New Mishimoto Shift Knobs On The Way

[Mishimoto]

Hey guys,

We are going to be rolling out several new shift knob designs over the next few months. This thread will highlight the design process of each, giving you a neat look at our different options. As always, feel free to follow along on our blog or posted within this thread.

http://engineering.mishimoto.com/cat...o-shift-knobs/

Shifting Nirvana. A Sneak Peek At Mishimoto’s New Shift Knob Designs: Limited Edition Rockstar Weighted Shift Knob

Not all our projects involve in-depth data, heat-transfer calculations, or metal fabrication. From time to time our engineering team collaborates with our talented creative team to develop awesome accessories for your ride. These upgrades might not add power or drop temperatures, but they can surely improve the driving experience and offer an improvement in styling.

In addition to the collaboration work, each design was created by a different member of our team. If you know any of these people, you might see where the designs reflect their personalities quite a bit.

Weighted Shift Knob

Our first unique design is likely to find its way into the vehicle of someone seeking a bolder look. This design started life in the 3D world as a SolidWorks model.


Mishimoto Weighted Shift Knob 3D rendering

Keep in mind, the design above represents numerous revisions and adjustments following our team’s evaluation. Once we compiled our thoughts and made some changes, we printed a prototype with our 3D printer.


Mishimoto Shift Knob 3D prototype

If you’re thinking to yourself, “Hmm. That looks similar to a bike or motorcycle grip,” you are correct. The designer of this knob is an avid mountain biker, so his preference for this grip style is no surprise!


Mishimoto Weighted Shift Knob 3D prototype

This piece is also the heaviest of our new set of shift knobs, weighing in at 476 grams. If a heavy, weighted shift knob is your thing, this might be the one for you.

Once we tested the “feel factor” for this piece and wrapped up the design work for the different components and features, a few final prototypes were created.


Mishimoto Weighted Shift Knob prototypes

The base provides the connection point with the shift lever.


Mishimoto Shift Knob

The knob on the right includes one of our universal thread adapters, which will enable fitment for a variety of vehicle makes and models.

This shift knob is made from three separate components, which can be taken apart for further customization. Below is a cutaway showing the internal features.


Mishimoto Shift Knob cutaway

Check out one of our prototypes disassembled.


Mishimoto Weighted Shift Knob disassembled

The components on the left and right are constructed from CNC-machined aluminum. The center sleeve that serves as the grip is made from an engineered thermoplastic. You may also notice an interesting logo on the top, from our friends at Rockstar Performance Garage. To kick off this grip design, we will be offering a unique, limited batch of knobs featuring a Rockstar-inspired color scheme. Below is a shot of the assembled piece!


Mishimoto Weighted Shift Knob assembled

As with all our products, we like to create a unique experience for our customers from start to finish. This means our packaging won’t be a simple brown box filled to the brim with packaging peanuts. Instead, we came up with something a little more appealing.


Mishimoto Shift Knob packaging

This cylindrical package will adequately support the shift knob during shipment and also looks pretty slick!


Mishimoto Weighted Shift Knob packaging

Coming Up!

This isn’t our only good idea! Check back next time for a look at something more subtle, yet still stylish.

Thanks for reading!
-John

[NyC Zn6]

Reminds me of my old bmx bike handle

[raven1231]

or a dildo

[EzyBrzy]

Was also going to say bike handle lol.

[jaorocks1]

am i the only thinking it was supposed to be a samurai sword?

[Tcoat]

Am I the only one that thinks this is a thinly disguised ad that should be I the Vendors classified section?

[Mishimoto]

Originally Posted by NyC Zn6

Reminds me of my old bmx bike handle

Originally Posted by EzyBrzy

Was also going to say bike handle lol.

Yes, as noted in the post, the designer of this product definitely let his interest in biking influence the design.

Thanks for taking a look guys!

Originally Posted by jaorocks1

am i the only thinking it was supposed to be a samurai sword?

Yes, this was one of the thoughts that was quite popular during our internal survey.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Am I the only one that thinks this is a thinly disguised ad that should be I the Vendors classified section?

Some may consider the post advertising. We are showing the R&D behind three of our new shift knob designs. If a moderator feels a move to the vendor section is necessary, we have no issue with that.

-John

[Mindering]

Any chance these will have a reverse lockout slots once in production unlike the R/T and silver weighted shift knobs you guys make? Modding it to add the reverse lockout wasn't fun. -_-

[raven1231]

Originally Posted by Mindering

Any chance these will have a reverse lockout slots once in production unlike the R/T and silver weighted shift knobs you guys make? Modding it to add the reverse lockout wasn't fun. -_-

the reverse lockout will be a bike tire

[drewbot]

@Mishimoto

One comment on the thread adapters you guys are throwing in - it is made of a very soft (poor) material. My adapter on my Ryan Tuerck shifter was DOA and had flakes on the inside! I ended up going to Home Depot and got a new thread made from stock material.

