My dad's friend, a retired aerospace industry machinist and engineer has come up with this removable shift knob shifter for extra security. If you cannot put the car into drive, you cannot move it and drive it away.
Is there something in the design I'm not seeing that would make that harder to shift without the knob than I'm thinking?
If you look at the first picture, the stud that the shift knob screws into has been cut down, such that the stud is now below the bezel. For OEM, the stud rises ~1"-3" above the bezel, and the shift knob screws on to the stud.
Does even the cut-down stud look as if it would stop anyone from shifting who had a pencil, drinking straw, skinny fingers, or a house key?
Neither of these things will strong enough to overcome the spring forces that need to be overcome to shift the car. It is unlikely that the thief would carry an M6x1.0 threaded tube that is 8mm or less in the outer diameter. He has updated the shifter to include two emergency shifter "keys" that the legitimate drivers can still drive the car even if the shift knob is misplaced.
I just walked out to my Gen 3 and shifted into every position using my pinky finger on the very base of the shifter stud. Then I did it again from a worse angle with the pinky of my non-dominant hand. Reverse was tricky at that angle but I got there. Are the shifter springs on Gen 2 that much stiffer than on Gen 3?
That's just the thing. I make no extraordinary claims about my pinky fingers whatever. Maybe there's enough changed between the Gen 3 and Gen 2 shifters to make a difference?
