Papa's got Swag

Well, one of my biggest achievements to date has come and gone: Reviewing and taking part in a product from a company as big as B&M Racing and Hurst Shifters.

I thank Kenji, and the rest of the team from the bottom of my heart for this opportunity.

To show me their appreciation, they sent me a hat and a T-shirt. Check it out =D

Awesome! Now I have a T-shirt and hat from Stillen, and a set from Hurst. This will become a thing now, I'll be sure to collect clothing from brands of aftermarket car parts. lol.

Anyway, it has been a blast. Doing these reviews, and helping you guys decide what to buy or not has become something I like doing. Hopefully there will be more opportunities like this in the future.

Prices are set!

Okay you guys, short post.

It seems that B&M Racing and Hurst Shifters has come out with the MSRP on the Paddle Shifters.

They will be $259.95 USD, available near the end of May and early June. For those of you who want in on a special "Pre-Order" deal, they are willing to sell for $199.95 PLUS SHIPPING!

Get your hands on it TODAY!!! Only if you want =p

Here is the direct link, follow it fast, it may not be on there forever!

Hurst Paddle Shifter Follow-up

Okay you guys, here is the follow-up review. It's been around a week and a half since I have installed and reviewed these paddle shifters for you guys.

Since then, I have probably driven with these paddles for a good seven or eight days. They really make city driving a lot more fun. I mean, you aren't really pushing these babies to the max with all the traffic, but you definately get more variety with downshifting and upshifting. With these nice big paddles, changing gear is a breeze.

They are so tactile, and feel great. Initially I said that the paddles could be slightly thinner. However, I somewhat retract that statement. These "beefy" paddles feel REALLY good. This is what happens when I get into my car, EVERY SINGLE TIME: Open the door, legs go in, head tilts to slide into the seat, close the door, STROKE these paddles (Yes, sounds very sexy, it feels sexy), then turn on the ignition, fasten my seat belt, set the car in gear, and my hands go straight back onto the paddles!

If it wasn't for clearance issues, I would totally leave the paddles as thick as they are. Incase you couldn't see how thick they were in my videos, please try to rewind, and look at them now. There should be enough time for you to see the thickness. However, if you can not eyeball it, the thickness is around a good quarter inch thick, more or less.

As you saw in the video, it's impossible to activate your washer fluid, and flash your highbeams. You can NOT pull the stalks towards you, unless the steering wheel is turned. It's a small loss, but some of you may think that's bull crap. I mean, we spent our money on this car so everything would be functional. To me however, this isn't a problem, because the sacrifice is for something much cooler. First off, they look great, secondly, they actually do make GM's crappy design a lot better.

I really hope GM slaps itself in the face, and realize the buttons are shitty. I mean, Honda Fit's have paddle shifters, and better ones than ours. Yeah, that's right, I said it, and if you don't believe me, go to your local Honda dealer and check it out right now. This has always been the beef I have had with GM. You make one of the best looking cars in the world, cheap price per horse power, and you go lazy on something as important as a shifter? NO! SLAP YOU! >=(

Sorry for the rant. Back to the review.

Eitherway, there is not much more wrong with it. Again, it's all in the eye of the beholder. Some people will like this setup, and some won't. Keep in mind, this mod is a bolt-on. Nothing is glued, or permanent. All it takes is your tool box and you can put it back to stock anytime you want. Also, Hurst has told me the allen key I used to tighten the spacers, will be included in the final kit as well. Which makes things so much easier for you guys! Yay =D

Anyway, Hurst has done an exceptional job by giving us an easy way to turn crap, into gold. No bias here, just because Hurst sponsored me on this, doesn't mean I sold my soul. I am giving you guys the full scoop, good and bad, the way I see it. Heck, if I had to pay for these, I'd do that in a heartbeat, which I'm sure some of you will also do the same =) In all honesty, Hurst has no room for error here, they are only making the flaws of this car better. But that's just my opinion.

Let me know what you guys think yeah? Either leave a comment here, or comment on the SV6 youtube channel, or feel free to join the facebook page and leave your comments and requests there. =)

Sorry for the quick and dirty video, I was really tired LOL. =D As always, see you guys next time!

Hurst Paddle Shifter Prototype Review

 

There you go guys. The full scoop on the Hurst Paddle Shifters. Sorry for the super long video, although I think it was fully necessary for you guys to see as much as possible before deciding on buying this product.

I have mentioned this in the video description, but I shall say it again here: When I say "Flimsy" it does not mean cheap or easily breakable, I just simply meant it is flexible. =)

Some things I've noticed while driving since the installation, I had a hard time accessing the DIC controls on the signal stalk. I mean, it's no big deal, but little things like that would make you wish the design was different. However, I fully understand that this isn't Hurst's fault. The root of the problem is GM's design, leaving us very little room to improve on the stock setup.

For those of you who want to know the process, please feel free to read the Post Sema Show post. This, I feel, gives you guys more background knowledge, and what I had to do to get this opportunity.

THANK YOU KENJI! THANK YOU B&M RACING! THANK YOU HURST SHIFTERS!

Hurst Paddle Shifters Installed

As promised, I got onto the paddle shifter install today. In my opinion, it looks great. And no, they are NOT too big, they are the perfect size for shifting when the steering wheel is turned.

My initial thoughts and the review itself will be coming soon in video form. I also took the opportunity to record the install of the shifters for you guys to see. However, because there is so much on my plate lately, I will have to post that video up at a later date.

Coming soon, I'll have videos of my Vinyl Striping process up and running in the next day or two. If you want stripes, make sure to look for my blog post on the special Spades V6 coupon code with the Camaro Decal Store.

Hurst Paddle Shifter Teaser

Okay guys, one of my most visited blog posts was my Post Sema Show post. If you haven't read it, feel free to read it, and you will understand how much I appreciate this product.

First off, pictures, fresh right out of the deliveryman's hands.

Great feeling material. Hard, it will not bend easy.

Sorry for the unprofessional shots here. Not really glorifying, especially when you can see my Pajama Pants... O_o

I am honored to recieve such a package, sponsored by Hurst Shifters and B&M Racing. Kenji, Vice President of Engineering and Quality Control, has been working his butt off to get these to the prototype stages. It was not an easy feat, R&D took eight months I believe, and Kenji was kind enough to keep me updated all the way. Now, as I am writing these product reviews for YOU guys, and not to satisfy sponsors, I will give you my initial thoughts and impressions.

First, the product quality is great. Nothing feels cheap, and everything seems to be feel tactile and solid. I could not wait to put these on, so I did that right away. However, since this is a prototype, it did not come with complete instructions, and I failed to see how it mounted. From what I understand, this is product could have room to be improved or modified.

Second, pricing? I have no idea... so technically, there is no second. This is just a teaser for you guys, to get you guys excited, or not excited, whatever lol. I'm excited. =D

I am in contact with Kenji at the moment, soon I will have a full review, whether video, or plain old written style, you guys will get the full scoop before you decide to buy it or not.