A Little Interior Makeover: Ballin On A Budget PT.2 (Progress Thread)

[TTC2k5]

I know I have been gone a while from the TEX but am I the only one who thinks a vendor coming into your thread to sell you something is unacceptable?? I have bought from ECS and I enjoy the products but it is kind of shameless I think.... Perhaps I am overly sensative about it? Nice interior by the way

You are correct. Actually made me think "pic whore" was a dirty word for the first time.

[surfinsk8r]

You are correct. Actually made me think "pic whore" was a dirty word for the first time.

Of all things...they tried selling floor mats. That is total B/S.

[paullee]

I'm not hating...it was a soft-sell, and the price was decent.

Played around with my new Ballin on a Budget Shift Knob. Put the 8 TT indents on the top of the knob and polished it up a bit. Just can't leave well enough alone...

[TTC2k5]

I'm not hating...it was a soft-sell, and the price was decent.

Played around with my new Ballin on a Budget Shift Knob. Put the 8 TT indents on the top of the knob and polished it up a bit. Just can't leave well enough alone...

I just picked one up....how did you do the indents? Any other/better pics showing the indents?

cheers

[paullee]

A dremel tool and various attachments are essential I found, as is a bench vice grip. You can use anything of similar diameter to the stock shifter to lock the shift knob down to it, then mount the simulated "shifter" to the vice and tighten, giving you a stable platform to work from.

I kinda screwed the poochy on my first attempt and the 8 indentations are a little off on close examination. I think there are various ways to mark your indents, and this is obvious is the MOST important part of the project. The size of the indents and how far they are from the edge of the shift knob is at your own preference. I will probably try again on a second knob, and will mark the indents up on a piece of paper, then transfer them to the actual knob. Don't forget to use masking tape on the knob to give you a working surface. They should be easy to mark up on a flat piece of paper (8 holes, 45 degrees apart).

Before drilling, I centered punch the indents, then used the Dremel tool with the appropriate attachment to start the hole. Once it was big enough, I used another attachment (the one that looks like a round ball to round out the cratered look of the indents.

I decided to do a full polish on my Ballin' on a Budget Knob, but if you don't want to, i recommend you use the Dremel with the round polishing pad attachment and some polishing/rubbing compound to smooth out the edges of the indents, and another polishing pad attachment (the one with the pointy end) to polish the actual indents's craters themselves. If you want to go the full polish route like i did, I'll point you in the right direction on that if you want.

Good luck.

[surfinsk8r]

Fit was so-so - the holes didnt quite line up perfectly, and at the back i had to fold it over before screwing down the ring because the boot diameter was too large... that kind of thing annoys me.

Can you ellaborate how you got it to fit?
Mine looks godd@mn awful and I'm really pissed because one of the ring screws went missing so altogether it just looks like @ss.

[paullee]

Can you ellaborate how you got it to fit?
Mine looks godd@mn awful and I'm really pissed because one of the ring screws went missing so altogether it just looks like @ss.

Can't help you with the Sh**ty fitting shift boot, but as for the missing ring bolts, just head to your local Ace Hardware and get yourself 8 replacement stainless steel bolts, sized M4 x 10. They will be Hex, not Torx bolts, but they'll look much better than the old ones.

[Neb]

I know I have been gone a while from the TEX but am I the only one who thinks a vendor coming into your thread to sell you something is unacceptable?? I have bought from ECS and I enjoy the products but it is kind of shameless I think.... Perhaps I am overly sensative about it? Nice interior by the way

agreed. ECS has been doing that A LOT it seems.

[TTC2k5]

Can't help you with the Sh**ty fitting shift boot, but as for the missing ring bolts, just head to your local Ace Hardware and get yourself 8 replacement stainless steel bolts, sized M4 x 10. They will be Hex, not Torx bolts, but they'll look much better than the old ones.

