So without further adue,

Meet the G-Paddle upgrade

http://www.g-paddles.com/












I have put about 1000 or so beat down miles as a beta-tester for the soon to be available G-Paddle button to paddle drop in upgrade.

I just rebuilt a trans so this is pretty much the perfect complement to the newly acquired firm and silky smooth shifts.

Installation:

I cannot share any install pictures due to me not taking any... sorry. The supplier of this paddle upgrade has a concise install .pdf you will receive upon purchase. They are drop in and a cakewalk to install.

Basically pry out button housing out of steering wheel from the front toward the back. Let them hang careful not to damage wiring, loosen 2 tiny torx 6 or 8 screws (sorry I forget) and then carefully remove/pry the board away from the housing/button. The tolerances are very close; in fact I would say a minute amount tighter than the stock buttons. This is good and will be referenced later.

Once you pop out the old button you will insert the smaller end into the housing and try to seat the locking tabs in place. Once you get them as far as they will go toward being seated use the smallest flat head screwdriver you have to get the button stop on the G-Paddle inside the housing. Then just gently push the G-Paddle in to seat the button stop and... tada the locks should be in place and the stop will be in its rectangular recess in the housing. If not adjust/try again.

It took me 10 minutes on the right paddle, being careful and then 2-3 minutes on the left once I knew what to actually do.

That's uninstall old and install new. Who wants to dremel and take stuff completely apart to install newer 63 paddles when these are available?

Review:

These are a more traditional paddle shifter than the 63 series which are a blend in between a large extended button and an actual paddle shifter IMHO. These paddles are great looking and are in the perfect position to miss with your fingers when you are just driving around in C mode, but just a touch with minimal movement from wheel to the top of the paddle with one finger is all it takes to go from mild mannered to wild beast.

The coating is clean and doesnt pick up marks and due to the tight tolerances mentioned there is no wobbling, variances or looseness. There is nothing that screams not OEM unless you actually knew it wasn't so. The same amount of pressure, resistance and total travel is the same as the factory button. All and all 10/10 for a great modification for someone looking for an inexpensive treat for the interior. One huge problem I had with my gorilla hands on the factory button is every once in awhile I would reach around during a turn and either upshift or downshift depending on direction, these paddles solve that issue for me. They are pronounced but are away from the wheel and not obtrusive in any way. All stalks are easily accessible and there is no obscurity to your view.

So adapting the transmission was actually fun, which took me about 3-4 hours to get her all settled... Lots of upshifts and downshifts to get it calmed down and smooth as silk.


****ONE MAJOR DRAWBACK EXISTS*****

You will now have to start saving up for a newly manufactured DTM flat bottom steering wheel because you will want to match the paddles smooth sexyness!


http://www.g-paddles.com/

 

Hi All
A very large thank you to BoostedAero for installing & testing our new paddle , we have another pair on test in the UK & another pair has gone to Germany & all reviews have been very good , it's taken about 10 months or so to get this far with a number of design reviews & changes , This Paddle will be on sale hopefully within the next 6 weeks if not sooner , Boosted installed & tests a pair of Paddles from the first pre-production run from our plastic injection moulding tooling , So what Boosted has install & tested will reflect what will be on sale , This Paddle will be called the E-Paddle & fits the E 55 , S 55 & CL 55 they are the same buttons & housing as long as you still have the OEM steering wheel fitted. We will be updating the web site over the next few days & you should be able to order from there (see review above). ok now to the bad part we are pitching the price at £125 a pair but there will be a discount for the first 15 pairs sold from our web site of 20% only . If your interested in getting hold of the E-Paddle for your AMG then emails us on the following address quote 'E-Paddle discount' in your email & Will reply with order number & send the bill out only when we are able to send out your E-Paddle & not before.
g-paddles@gmail.com

Cheers

Andy
The G Paddle Team