Stu
12-08-2012, 03:50 PM
First and foremost: Picture
http://i.imgur.com/IulCfl.jpg
It matches the interior dash colors perfectly, and it's the perfect brightness.
Second: DIY information
This DIY is not exactly the easiest, mainly because of how the knob comes from the factory. Everything I did to install it is found in postitpad's here:
http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?3287-BMW-330-ZHP-Illuminated-Shift-Knob-Install
The hardest part is preparing the knob. New BMW vehicles come with the shift knob and boot attached to each other.
BMW opted not to have the boot be replaceable on its own, so now the knobs come with the boot glued onto the knob.
Needless to say the F10 M5 shift boot does not fit in the E46. This is a bit of an issue. The shift boot must be separated using a razor and gently tugging to get it off of the glue, and finally removing a tapered plastic piece that is attached to the knob. In the end, this is really just a modified ZHP shift knob with a few extra pieces glued onto it.
I can give a more detailed DIY about how to do this later.
To solve the wiring issue, I recommend obtaining these:
http://sigma.octopart.com/5351697/image/Phoenix-Contact-1757019.jpeg
They are called Phoenix connectors. You shove a wire in one end and screw it down into place. The idea I have is, you can cut the respective wires, run jumpers in-between different areas on the connector, and you won't have to deal with vampire connectors or electrical tape. I will show this in detail once I get around to it. It is currently too dark for me to do it all right now.
http://i.imgur.com/IulCfl.jpg
It matches the interior dash colors perfectly, and it's the perfect brightness.
Second: DIY information
This DIY is not exactly the easiest, mainly because of how the knob comes from the factory. Everything I did to install it is found in postitpad's here:
http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?3287-BMW-330-ZHP-Illuminated-Shift-Knob-Install
The hardest part is preparing the knob. New BMW vehicles come with the shift knob and boot attached to each other.
BMW opted not to have the boot be replaceable on its own, so now the knobs come with the boot glued onto the knob.
Needless to say the F10 M5 shift boot does not fit in the E46. This is a bit of an issue. The shift boot must be separated using a razor and gently tugging to get it off of the glue, and finally removing a tapered plastic piece that is attached to the knob. In the end, this is really just a modified ZHP shift knob with a few extra pieces glued onto it.
I can give a more detailed DIY about how to do this later.
To solve the wiring issue, I recommend obtaining these:
http://sigma.octopart.com/5351697/image/Phoenix-Contact-1757019.jpeg
They are called Phoenix connectors. You shove a wire in one end and screw it down into place. The idea I have is, you can cut the respective wires, run jumpers in-between different areas on the connector, and you won't have to deal with vampire connectors or electrical tape. I will show this in detail once I get around to it. It is currently too dark for me to do it all right now.