I saw this company, shiftstyle.com, talking up their product on another car forum. They offered a free boot to anyone there willing to send them a factory boot to use as a template and in return they'd make a custom boot for free. So I check out their website and it seems that's their standard deal - if you car is not in their database they'll make a free boot for you if you send them your factory boot for use as a template. No Crossfire in the database, so I bit.

As those of you who drive 6 speed cars know, the factory boot is black. This is true even if you have two tone leather seating. My car is dark gray/light gray seating with very light gray stitching. I asked if they could use those same colors, selecting from their color palatte, and they did it. So now, for nothing more than the cost of sending my boot to them, I have a two tone boot that's almost a dead match for my seats. For the rest of you, they start at $35 with material choices of plain leather, perf leather, carbon fiber look leather or alcantara, a wide choice of colors for both materials and stitching, plus extra cost options for two tone, stripe, multi-thread, etc. High quality stuff and a perfect fit. Check 'em out at www.shiftstyle.com (no affilition, relation, kickback, etc)

 

Mike,
Although I like the factory boot, that looks great, especially with the medium slate/dark slate interior. Is it real leather? Also, does it come with the plastic pieces on the new boot or do you have to swap them over from the old one?

 

Yes, it's real leather and it's very nicely made.

 

Does it have the plastic pieces on the new boot to allow it to snap in?

 

I sent them my complete boot, including the plastic mounting piece, so that they could create a template from it. They reattached mine to the plastic but if you order one now you'll have to gently pry the staples out of the existing piece and mount the new boot to it. That should be a very simple process though.

They have a wide selection of colors and materials, and at $35 it's a decent price for a high quality product.

 

NIce, how difficult/easy is it to replace, that is, take off the oem shift **** to replace the boot or the shift **** itself?

 

Wow that looks fantastic!

 

Ordered one in grey to match my interior !!!! Thanks for the tip.

 

The assembly comes off very easily:

1. using a trim stick, credit card or other non marring tool gently pry one side of the base of the boot from the console. you can actually squeeze the base of the boot on both sides to ease the process
2. pull the boot over the **** to reveal a threaded collar which you will unthread in order to remove the ****
3. once the collar is loose, just pull up firmly on the **** - this will remove the ****/boot/base as a unit, leaving the collar on the exposed shift lever
4. pull the boot fully up and over the **** to reveal a second collar that secures the boot to the base of the **** - gently pry this collar off, working your way around with a non marring tool (a small screwdriver with a little tape over the end works great)
5. there are two tabs on the base of the **** that slot into two holes in both the boot and the retaining color - be mindful of them, but they appear stout enough that you'd have to just bubba your way through to break 'em
6. at this point you should have the boot and base removed from the **** so know you just have to gently pry the staples from where the boot is attached to the base.

You'll basically reverse this process to install the new one. It's actually very easy to do and the results are, as you can see, very nice.

 

Thanks. It really looks like a factory piece, doesn't it? I'm really pleased with how well the colors match the factory seats.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Yes it does, little touches like that are what makes a car look classy. I really like it!

 

Does this place still exist?

 

Their website says it's down for maintenance but that you can contact them at info@shiftstyle.com Email 'em and ask what's up.

 

Mike,
The boot looks great! I have the same interior combo on an Alabaster roadster. Did you order specific grey colors or did you just specify light and dark grey?
Thanks!

 

As I recall I just went with the light/dark grey. It couldn't have turned out any better!

 

Mike - Nice touch. Thanks for the info, particularly the removal instructions.

 

Email sent two days ago and no response. They must be dead.

 

Mike,
Thanks for the info. I'm going to order the same boot as soon as the website is back up.

 

Site has been down forever damnit.