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Anywho - just finished the install on my 2016 R. A couple of notes:
- upon opening the package, I was very happy - they look great in black. Great packaging, too - not a single blemish on either paddle.
- it is extremely hard to get a good confident grip on those two size 20 torx screws unless the paddle you are operating is at the 0 degree position (pointing up). Then you can stand next to the car with your right foot in (knee holding back the slight play in a locked steering wheel, which can throw off your angle and cause a 'mistake') and look through the windshield to see if your screwdriver angle is correct. The screws go in/out at 90 degrees to the wheel spoke it mounts on. They are also very easy to strip. I can't imagine they can take more than 2-3 'mistakes'.
- surprise! there's cables you have to unplug/work around that connect these. I didn't have the proper tool to disconnect them so I left them alone. There is extra slack that can be pushed back inside the steering wheel if you pulled on it.
- the metal rods that I found in there have a vertically serrated end and a smooth end. They come out serrated end first. The serrated end made their removal extremely difficult, as they are dug into the plastic paddles. They're also made out of a very soft metal (some sort of brass alloy?) that is very malleable. Careful with those pliers.
- now for the real doozy - putting the new paddles in. I could not get the serrated end of both rods to get fully depressed and fully secure the new paddles, even after putting a ton of force on the end that's supposed to go in. Naturally, you can't just go 'Hulk' on it or you might have an expensive problem with all that plastic you're holding. After inspecting the stock paddles, I can make out the spots where the serrated end dug into the plastic and secured the paddles. With these new paddles being made of metal, no such luck. There is also a slight difference in the upper-most hole diameter across the pair, the left paddle had less room for the serrated end, whereas the right took about 1/2 of the serrated length.
End result: left paddle has more play than stock but feels nice to actuate, right paddle felt sticky for the first 10-20 paddle presses and has a shorter action now. The sound each paddle makes is also different (right one sounds like a sticky keyboard keypress). I really hope the right paddle gets better with use. Yikes. (please read the Edit at the bottom)
No criticism is fair without any constructive dimension to it, so I would suggest this to VelocityAP - machine and bundle your own rods that work with each paddle with the precision an F-Type deserves. That way you can take out any variations in MY or get ahead of mismatching dimensions as part of your QA process before you ship them out. If that's the way you go, I'd love a pair.
Now I'm off to my car to look for any springs in the middle of the night. Yay instructions!
Edit: lucked out. Nothing on the carpets and considering the springy action is still there, I'm going to assume the springs were stuck to the plastic paddle holder the whole time. I also took her out for a quick rip and indeed the action is getting better on the right paddle. I think I will take them apart again tomorrow and file down as much as I need off of these rods for a good fit. I will report back with a final word.
Last edited by majororange; 08-23-2018 at 10:06 PM.
Pic makes them look silver but they are black. Noticed that the factory pedals work from anywhere - 360, these have a dead zone at the top but i can live with that, angle thing I guess.
Last edited by Burt Gummer; 08-23-2018 at 10:42 PM.
Haha - spring is in one of my pics - yes it sits on a post in the black housing and assists in decompression of the paddle. It is entirely loose so odds are, no, it isn't still there.
Last edited by Burt Gummer; 08-23-2018 at 11:04 PM.
Haha - spring is in one of my pics - yes it sits on a post in the black housing and assists in decompression of the paddle. It is entirely loose so odds are, no, it isn't still there.
Yep, saw your post and took a quick look.
Also - regarding the range of actuation you brought up - I think Jaguar put the largest paddles they could have for that mechanism size. They need a longer mounting point for larger paddles - aka longer rods (oh no!!). These metal ones do look gorgeous, though I'll post some pics after I'm done with them tomorrow.
If I had the patience I might go to the hardware store for a more robust spring. With the heavier, large paddle that would make sense. Nothing dramatic, just a little stronger spring. That would probably help with your right paddle needing to 'break in.'
Also would say for others here doing the install -- wrap the paddles with painters or other tape to prevent scratching them when dealing with the very awkward pin removal. I had a close call.