[raven1231]

In all seriousness it looks better than the competitors "samurai" shift knobs. I just don't personally care for them. You guys make great products though, so, I'm sure those that do will love them.

[Stealthy]

Will it cover the plastic over reverse lockout?

[Mishimoto]

Originally Posted by Mindering

Any chance these will have a reverse lockout slots once in production unlike the R/T and silver weighted shift knobs you guys make? Modding it to add the reverse lockout wasn't fun. -_-

Originally Posted by Stealthy

Will it cover the plastic over reverse lockout?

We did not build any slots into this design to accommodate the BRZ reverse lockout, mainly because this is more of a universal product. The base of the knob may cover the assembly slightly, but you will likely still want a reverse lockout adapter that many companies offer.

Originally Posted by drewbot

@Mishimoto

One comment on the thread adapters you guys are throwing in - it is made of a very soft (poor) material. My adapter on my Ryan Tuerck shifter was DOA and had flakes on the inside! I ended up going to Home Depot and got a new thread made from stock material.

Interesting, I've installed a few of these within the past couple days and have not had issues. They are not designed to be repeatedly removed and reinstalled, however they should handle a couple of installs without issue.

Sorry you had to source a different adapter. Our customer service team would have likely sent out a replacement adapter if needed. Next time shoot us an email if you have a day or two to wait for the replacement!

Originally Posted by raven1231

In all seriousness it looks better than the competitors "samurai" shift knobs. I just don't personally care for them. You guys make great products though, so, I'm sure those that do will love them.

Thanks for the input Raven.

-John

[Mishimoto]

Check out our second design idea!

Shifting Nirvana. A Sneak Peek At Mishimoto’s New Shift Knob Designs: Pistol Grip

We promised there would be more! Our first design presented Wednesday was pretty slick, and this next design is all about ergonomics and comfort. Not only did the design team work on the aesthetics, but we also spent some time ensuring that the feel of this knob would be ideal for slamming into gears while keeping your eyes pinned to the road.

Initial Design Rendering

As with our other weighted shift knob, this one also started in the 3D world. Check out a couple SolidWorks models showing the initial shape.


Mishimoto pistol grip shifter knob rendering


Mishimoto pistol grip shifter knob rendering

This design is not quite as bold as the last one, but it still certainly makes a statement.


Mishimoto pistol grip shifter knob rendering

3D-Printed Prototype Testing

Testing? What are we testing with a shift knob? We put together a few different grip styles with differences in the finger grooves. We wanted to see how each change affected the feel and which one was preferred for comfort. Check out our lineup of options!


Mishimoto 3D-printed pistol grip shift knob prototypes

We passed these prototypes around the office and listened to the opinions of our co-workers. We have enough folks here to take a good-sized sample, and soon a distinct winner was crowned.


Mishimoto 3D-printed pistol grip shift knob prototype

This one is a slight alteration of the third design you see in the lineup above. The shape of the grooves is identical, but they are placed on a corner rather than on a flat portion of the knob.


Mishimoto 3D-printed pistol grip shift knob prototype

Functional Prototype

Once the design was finalized, we constructed a couple of prototypes to take another look at what we created.


Mishimoto pistol grip shift knob functional prototype

This design is CNC-machined aluminum and weighs in at 204 grams. The additional weight will help with smooth shifting and gear engagement.


Mishimoto pistol grip shifter functional prototype

Suddenly, a hand model showed up as I was snapping some shots. If that hand looks familiar, perhaps you’ve seen some of his work in the Fall 1973 Bulova Watch catalog.


Mishimoto weighted shift knob functional prototype

This setup works great for either three or four fingers. The weighted shift knob provides some additional inertia, meaning the shift throw is a bit easier. We’ve had this prototype in the office for a few weeks, and all reports are positive.

The only minor adjustment to this final design is in logo placement. As you saw earlier in the rendering, we experimented with the script logo on the face of the knob. The functional prototype shown above features our “M” logo on the top. We weren’t quite pleased with either choice. Our final selection was the full Mishimoto script in a much smaller font, so it won’t detract from the creative design. This knob provides a nice sophisticated appearance with a more traditional shape.

Coming Up

We have one more weighted shift knob design to go! Check back in a few days for another update on our new shift knob collection.

Thanks for reading!
-John