CLIO 182
I've, Steel bolt onto ally caliper isn't ideal.
Great thread mate and particularly this post you’ve answered the questions I had in one hit. I’ve got a bms shifter on the way and will be very easy following what you’ve wrote thank you 🍻Bruneau Motorsport Gear Stick
B.M.S on Facebook
B.M.S forum Group Buy thread
Ashley of B.M.S (@Ash-b-84) has been producing these modified shifters for quite some time now as I'd read about 'a guy' who made them and people seemed to rave about them. They've really gone up in demand since he started producing custom aluminum shafts for them and fitting quaife nylon knobs but I was lucky enough to pick up an early spot a few months or so ago. I understand he's now only selling them as the 'full' package with aly shaft and nylon gear knob which is great because it's so worth it to have the extra level of quality in the mod.
There was a little controversy at first on Facebook with Pure Motorsport being concerned that B.M.S had just copied their design. Given then length of time modified scenic shifters have been around on this forum from Ash, and the fact he is an engineer in his own right, that is obviously not the case. It all ended well though and B.M.S don't have any plans to provide the linkage between the stick and the gearbox anyway which makes the B.M.S shifter a great option for guys like me that just need a bigger shaft and a better feeling knob in their hand! I opted for a black knob as I felt it has a more OE aesthetic.
Seriously though, the shifter is perfectly placed for fast road and track use as it comes in at just under half the price of the PMS kit at £130 and yet it still boasts a lot of tangible benefits over the OE 'spoon in the porridge' stick. I never really understood that phrase properly, until I'd finished fitting my BMS stick, actually. With an angled back and taller stick, the gear knob ends up much closer to the wheel which if you're tall is especially beneficial. No more leaning forward a bit to go into second! Under the housing, the bottom 'arm' is a touch longer on the scenic units than the OE clio ones, which I believe has something to do with the throw.
BMS themselves say:
....and it's all so true! It's also worth mentioning that on the whole it's actually a surprisingly easy mod to fit! Here's a side to side of my OE stick (left) and the BMS shifter (right).
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Installation was fairly easy, but regrettably I didn't take many pictures due to having limited time and wanting to get it done.
Removing the gear stick gaitor is the first job and is an absolute doddle as it's only secured by two plastic clips at the handbrake end. A flat head screw driver was enough to lever it out gently. I then pulled the gaitor up over the knob so that it turned inside out and in doing so gave myself access to the cable tie which holds the top of the gaitor to the stick. I needed to snip it so the gaitor could be refitted on the BMS shifter. The center plastic surrounding the gear knob area also had to come out of the car. It's only held in by a clip/stud on both of the ends inside the footwells - these just pull out - and then one larger clip at the end just in front of the handbrake which can be a bit more fiddly. With it out of the way I removed the brown coloured foam on top of the gear stick housing.
Next job is to get yourself under the car as you need to drop the catalytic converter out of the way and remove the center heat shield. Jacking the car from the front gives much more room for this IME. With the car in the air and everything moved out of the way, I had access to the four bolts that hold the gear stick housing in place. They were a little corroded, but not too bad considering they've probably never moved after leaving the factory. A bit of tighten/loosen and they came off. If you're sometimes impatient this can feel like a lifetime! However, once they are off, the whole housing just drops out of the car and an amusing hole in your car appears!
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it is as simple as you'd imagine to fit the new BMS shifter housing into place. Push it into position and tighten down the nuts! The center console can all be replaced, not forgetting the brown foam! To refit the gearstick housing I just looped a new cable tie through the top of the gaitor whilst it was inside out, put the knob through the gaitor and then tightened it securely before clicking the base back into the plastic trim.
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There is one slight difficulty to the whole process, which is if your catalytic converter sits quite high - mine does at least - then there is little room for the bottom of the stick to move around without making contact with the center heatshield. Many people simply removed it altogether though and so far no one has reported back with any negative consequences, despite numerous track days etc. I opted to try and retain the center heatshield though and spent a very long time bending it into the 'perfect' shape. The only problem is that the heatshield now makes contact with the catalytic converter whilst driving over bumps which is incredibly annoying!! It's on the hit list to be removed entirely.
I have bought something to replace it though, which is a flexible, material heatshield that should make no noise. I may not fit it, I'm still unsure.
The first drive after installing it though was just awesome and I was totally amazed at how gear stick and gear change feel can totally transform a car. I was so impressed that so far I have to say this is the best modification I think I've made yet. Certainly, pound for pound it is by far the best value mod I've made in terms of increased performance, functionality and feel. £130 is a great and very fair price IMO and I'd thoroughly recommend anyone in search of better gearstick feel gets themselves on the waiting list ASAP.