Using strong grip long nose pliers to pull the second pin up and out vs trying to tap it loose from the bottom out worked better for me. People will see tapping the pin out isn't so easy because you cant get your screwdriver in a straight line to the pin with the plastic/electrical components in the way.
Last edited by Burt Gummer; 08-24-2018 at 12:22 AM.
Sorry for the radio silence. We are still moving into our new building - we bought land and build rather than leasing (I'm pretty sure I took 10 years off my life.) Behind schedule, over budget but our final inspection tomorrow.
All our stuff is in the new building 6 feet from the walls so the engineer and inspector can see everything, but no internet, no power until yesterday so have been a little off the grid.
We haven't actually fitted a set of these ourselves, worked with another forum member who helped out and focused on the manufacturing and finishing. The initial prototypes needed a few thousands machined out to get the action to work nicely (it's actually a surprisingly low tolerance part.)
My friend lives a few hours away but has an FType, he's a member at our local track so he's here a fair bit. I'll see if we can borrow his car and do a DIY install guide, but it seems like some pretty good tips from you guys so far.
Definitely the top of the paddle is going to flex more and won't actuate exactly like the middle does. That's one of the reasons we went with nicely machined aluminum instead of cheap plastic or composite that would flex even more. The rigidity helps with that.
I appreciate everyone's patience. It would have been easy to make a quick & cheap glue-on part but I feel like these are legitimately nice enough that someone who hadn't seen the originals could very easily assume they were OEM.
If we can figure out anything to add or adjust that makes installation easier we will incorporate it for sure. One thing to bear in mind though, with a pin like that, if it goes in too easily it's going to have a little run-out and that could wear out the holes over time and possibly make the action sloppy. Sometimes a tight fit is good.
Does anyone have the part number for the Torx screws so I can order some spares. If no part number could someone please measure the dimensions whilst refitting.
Installed the black anadized set today. Easy install that only took about an hour due to unfamiliarity.
One minor hiccup. As previously mentioned, the tolerances are tight in the new pieces. On the first test drive the paddles would not return to the extended position. So we sanded a little bit horizontally between the pin hole housing tabs and applied a touch of white lithium grease. And yes, the spring needs to be re-installed.
After removing the original paddles, looking at the pin, and reviewing this thread, I decided to buy a set of the black oem paddles so I could do the replacement on a separate set (keeping my oem silver paddles untouched in case I mess up the pin removal/replacement process)... anyway, I found that the pin removal/replacement was easier than it looked, but still glad I have the originals as backups.
After removing pins, swapping paddles, and replacing pins, I clicked them a bunch before installing to make sure they responded like the originals. Test drive after install went well. Very happy. Thanks Stuart!
Last edited by Greggbhill; 09-23-2018 at 07:09 PM.
I had an observation today while driving in inclement weather. I can’t see the headlight control selection now as the taller paddle blocks the view.
I was driving in a pouring rain during daylight on the freeway. Wanted to make sure my headlights and taillights were illuminated. I usually just drive with the headlight selector in “Auto” so I hadn’t noticed before if the selector was easily viewable. I couldnt see it today to select the full time headlight position.
Anywho, not a major deal. Just an observation. I still love the paddles and stil prefer them to OEM.
I had an observation today while driving in inclement weather. I can’t see the headlight control selection now as the taller paddle blocks the view.
I was driving in a pouring rain during daylight on the freeway. Wanted to make sure my headlights and taillights were illuminated. I usually just drive with the headlight selector in “Auto” so I hadn’t noticed before if the selector was easily viewable. I couldnt see it today to select the full time headlight position.
Anywho, not a major deal. Just an observation. I still love the paddles and stil prefer them to OEM.
I don't have any paddles at all and can't see the light lever without leaning far to the left. I don't think the problem is the paddles.
Just wanted to give an update. Stuart found my order and immediately shipped out my paddles. Thought I'd share another compliment to their stand-up business practices.
08-23-2018, 09:34 PM
I'll post some pics after I'm done with them tomorrow.
