these six is 19Nm.
- the metal gear pivot (the bit the ball on the shifter sits in) you are removing has two clips at the front. These rotate downwards to release, then you slide the shaft out of the mount (towards outer edge of car) to release. I found I needed to pry the outer edge out slightly to get mine moving. Once these clips are out and the gearbox as low as possible, slide the gear pivot thing all the way forward out of its rear mount and it'll pop free.
- back up top to select your shifter position then drill your mounting holes.
- back under to find the supplied bolts are too short and that bmw has glued some fairly dodgy sound deadening to the underside. Hack away at this with a Stanley knife to allow you room to move, and fit your washers and nuts.
- Installing the bolts is a two man job. The rear bolts are easy as you can get a ring spanner under the IRP frame from the topside through that massive oval hole. The front ones are a pain as you need to work around the guibo which restricts hand positioning. Well it did for me. But it got done.
- back up top for final checking , then fit the oem rubber boot.
- back under to connect the linkage pin to the shifter and reinstall the oem circlip.
- back up top to play around and fine tune the limit adjusters on the IRP shifter.

Jobs a good un.



















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#3 ·
Octavius said:
A nice job but it sits far too high for me.

Is your car a track car or a daily ?
It's what I'm calling my clubsport. I mainly use it on track days and drive outs etc but it doubles as a second car from time to time. I've just driven it for the first time; you might just change your mind if you try it, feels absolutely spot on (sits really good with you elbow on the arm rest) and not over kill for a daily, though cutting the console to bits may be a bit much for some.

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#4 ·


I have a video but no idea how to load it via tapatalk. It is on the Facebook group '130i owners unite' for those who have joined it.

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#6 ·
Octavius said:
A nice job but it sits far too high for me.

Is your car a track car or a daily ?
I find the stock shifter sits far too low for me. The arm rest gets in the way of full elbow articulation when your hand is on the shifter.
I know that some people have removed the armrest to make the ergonomics better, but this looks much better as less distance for your hand to move to the shifter and back is massively reduced.
On a rough road at speed you don't want to be taking your hand off the wheel a moment longer than possible.

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#7 ·
That's awesome dude, the extra length on the shifter will help massively on track , it always puzzles me why people go for short shifters :)
 
#9 ·
marco_polo said:
markhurley said:
it always puzzles me why people go for short shifters :)
People like to make the ergonomics worse, and the already slightly agriculture gearbox feel even notchier!

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I know of Neil at CarbonMotive, what's he done to his E82 so far Rustle?
Not too sure myself Marco, he's a friend of a friend and I've only spoken on the phone so far. It's had the IRP shifter (v2 version) and guibo as far as I know, plus a new paint job recently.

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#10 ·
marco_polo said:
markhurley said:
it always puzzles me why people go for short shifters :)
People like to make the ergonomics worse, and the already slightly agriculture gearbox feel even notchier!

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I know of Neil at CarbonMotive, what's he done to his E82 so far Rustle?
Does the console have to be chopped up like this :eek2:
 
#12 ·
shrjun said:
marco_polo said:
markhurley said:
it always puzzles me why people go for short shifters :)
People like to make the ergonomics worse, and the already slightly agriculture gearbox feel even notchier!

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I know of Neil at CarbonMotive, what's he done to his E82 so far Rustle?
Does the console have to be chopped up like this :eek2:
I think so. You can alter the orientation of the shifter as it's function is not affected by which way it faces so it might be possible to position it within the space without major surgery but IMO it would cause a compromise over ideal Positioning. But the consoles are cheap and easy to replace. Also bear in mind I've chosen not to install a shift boot as I like seeing the mechanism. That would cover a few sins in itself.

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