OEM shift ring bolts (N10456101) are cheap. I got replacements from genuinevwaudiparts for 18cents each. but, unless you need other stuff you might as well go to the dealer...they'll be more like 30cents.

cheers

[Ito]

Anyone can confirm the name of the brand and model of the knob? I looked it up on kragen's web site, but there are a few knobs that dont have a picture so i can't tell for sure wich one it is...

Thanks.

Edit: Forget it i found it on autozone site...

Its a pilot motorsports part number PM-2260S $20

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc..._&viewAll=true

[paullee]

Yup. That's the "Ballin' on a Budget" knob

[surfinsk8r]

I had an alcantara shift boot laying around without a good knob for it - this thread showed the one i was looking for - picked it up for $20 as well.

Thanks TTC2k5 for the confirmation on just putting the hurt on the knob until it came loose.

Here's my install:

Did you leave the rubber rings underneath or no? If not how did you keep the top of the boot from falling down?

Thanks!

[SteveAngry]

Did you leave the rubber rings underneath or no? If not how did you keep the top of the boot from falling down?

Thanks!

I think he said he ziptied it up there???

Steve

[bgweed]

Did you leave the rubber rings underneath or no? If not how did you keep the top of the boot from falling down?

Thanks!

I took out the rubber rings, the aluminum "shell", and the spring that holds the "shell" up against the bottom of the knob. Basically, everything shown here, except I put the outer ring back obviously.

To keep the boot up, i tucked it up under the knob screw-on ring and a little bit into the bottom of the knob. Be careful not to tuck it up too high, or the set screws will be screwing into the boot material... then the material will come out from under the screw and it will be loose. I didn't zip-tie mine, because i didn't have any small zip-ties. When i get my car back from having the flywheel/clutch installed, I probably will try to zip-tie it with a very small zip-tie and try to get that bottom screw-on ring to go over it. I'd take pics if I had my car

[M-Power M3]

Yup. That's the "Ballin' on a Budget" knob

Aww yeahhhh

[surfinsk8r]

I took out the rubber rings, the aluminum "shell", and the spring that holds the "shell" up against the bottom of the knob. Basically, everything shown here, except I put the outer ring back obviously.

To keep the boot up, i tucked it up under the knob screw-on ring and a little bit into the bottom of the knob. Be careful not to tuck it up too high, or the set screws will be screwing into the boot material... then the material will come out from under the screw and it will be loose. I didn't zip-tie mine, because i didn't have any small zip-ties. When i get my car back from having the flywheel/clutch installed, I probably will try to zip-tie it with a very small zip-tie and try to get that bottom screw-on ring to go over it. I'd take pics if I had my car

Maybe my car is missing something, or I've really overlooked something.
Where is this screw on ring?
I can't seem to figure out what you are referring to, either way I'll probably go for a re-install tomorrow.

[paullee]

I think bgweed's referring to the base of the Balling on a Budget knob that screws on from the bottom to cover the knob's set screws.

[surfinsk8r]

I think bgweed's referring to the base of the Balling on a Budget knob that screws on from the bottom to cover the knob's set screws.

Got it, thanks!

[TTC2k5]

I got one of the universal knobs from autozone last week and installed it yesterday. Looks much better in real life...pics don't do it justice.

Feels good too.



Shown here from the side. Needs adjusting as it was not centered when I tightened the set screws.



Looks oversized here, but not. Knob diameter is about same as OEM knob.

[paullee]

Nice set up!!! Now you are officially a "Budget Baller"!!

[TTC2k5]

Nice set up!!! Now you are officially a "Budget Baller"!!

LOL

[Neb]

I want your seats.

I got one of the universal knobs from autozone last week and installed it yesterday. Looks much better in real life...pics don't do it justice.

Feels good too.



Shown here from the side. Needs adjusting as it was not centered when I tightened the set screws.



Looks oversized here, but not. Knob diameter is about same as OEM knob.

[cko1009]

Hey nice upgrades~
What brand / model is your LCD stereo?
Does it hide behind the original silver panel?
I want a navigation stereo on my TT but want it hidden behind the silver panel for theft issues...

