That sounds great.

I was asking because in the event that you were having DCT motorsports do a custom wheel for you and you were hesitant about cutting your wheel for the paddles (as many are), you could let Ivan know that you wanted the wheel cut for paddles and he would send it to me (as I have been doing all of their modifications for paddles for the last year).

On your first wheel that you are sending for "renewal" , I (and others I am sure) would love to see some detailed before and after pics ... and some pricing info.

On your second wheel, that you are having customized, I would be interested in hearing about the particular operations you are having done and the associated costs ... you could post it or send me a pm/email if you dont mind. Having a working relationship with DCT motorsports, It works for me to get my wheels done by their customizing wizards (somewhere on the other side of the globe where the EPA has no domain : ) Currently, I am having a 2-tone ergo-gripped wheel done for my latest slk32 and am going to have a wheel done for my sl55 as well. But, I am curious to see what others offer, and for how much.

again, when you get to installing the rest of the kit in your car, don't hesitate to call if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Chris

 

Maybe not, I'm doing stage one at the moment. I'm working on the gear shift right now, finished under the hood.

 

Beaner will be working 10 hrs a day, 7 days a week on the canal until the end of March so no excuses not finishing up before him!

 

OK, maybe Beaner will still beat me, I cannot get the key lock connector off. Push down tab and turn, it pushes down but does not turn.
What am I missing?

Shifter rod to shifter clip, I have not got one, or have I?

Only three band aids on my hand so far, this old skin tears like tissue paper.

 

Some come off easier than others.

The trick is
push down white tab

THEN, while holding white tab down, force cable into shifter AND rotate counter-clockwise (as viewed from front of car).

Finally, pull cable out after it has rotated 90 degrees

happy to help if you have any more problems, feel free to call my cell if you like.

Chris

 

Dave, I was able to do mine without removing the shifter.............you may want to give it a try?

 

I tried that but could not get the plug out the side. WTF does pry mean? Does it have to come out before you take the top of?
I assume that the cable connects between the top and bottom halves.

 

It may be easier if I could get my hand like you show but the cable stops me from pulling it out more than two inches at most.
Edit
I lifted the tab and turned the plastic collar with a pair of pliers. Not the best but that SOB was on there real tight.
Plug out of the front and now it's on the operating table.
Edit #2
On assembly it went together really easy, pushed in and turned no sweat.

Good tip for clumsy old men.
To prevent dropping the clip on the rod I used some fine wire through the hinge point on it and tied it on to the harness. I never got close to dropping it but you never know.

 

I am trying to get the nerve up to cut into my steering wheel today and looking at the curve on the back face of the wheel where the paddle will sit the curve does not seem to match the curve on the paddle. It looks like the face plate of the paddle will not sit flush to the wheel and will have a gap.

Being fussy I do not think I could live with that. I guess the face plate could be let into the wheel where it touches first but that may be too much as well. Just because it's hard to see does not mean it wouldn't p iss me off.

Any pictures out there of the back face of the wheel and the paddle installed?

 

The steering lining is molded rubber so it has some flexibility. when you screw the paddle down, it will sink in some and even hide some imperfections that may occur in the process of carving out the rubber.

If Super Mario can do it, Super Dave certainly can!

 

I am not counting on flexibility to be flush, this rubber is hard and a self tapping screw into plastic will not act like a 1/4" screw into steel. I am not going to torque up the screw much at all, just nip it up as I do not want to crack the plastic. The base is snug in the pocket so it will not move around.

I moved the paddle back so the dimension is about 2.62" not 2.75", I can live with that, my hands are big enough. I did not want a big gap under the rim of the paddles. Big to me maybe is small to someone else, I worked in tenths of thous in my old job, so my standards are tighter than most.

Blacksmiths use scales, engineers use micrometers and Jo blocks.

 

Just be careful to not overtighten as it can deform the switch. If you operate the switch as you tighten the screw and stop tightening when the feel of the switch changes, you will be fine.

here are some pics showing fit.

the first is MMztimelord's wheel (which I cut myself and am certain is a standard SRT6 wheel)

the 2nd though 4th are Magredvet's ... pretty sure this was a standard SRT6 wheel as well)

 

One thing I forgot to mention in my PM to you, the two screws that hold the paddles down were too short. They held by less than 2 turns, the start of the hole for the thread is counter bored so you lose a good thread or so there. I found two and put those in instead. I had cleared the rear face out to bare steel so that was not the problem.

The paddles change the numbers in the window on the dash, so that all works.

It looks all neat and tidy, now I have to bend the stalk a bit, the 1/8" I moved the paddles back would not have altered this requirement for me.

I lost a file in the car somewhere, I think it may have fell through the hole for the gear shift unit.
I am not keen to take it all out to look, but it bugs me, so maybe I will sometime. Can it fall out on its own or can I reach from underneath?

Here is a picture of the LH paddle there is no gap under the lip as I think there would have been with the paddles .125/.205 further out. My paddles were set at a generous 2.625" not 2.75/2.83.

 

Dave,
Thanks so much for all the great feedback here and in your PM

the kits now ship with sets of screws in multiple lengths.

you want to be careful that you do not go too long on the screws as they will compromise the feel and functionality of the paddle if they go even the smallest amount past bottoming-out in the paddle base.

good luck finding the file : )

Chris

 

I decided to do a thorough search of the car to find the file. Moving the seats fully forward and aft.
I found;
1, a comb I had lost.
2, 5 cents Canadian.
3, 10 cents US.
4, a ball point pen.
5, two Kleenex, one used and one new.
and last but not least a FILE nestled tight against the seat rail.

There's treasure under those seats.

 

I was hoping you wouldn't say you found your lost thong.........

 

I have to get around to bending the turn signal stalk and the cruise control stalk. They both interfere with the paddle shifter on the left.

 

(I wont say you have fat fingers ,,, but)
I have put 50,000 miles on mine with the paddles added and I only notice the closeness occasionally if I want to flick my high beams.

However, on my other (soon to be new daily driver) SLK, I decided to give myself a little room there. Here is the method I used seemed to work fine.


Start by releasing column lock and pulling the wheel out.

Find a 2" x 4" (1 foot or so long) and attach (with tape) a shop towel to one side, slide the 2 by 4 between the lever and the dash (keeping it close to the column).

I like to know what sort of progress I am making, so I measured before I started (the number is not meaningful here, only the delta is important). I found a good way to measure its (the turn signal lever's) position was to measure from its tip to the parting line between the upper and lower dash (to the left of the left AC vent by the drivers door).


using a heat gun (and paying careful attention to not melt anything) heat up the lever at its elbow and push back lightly (your 2 by 4 should be supporting the peak of the elbow).

work slowly .... remeasure .... when you get to 3/8" of an inch of change, take it for a spin and see if you like it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

Chris I need to head ur way and have u install this for me. Hope all is well man.

 

I do not have fat sausage fingers, but the high beam flash does not work as it hits the paddle and the cruise 'resume' function does not work for the same reason. There is just enough room for my fingers to go between the paddle and the turn signal stalk.

No big deal I'll get to it one day.