WC Lathe Works shift knob

[Butters]

I just wanted to post this up for members who may be looking for an alternative to the usual suspects for shift knobs. WC Lathe Works is well known in the Subaru community, and I bought one of their knobs as a Christmas gift for my brother a few years ago. It was amazing. Top notch craftsmanship and communication. The company is owned and operated by a man named Chris. He's been in the game awhile now and his *ish is legit. He also offers all his shift knobs with a bunch of different customizations. I am IN NO WAY affiliated with WC Lathe Works other than being a happy customer.

I just ordered a stainless steel sphere in 1.8" diameter. I'm not a fan of all the 2" spheres out there as they tend to look too big in our cars, so I asked Chris if he could custom make me a slightly smaller one. He said no problem and also asked if there was anything else I wanted to have customized at the same time. Weight should be somewhere in the 350g to 400g territory, which is perfect in my mind. The different heat finishes he offers is also pretty awesome.

Here is the link to the NSX product page: http://lathewerks.com/shop/index.php?cPath=6_89

I will post pics of my knob installed when I receive it. Super stoked!

 

[7tcatvert]

Nice looking products, reasonably priced also...

 

[Jinks]

Looks very nice. The problem I always seem to find with metal shift knobs is the heat they absorb while parked. Even in a coupe. Which is why I run a true carbon fiber knob. I used to have the type R knob, but you couldn't shift for 10 minutes after parked without mild burns. Science of speed used to make a delrin Zanardi type knob but since have discontinued it.
But I do like the counterweighted shift knobs these vendors provide. I wish I could find a counterweight carbon shift knob.
Interested to see how the copolymer knobs work though.

 

[Butters]

Looks very nice. The problem I always seem to find with metal shift knobs is the heat they absorb while parked. Even in a coupe. Which is why I run a true carbon fiber knob. I used to have the type R knob, but you couldn't shift for 10 minutes after parked without mild burns. Science of speed used to make a delrin Zanardi type knob but since have discontinued it.
But I do like the counterweighted shift knobs these vendors provide. I wish I could find a counterweight carbon shift knob.
Interested to see how the copolymer knobs work though.

Yeah I wish I could find a weighted copolymer knob as well. I believe Chris also offers little covers for the knobs that you can place on it so it doesn't get scalding hot in the summer. But then you have to remember to put the condom on every time you park....

 

[Butters]

Just received my stainless 1.8" knob yesterday. Top quality work. Here are some photos of it installed and also compared to OEM knob. (And my dog's snout.)

https://goo.gl/photos/yKV2PRJjnSLprYVz7
https://goo.gl/photos/ShSxHgJpUR3PpBFbA
https://goo.gl/photos/V5Rweafr4EEwc5Bs9
https://goo.gl/photos/zC6yGTdwGYtGcjCL7

The oem knob weighs in at 12.3oz (348.7g). The Lathe Works knob weighs 12oz (340.2g). It is fully countersunk so it sits very low on the shaft and shortens the fore-aft throw of the shifter by an appreciable amount. While the knob has a heavy threaded brass insert, the shift effort goes up a bit now since mechanical leverage is lessened while the knob weight remains pretty much the same. If you want throw effort to be about the same, you'd need a heavier knob. But since I didn't want the standard 2" knob, I must be ok with more shift effort of the smaller knob.