[TTC2k5]

Hey nice upgrades~
What brand / model is your LCD stereo?
Does it hide behind the original silver panel?
I want a navigation stereo on my TT but want it hidden behind the silver panel for theft issues...

Stereo is the OEM Concert I. (second pic) Third pic is auto climate control.

[TTC2k5]

I want your seats.

LOL. You too can have a set of OEM Porsche GT3 seats...for a small fortune.

[surfinsk8r]

LOL. You too can have a set of OEM Porsche GT3 seats...for a small fortune.

Replicas are a measly $2000...

[ECS Tuning - Audi]

Replicas are a measly $2000...

Definitely a ballin budget that we'd all like, not ballin on a budget!

Quick Hijack:
Sorry to those offended BTW. I really thought the mats would look killer with the other accents and they are definitely well priced. Sometimes people don't know about what is available and those posts are usually followed by Thank You PMs and orders. -I'll limit it down for you all though, my apologies-

Continue DIY build thread:
TTC2k5 - How are you liking the gated alloy shifter with some more miles on it? I was concerned with the notion that you might get more gear box chatter coming up through the tranny hump without the boot.

[ysmdyb]

Isn't your shift knob get so hot that feels like burning your hand in summer time?

[bgweed]

Isn't your shift knob get so hot that feels like burning your hand in summer time?

I live in Houston, so that thought crossed my mind a few times.
The knob actually is LESS hot when I get back in the car than my stock knob. I think that since the stock knob had much less metal mass, it caused more temp rise. This knob really isnt bad, even after leaving the car in the sun all day at work in the 95deg Houston heat.

[TTC2k5]

Definitely a ballin budget that we'd all like, not ballin on a budget!


Continue DIY build thread:
TTC2k5 - How are you liking the gated alloy shifter with some more miles on it? I was concerned with the notion that you might get more gear box chatter coming up through the tranny hump without the boot.

Chris: No gear box chatter at all. And now that I have the polished knob versus the OEM top-half, I'm liking it even more. Aesthetically, it is much cleaner now.
Overall driving experience is nice. I actually forget it's there during normal stop and go traffic.

cheers

[TTC2k5]

Isn't your shift knob get so hot that feels like burning your hand in summer time?

Yea, damn thing gets quite hot here in dallas. But, not as hot as the OEM euro metal knob I had before. This one also cools faster too.

[ysmdyb]

Thanks!

[cko1009]

So I thought I'd make a little progress thread on my interior makeover. It took me a long time to decided I finally wanted to do this since the TT's interior IMO is already really classy but I've decided it's time to make it my own.

The one thing I never really liked was the rubber shift boot. It looked like something you'd find in a child's play room. So I hit up ebay and found a suede shift boot for dirt cheap and bought it. This led to me needing a new shifter and while I was getting some cleaner product at kragens I spotted this shift knob that matched the TT's brushed interior accents pretty well surprisingly...



The huge non-adjustable headrest on the roadsters bugged the crap out of me so I removed the pins and dropped them lower (DIY I did: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...863&viewfull=1)

Comparison


Next I had an extra Broadway Mirror lying around so I threw that in. They look kinda goofy to some people but I love them...



I later installed my flip out monitor from one of my old cars and chopped the roll bars if that counts as an interior mod lol...



And now I'm working on doing some suede accents. First off the A-Pillars...

Supplies/Work Space = My pong table, some beer and pizza. Oh suede, scissors and 3m headliner spray too...



The final product



More to come stay tuned

So, what brand model is your Flip Out Monitor?
Does the silver cover close with the stereo installed?

[andrewosky]

Wou,love yuor roadster!!

please,where do you find 3m headliner in alcantara?

In my opinion you need just alcantara steering wheel and 2 Porsche seats or recaro Cs(arghhh more expensive)

good work!!

[ILLA NOIZ]

You know... I looked at that knob a few weeks ago and almost bought it.
After seeing the thread, I ran across the street from my store and grabbed one.

Wow! It looks and feels great. Even better since I have a B&M short shifter.
Sits right on the rubber boot and looks better than stock.