Extended paddle shifters

H

Hejnfelt

Member
Someone requested me to look into extended Paddle shifters for the E89.

Researching it a little bit, I found that anyone with the MSport steering wheel with the Pull/Pull style paddle shifters can use F30 stick on extended paddle shifters of which there are many options readily available on the market.

Hope this helps anyone looking for this mod :)
 
Howdy-Hey. It was me.

Indeed, there are heaps of stick-on and other affordable solutions on the market. But it would look horrible. I’m hopeful for form and function. At a reasonable price.

There’s a shop in Silicon Valley that make bespoke carbon fibre extended paddle shifters. They want US$1,000.00 for the pair. I wish them good luck.

The challenge continues.
 
Maybe I misunderstood the problem and desired solution. Do you wish to replace the factory paddles with differently designed paddles? I understood you just wanted the extenders to "stick on" to the factory solution.
 
Hi again. The former. The OE paddles need to come out, and in their place, new and longer and pretty paddles.

Something like this, but for the E89, which for some reason has a very specific steering wheel. Go figure. Hence the fabrication.

https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-4538217-carbonex-gloss-carbon-paddle-shifters-f-chassis/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrfymBhCTARIsADXTabluZLwd8AzUNUPx6ZHH-bbzT5ItnTqwAr5A633oKw7b4qKdeJELuo0aAjTeEALw_wcB
 
There is a big difference between the design of the E89 paddle shifter internals and the F series paddle shifter internals. The F series uses a little regular circular spring which is "free" but on the E89 the 3 little straight springs are molded into a plastic piece which is stuck onto/into the metal paddle shifter. This combined piece is what is your "paddle" and what you essentially want to exchange. I do not think any regular person can safely remove this plastic piece from their metal paddles without risking breaking it. This plastic piece is essential to swapping out the E89 Paddles with something else.

E89 paddle internals
paddle shifter pin disassembly.png

The piece must be manufactured to incredibly small tolerances which are not achievable in 3D printing unless maybe printing with resin. This piece must fit into the hinge mechanism of the actual paddle before both are hinged with the pin to the switch plate which mounts to the steering wheel. See the attached picture and you will understand that even while it is possible to manufacture new paddles, it is the process of exchanging the metal paddles that is really challenging and involves high risk of breaking critical parts which are irreplaceable unless you're willing to buy a new paddle assembly from BMW which is about 500 bucks.
 
Indeed, it doesn’t seem like a trivial job.

There’s a thread here with a fellow that was fabricating an adapter between the E89 OE hardware, and (I think) the F30 extended paddle shifter. Sadly that fellow is MIA.

The challenge continues.
 
You can see here how the F30 paddles have different internal design and construction. Although they look similar, the internals on the E89 are much more complicated.

F30 paddle shifter internals.png
 
Yes. We’re saying the same thing with different words. As often criticised here, English isn’t my first language.

I’ll find the thread and put a link here. You’ll see. The solution is an adapter.

Feel free to PM me, and exchange WhatsApp numbers for easier communication.
 
Here’s the older thread with loads of interesting things.

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=139432
 
Marcoose said:
Here’s the older thread with loads of interesting things.

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=139432
Click to expand...

Ok, so let’s ensure I understand things right. You have a very specific problem of upshifting out of tight left handers because you move your right hand down the wheel. The stock paddles don’t extended down vertically and therefore you’re having trouble reaching your upshift paddle.

Not only is this annoying, it’s also dangerous as you’re going fast and trying to stay focused, but fumbling around trying to find your upshift paddle robs your attention from the driving. This is a constant reminder and kills the joy of your driving your car.

You do not have the same problem on right handers because your right hand will be “up” on the right side of the wheel and the stock paddles extend upwards and are easily reachable in the position.

You don’t actually have a problem with the stock paddles if it wouldn’t be for this reach issue.

You do not want a stick on solution because it looks tacky blending the stock paddles into another design that is glued to the back? (my assumption)

Your solution is the swap the actual paddles with new paddles that extend further down… Although you don’t need extra reach upwards?

You don’t actually care whether it’s a new paddles or a stick on solution or something else in between, you just don’t want the tacky look of a stick on solution that reminds you every time you look at your steering wheel of how AliExpress it looks?

Please correct me if anything is wrong and add if anything else is the matter with the stock paddles.
 
It’s very nice of you to have read and summarised the other thread. I mean it.

The challenge continues. Longer, nice-looking paddle shifters. All other solutions and ideas will most certainly not meet the desired outcome.

If you can crack the adapter (or the entire paddle), I will be forever very grateful.

Thank you. (And feel free to PM me for faster communication.)
 
The summary is to ensure I understand the problem from your perspective correctly before proposing a solution - which I already have - but which might not satisfy the entire problem from your perspective but which I think will satisfy the described problem as I understand it.

You happen to hit a problem that I have myself experienced once driving the Z4 and it indeed struck a nerve and I can relate to the general idea of problematic upshifts on left turns in motorcycle racing where I have a lot of experience… That’s why you use GP shift pattern in racing.

Looking at the paddle, wheel and space design, my proposed solution is a clip-on extender that only extends vertically down to solve the actual problem and nothing else. The intent is to clip on the original paddle in such a way that it neither seen or felt during the majority of regular driving scenarios and only really is obvious, when you need it. This way you won’t be reminded visually of the stick-on solution when you look at your steering wheel top half and you shouldn’t be feeling the clip-on when using the paddles regularly.

The solution would be plastic to be flexible enough to “clip” on and to keep costs low and it would be black to keep visual impact minimal.

The clips would retain on the top and underside inner most sharp edges of the OEM paddles and perhaps extend to a third point on the underside to provide horizontal stability. With material rigidity and 3 points of contact, the paddle should stay in place with no glue and no feel during normal driving.

Would such a solution work?
 
We could 'simplify the problem' even more.

Nothing wrong with the stock paddles, but he likes the look of the fancy ones he has seen on some other vehicle.

That's about it? As good a reason as any other for a wild goose chase.

On your marks, get set, go!
 
But that's not what was described and the reason I'm spelling it out. The fancy solution isn't feasible with a reasonable effort.
 
At the risk of sounding obtuse, that’s what I want. I’m all ears for alternatives. But so far none meet the requirements.
 
Essentially the utility problem became the excuse to have fancy paddles... in which case, case closed. The utility problem is fun to solve minimalistically and invisibly and I'll probably make some just for myself now that I thought about the problem. But for fancy paddles you need to look elsewhere I'm afraid.
 
You see, for the few right-handers that the longer paddle comes in handy, it’s not worth looking at a tacky solution 100% of the time. IMO, obviously.

Like the cupholder. Brilliant idea, but I drink and drive very rarely. Two holes in the middle of the console 100% of the time would bother me. However, with a lid, that’s another story.

There’s a Dodge extended stick-on, in black metal IIRC, that extends to one side only. I thought that with minimal adjustment it could work out. But then Asmo came in the picture with the right solution, and right is better than my butt jobs. It’s a pity that he went MIA.

Please do let us know what you gin up. I’m always fascinated by folk like you with this type of skills.
 
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