Rob Know - 2,800 miles road test

["jeuculano" <jeuculano@xxxxxxx>]

I received my Rob Knob on the Thursday before X-mas week.  Good thing
it arrived then, because a friend and I were taking a road trip down to
Disneyworld and I wanted to do it with the Rob Knob installed.

Install went easy - though I noticed the set screw tends to loosen
itself once or twice per thousand miles.  I'm going to give it a bit of
Loc-Tite and see if it helps.  

Impressions?  I love it.  It is the perfect compliment to the BL/SS. 
It comes readily to hand, and does indeed tend to dampen vibes and
smooth shifts.  We were snick-snicking from Philly to Orlando, and the
ride down couldn't have been smoother (ride back was interrupted with
that crazy ice storm hitting the mid-Atlantic states right before the
holiday).  All in all, a thoroughly amazing couple of days in warm Fl
(daily temps well into the mid 80's!)

Here's the weird part - I chose the brushed aluminum Rob Knob.  It runs
quite cool, but whenever we would slow down and stop for gas/driver
swap/ food, etc., the Rob Knob would warm up considerably.  It was
spooky.  We would get back in the car and it would be almost hot to the
touch.

So, we decided it possesses magical powers and was heating up to guard
the 325 while we were otherwise occupied.  Thus, my 1993 325is has
earned a name.  Ever before, she was nameless, but we decided it needs
a name worthy of such a mystical guardian.  So, from now on, the 325is
will be known as "Aegis" after the missile system that defends our
carrier battle groups.  Cool name, too.

Has anyone else noticed this behavior with aluminum shift knobs?  I'm
assuming that it happens because during highway cruising, enough heat
transfer occurs with the forced air to whisk away any excess heat from
the tranny, but upon stopping, that same heat is conducted via the
shift lever to the knob inside the cabin.  Sound about right?

Thanks to Rob and Ben and all the others involved with UUC Motorwerks.

One satisfied customer,
- - Jason

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End of bmw-digest V9 #749
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