Photo of your original SMG shifter emblem

[karter16]

Hi,

I’m wondering if a couple of people would mind sharing a photo of their original SMG shift knob.

Looking at the emblem on mine it appears that only the red and the light blue of the M logo are present (the gap in the middle for the purple appears to just be black).

Looking at photos of new OE knobs the purple appears to be present. I’m trying to work out whether original knobs were different or if the purple has degraded over time.

Thanks in advance!


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[Avedis]

I don’t have an SMG, so I can’t speak with much authority on this.

I just checked collecting cars, which is usually what I do when I want to reference original CSL parts. It looks like the purple on the original emblem is really dark, and almost appears black as you said. No idea if they came that way or if they degraded over time.

See photo 94 for a close up of the shift knob LINK

See photo 86 on this different car LINK

[karter16]

I don't have an SMG, so I can't speak with much authority on this.

I just checked collecting cars, which is usually what I do when I want to reference original CSL parts. It looks like the purple on the original emblems are really dark, and almost appear black as you said.

See photo 94 for a close up of the shift knob LINK

See photo 86 on this different car LINK

Brilliant, thanks very much for this (great idea to use CollectingCars as a reference) and confirms how my one looks.


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[Shonky]

Mine has delaminated a bit but certainly looks like there's nothing really there for the middle stripe.

[heinzboehmer]

Definitely looks like there's nothing in between:

[R1pilot]

Mine has the purple. I never noticed how de-laminated it was though.

[Shonky]

Holy ****
500+ USD for a new one. That's ridiculous.

[R1pilot]

Holy ****
500+ USD for a new one. That's ridiculous.

They were ~$150 not too long ago, I thought they were insane back then, wish I had bought one.

[Kevin2772]

They were ~$150 not too long ago, I thought they were insane back then, wish I had bought one.

You and me both. Found a guy online selling "like new" ones for like $300. Still a tough pill to swallow for something that is PURELY cosmetic on an already 92K mile car.....

[karter16]

Thank you very much everyone for your replies - really appreciate it. I'm sending my dome to my brother for him to attempt painting the stripes. He's a expert at painting miniatures and the like, so will have a much better chance of doing it than I will.

[Shonky]

Do report back with how it looks. As you can see it's a part that hasn't held up with time and given the silly replacement cost for a non functional part we're not likely to just buy a new one.

[karter16]

Interestingly I checked the photos of the SMG shifter that are in my original E46 M3 brochure from 2005 and they clearly show all 3 colours. I wonder whether the dark blue/purple pigment degrades in the sun over time.

[Shonky]

Mine certainly looks something like that. There's basically nothing there which is not how it was made - the picture makes it look better than it is if anything. It's gone "somewhere". My car has not had heaps of outside time here in Australia though.