Weighted Selector Rod / WSR / How much is too much weight?

So I was looking into the Rogue Engineering WSR and then came across the this link on how to make your own.

I added 2x9" galvanized steel bars and one some solder wire to the stock selector rod and took the weight from 9.3oz/263.65gm all the way up to 30.3oz/858.99gm.

Basically I added 21oz/595.34gm trippling the weight.


I just ordered the Z4 3.0 Lever and ZHP knob and given that it will be notchy I wanted to even it all out with a WSR. I have not installed the modified selector rod yet. Not even sure if it will fit so therefore I can take off or even add more weight.

Heres my question:

The Rogue Engineering WSR claims that it more than doubles the mass of the selector rod. I am trippleing it. Rogue Engineering denies that is will cause any additional gear wear as they have been selling them for so long.

I read mixed reviews about resting your hand on the shift knob as you drive where some say it will cause faster gear wear and some say its a myth. I personally say its a myth since there are so many weight SSKs, shifters and knobs.

Do you think trippleing the weight of the selector rod is adding too much weight? Is there a such thing as adding too much weight to the seletor rod?

It'll be fine. It's just a mass used to carry the shifter through the notchy part of the shift. It has the same effect of just yanking the shifter with more force. You're not going to hurt the transmission with this mod any more than you could by moving the shifter with a lot of force.

Originally Posted by WDE46

It'll be fine. It's just a mass used to carry the shifter through the notchy part of the shift. It has the same effect of just yanking the shifter with more force. You're not going to hurt the transmission with this mod any more than you could by moving the shifter with a lot of force.

Thanks for your reply. So do you believe that resting your hand the the shifter is or is not an issue? The weight I added to the selector rod is actually gonna be a lot less than what your arm weights obviously. Another reason I feel that the "dont rest your hand on the shift knob while driving" notion is bogus is that the weight of your hand and amr pushing down on the shift knob is ultimately stopped at the pivot ball in the shifter and shift arm anyway. How is resting a 10lb arm on your shifter even gonna compare to having a 170lb individual in your car with you? I mean any extra weight in your car is ultimately added to the gears pulling the car. Thats all speculation but thats how I see it.

I should have waited until I installed the Z4 shifter and ZHP knob to see how it feels before I installed the weight to the selector rod, but as you may know from my other posts my car is out of commission until my new subframe bushings get here so I am trying to get as much 'other' stuff done on the car as possible in the mean time.

Originally Posted by Mesa3077Boogie

Thanks for your reply. So do you believe that resting your hand the the shifter is or is not an issue? The weight I added to the selector rod is actually gonna be a lot less than what your arm weights obviously. Another reason I feel that the "dont rest your hand on the shift knob while driving" notion is bogus is that the weight of your hand and amr pushing down on the shift knob is ultimately stopped at the pivot ball in the shifter and shift arm anyway. How is resting a 10lb arm on your shifter even gonna compare to having a 170lb individual in your car with you? I mean any extra weight in your car is ultimately added to the gears pulling the car. Thats all speculation but thats how I see it.

I should have waited until I installed the Z4 shifter and ZHP knob to see how it feels before I installed the weight to the selector rod, but as you may know from my other posts my car is out of commission until my new subframe bushings get here so I am trying to get as much 'other' stuff done on the car as possible in the mean time.

The ball joint of the shifter arm will support the vertical force of your hand resting on the shifter. It will not support the torque that the force of your hand creates. There will be some pressure applied to the gear shift mechanism by resting your hand on the knob. Again, I can't see how this would be much of a problem. The shifter does not control how the gears actually mesh into each other (that is set). It merely selects which gears are actively transmitting torque from the crankshaft/input shaft.