I just installed the shift lever. This DIY was an excellent guide, thanks again for taking the time to post this up.
The install was very straight forward and only took about an hour or a little less. I just took the car for a test drive with the shorter BMW shift lever from the SSK and the oem M knob, and the throws are SOOOOOOOO much better. There is absolutely zero feeling of "slop" left in the transmission. The gears are now very close where 2nd, 4th, and 6th almost feel like they are very close to where neutral use to be, even with the M knob installed on the stock shift lever. This has really changed the way that the tranny feels. It now feels more like my last car (s2000 with a SSK) where the gears feels more direct, which I like a lot better.
With that said, I don't know if this mod is for everyone. I like the feeling of a very precise gearbox where shifting feels more on the notchy side. The bmw SSK lever with the M knob definitely makes the transmission feel more notchy, and where with just the M knob installed I was able to keep my elbow on the armrest and just flick between gears with the tips of my fingers, I can no longer do so.
For me, I definitely prefer the new feeling where the gearbox isn't so slushy feeling and I need to put my arm into the throw a little bit, even though the gears are now very close. If you like the feeling that I am describing then I would definitely recommend this since its a change that you can actually feel. I'm very happy since I really thought this gearbox felt like a piece of crap when I first bought the car after driving an s2k for 3 years. The M knob definitely improved the feel, but this improves it that much more.