Hello,

I recently purchased a 2008 TL Type-S. I love the car, but one of the things that has bothered me is this stitch on the shifter knob:


It's not flush with the leather and tends to poke into my hand just below my thumb in such a way as to be an annoyance.

I decided to order a Skunk2 knob, since, by my count, very few people have bad things to say about them. It should be here tomorrow.

While waiting, I decided to loosen everything up a bit, and now that I've discovered that this collar appears to be firmly attached to the shift boot.


Am I mistaken about this collar? Does anyone know if/how I can remove it (preferrably without removing the boot) and still have a decent-looking setup? How much work would it be to replace the boot entirely? (I'd rather not have to disassemble anything I don't absolutely have to.)

I've tried to convince myself that maybe it won't look horrible. Here's what it looks like inside:


Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks

 

I was considering a skunk2 when I put my Short Shift on but I had the same problem your facing. I did some pretty extensive searching and all I really came up with was a double sided tape idea; or, a couple members just left it alone. Because the skunk2 is counter-sunk/recessed the knob goes down far enough that the boot is "supposed" to rest up against it. I didn't like the sound of that. Hopefully you come up with something good because I'd like to pick up a new shift knob too, but I want it to look at least as good as the oem one.

 

I have the same complaint. New knob will be in next week. I'll post pics.

 

I've only had my TL-S for two days, so this is based on my experience with my RSX-S......

If you take the shift boot off entirely and turn it inside out, you'll see how the boot is attached to the knob adapter. I had a TL 6MT knob on my RSX-S, and the knob adapter is the same. It's attached with a zip-tie type strap around the boot which sits into a groove on the adapter.

Now, the way to take the boot off on the RSX was to pop off the trim ring that goes around it. Then the boot comes out. There are a few tabs cut in the leather (pleather) that hold it on, but they come out easily.

Again, this is my experience with the RSX-S shift boot and knob adapter, but I'm willing to bet it's the same.

As for attaching the new knob, you might want to check over at ClubRSX, those guys switch shift knobs like I switch socks (about once a month ).

 

dude i got this shift knob the other day........mavenmotorsports.com serious piece of equip it was recommended to me by someone else on the forum and holy shit its so worth it

 

Skunk2 and the collar is loose... The skunk2 sits so much lower that the boot is resting against the knob. It's fine with me.

I could get anal and silicone it into place, but it's just isn't that big of a deal.

If you really wanted to, you could remove the boot and "inside out", remove the collar, zip tie it directly to the shaft, then turn it back rightside out... easy.

Don't use the nut with the Skunk2 knob. Crewing it all the way down shortens the shifter, giving you a "shorter throw". If you tighten it all th eway up and the shift pattern is not aligned, throw some loctite on the threads, tighten all the way up, then unscrew it until the shift pattern is aligned... let it dry overnght.

 

I would recommend any of the above fixes or get a rubber collar or, if you want to go Macguyver, use a rubber band/s wrapped many times around to snug it to the top.

 

Wow! Thanks for all the advice and pictures! I feel so much better about this now than I did before. I'll post a followup picture if I try the inside-out boot method suggested by Kennedy.

 

I have the Skunk2 knob on with the collar remaining (as shown in Kennedy's picture). It looks great. I can't wait for the loctite to dry.

Thanks again, everybody.

 

Hell... I guess I should stop being a puss and go for it. Once again the forum has inspired me

 

I changed out the knob on my car to the NRG SS weighted knob. To keep the collar up, I used some small pieces of of soft sided velcro.

1. I removed the factory knob.
2. I then pulled the boot up so the collar was almost off the shifter.
3. I was then able to take a small piece of soft sided velcro (1/4" x 3/4") and line the inside of the small part of the collar. You can also use another small piece inside the top fo the collar so it will keep it from rattling against the knob.
4. Then I set the collar back down onto the shifter, with the narrowed hole, it collar would not go past the flare in the shifter.
5. Without using the lock nut, I twisted the shift knob on till it was tight against the collar.

 

Here's the Vision Motorworks billet aluminum knob I got on e-bay for $12.



I did not use the supplied lock nut, I used thread lock instead. There is no need to do anything with the shift boot collar as the boot naturally pushes the collar against the knob.

 

I couldn't find the thread where someone was asking about connecting the shift boot to an aftermarket shift knob but I thought I would throw my solution out there...

I ordered a Momo shift knob and one of the accesories is a shift boot collar. The collar screws onto the knob so it is just like the stock setup, but aftermarket.

Check it out... I think it looks pretty good...

 

I found it....took about 15 seconds......I'll merge the threads so this useful info will all be together.

 

Thanks man, I must have just glazed right over it...