986 short shifter...yes or no?
Discussion
Recently bought a short shift kit, cheap, off eBay (it's new and looks good quality). However the "101 Boxster Projects" book shows that removing the factory shifter does mean that one of the bushes will be destroyed in the process, so my "if I don't like it I can revert to standard" back up plan may be an issue.
My current shifting action isn't perfect...there's no graunching or stiffness, however occasionally the lever won't "self centre" in the left/right plane.
So my questions are...
1-Has anyone fitted one? Improvement or not? Any regrets?
2-If you are careful, can the bush be reused?
3-If your car was older (75k miles) did it exacerbate any existing shifting issues?
Thanks in advance.!
My current shifting action isn't perfect...there's no graunching or stiffness, however occasionally the lever won't "self centre" in the left/right plane.
So my questions are...
1-Has anyone fitted one? Improvement or not? Any regrets?
2-If you are careful, can the bush be reused?
3-If your car was older (75k miles) did it exacerbate any existing shifting issues?
Thanks in advance.!
If your installation goes wrong or you don't like it, don't bother going back to the old one (even if you can). Get yourself the base model 997 shift mechanism direct from Porsche. It's quite an inexpensive part and represents plug and play solution that improves on the original 986 shift action without being overly short or notchy. I fitted one a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. It's just how it should be IMO but you may also consider getting someone to take a look at your front engine mount as these can and do begin to fail and you'll may feel/sense the engine moving about a bit through the gear selector when it is on its way out.
I bought a cheap ebay unit for very similar reasons for my 996 - long, vague travel and no self-centring. Overall, I'm happy with the result.
Shorter throw means less sense of vagueness, though you can easily mis-slot (1st instead of 3rd, 2nd instead of 4th etc) until you get used to it so avoid high revs to begin with.
It does self-centre now. Not sure why this would be but pleased that it does.
Changing gear is more effort now so if you have weak core muscles, you might want to re-consider.
I didn't fit it myself so not sure about the bush being destroyed. However mine was removed after a few months and re-fitted (see below for reason) and the indie didn't charge me for a new bush.
Finally, note that most of the ebay items are intended for lhd so the lever ends up leaning the wrong way. I originally had it fitted by a local mechanic who said nothing could be done about that but my local indie took it out and flipped the mechanism very easily (i.e. only an hour of labour including removal and re-fit).
I've driven a 987 with OEM short-shifter and that did have a better shift quality. You can retrofit those to 986/996 but they cost considerably more (£200-£300 I think) so it is a case of getting what you pay for. Overall, I think the ebay items are very good value. I have read posts by others who disagree though so it would be ideal if you can find someone local who can let you try it. If you're in/around Reading, you're welcome to try mine.
Shorter throw means less sense of vagueness, though you can easily mis-slot (1st instead of 3rd, 2nd instead of 4th etc) until you get used to it so avoid high revs to begin with.
It does self-centre now. Not sure why this would be but pleased that it does.
Changing gear is more effort now so if you have weak core muscles, you might want to re-consider.
I didn't fit it myself so not sure about the bush being destroyed. However mine was removed after a few months and re-fitted (see below for reason) and the indie didn't charge me for a new bush.
Finally, note that most of the ebay items are intended for lhd so the lever ends up leaning the wrong way. I originally had it fitted by a local mechanic who said nothing could be done about that but my local indie took it out and flipped the mechanism very easily (i.e. only an hour of labour including removal and re-fit).
I've driven a 987 with OEM short-shifter and that did have a better shift quality. You can retrofit those to 986/996 but they cost considerably more (£200-£300 I think) so it is a case of getting what you pay for. Overall, I think the ebay items are very good value. I have read posts by others who disagree though so it would be ideal if you can find someone local who can let you try it. If you're in/around Reading, you're welcome to try mine.
My 996 has one of these and I'd happily swap back for a standard shifter (although a 997 short shifter is probably preferable).
It's too short and too stiff (particularly when the gearbox oil is cold) and the effort (and caution) required doesn't make it any quicker to use than the standard shifter in the 986 Boxster S race car I raced for the last 2 seasons.
It's too short and too stiff (particularly when the gearbox oil is cold) and the effort (and caution) required doesn't make it any quicker to use than the standard shifter in the 986 Boxster S race car I raced for the last 2 seasons.
I also had the cheap one on my old Boxster. There's link in my profile to my old car on boxa.net with some thoughts on that. The 550 has factory short shift. It's not as short, and I sometimes wish it was shorter, but the feel across the gate feels a bit more refined. I like aspects of both.
P.S. This is the OEM 997 shifter console / unit 997-424-010-00. The greenish bit is used to ensure that the stick is in the correct position when connecting up the two cables upon which it must be removed.
It cost me circa CHF200 out here (under £150 in the UK?) which is a bargain in my book and I wouldn't be looking any further if I ever do another.
For those who have never attempted to fiddle with their gear sticks before (fnar fnar RIP Rik Mayall) when you do, you'll realise that the gear lever is just a gimbal that moves freely in all directions around a pivot point. The 'sensations' that you get of gears slotting home does not come from the mechanism but from the gearbox itself - it's just that the gear lever can damp these sensations to a greater or lesser degree depending on its geometry and construction.
On the Suncoast site, you can see this standard and GT3 versions of the 997 shifter console and the latter has a metal bushings instead of nylon (at almost doubles the cost). If you were doing this upgrade on a 997, you might want to go the whole hog and fit the Cup cables at the same time but I have read that would be a somewhat more complex job but again, you would only be affecting the cables and the gear lever but the sensations of changing gears in a GT3 'box will largely come from the characteristics of that 'box and not the linkage/shifter.
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product/997SCU.html?C...
It cost me circa CHF200 out here (under £150 in the UK?) which is a bargain in my book and I wouldn't be looking any further if I ever do another.
For those who have never attempted to fiddle with their gear sticks before (fnar fnar RIP Rik Mayall) when you do, you'll realise that the gear lever is just a gimbal that moves freely in all directions around a pivot point. The 'sensations' that you get of gears slotting home does not come from the mechanism but from the gearbox itself - it's just that the gear lever can damp these sensations to a greater or lesser degree depending on its geometry and construction.
On the Suncoast site, you can see this standard and GT3 versions of the 997 shifter console and the latter has a metal bushings instead of nylon (at almost doubles the cost). If you were doing this upgrade on a 997, you might want to go the whole hog and fit the Cup cables at the same time but I have read that would be a somewhat more complex job but again, you would only be affecting the cables and the gear lever but the sensations of changing gears in a GT3 'box will largely come from the characteristics of that 'box and not the linkage/shifter.
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product/997SCU.html?C...
Edited by MogulBoy on Wednesday 11th June 14:38
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff