987 Short Shift options

[53x11]

Having long legs and short arms I feel the standard shifter throw for 1,3 & 6 is just a slightly too long a reach for me when my seat is set to the pedals.

There seems to be a myriad of shifter upgrade options from, cheap as chips, eBay offerings to full OE Porsche 997GT3 options as well as bushing/bearing upgrades.

What do people recommend? I think a 10mm shorter forward throw would be perfect. The current shifter feels nice but removing the slight play across the gate would be nice. Any changes for the cable ends needed?

Cheers

[Porsche911R]

53x11 said:

Having long legs and short arms I feel the standard shifter throw for 1,3 & 6 is just a slightly too long a reach for me when my seat is set to the pedals.

There seems to be a myriad of shifter upgrade options from, cheap as chips, eBay offerings to full OE Porsche 997GT3 options as well as bushing/bearing upgrades.

What do people recommend? I think a 10mm shorter forward throw would be perfect. The current shifter feels nice but removing the slight play across the gate would be nice. Any changes for the cable ends needed?

Cheers

the 997 oem part number shift, is the same as the 987 one., NOT the GT3 one.

OEM short st is pretty good, and be improved with bushing, but a new one wont need bushing.

[markiii]

GT3 did it on my 997 massive difference

[GregorFuk]

I have OEM short shift on my 987 Spyder. It's very nice.

[Meisho]

Have you looked at CAE shifters?

They’re not cheap but they offer a very precise, short throw and put the gear knob in a very easy to reach place which reduces hand travel time at gear changes.

I’ve only had mine for a short while but very pleased with it!

[Rocket.]

I recently bought a an OEM 987 SSK from my local Porsche main dealer, I was pleasantly surprised it was cheaper (about £270 I think) than the local Porsche parts specialist, it takes about 2 hours to fit. Well worth it imo.

[MrVert]

Have the SSK on my Cayman R... it's like a rifle bolt...!

Transforms the shift to another level.

Get it fitted

[Pope]

I once sold a genuine SSK console on ebay; sold for 7 quid!! I guess my advert was poor.....

Worth scouring the usual places - you might find a hidden one.

ETA: just checked and it was actually the princely sum of £5.50.........

Edited by Pope on Friday 24th April 07:33

[Cheib]

Have the factory fitted SSK on my 997 GTS....which I imagine is the same as 987. Love the gear change.

[53x11]

Thanks for all the replies

Looks like a 997 SSK is the way to go and if that is the whole shift unit rather that a leaver and bearing kit it seems an easier job to install. A bonus of going that way is my mate with the 997 X51 kitted C4S has that in his car, so once we are out of lockdown I can blag a go in his car

From my limited research it seems the 997 SSK is pretty much the same as standard with regards to plastic bushings and the GT3 version replaces these with bearings.

Anyone have any experience with the Function First plastic bushing replacement kit?

http://www.function-first.com/products/engine-tran...

I assume that if i go SSK and everything is new and tight this would not be needed for a good few years. I'm on 74k miles and 13 years old and the st is not too sloppy, I just want the throw shorter.

Cheers all.

[Paynewright]

There is a member over on 911uk (Alex) who takes the cheap short shift levers and machines phosphor bronze bearings for all the pivots to replace the nylon bearings and bearing race. Many members have bought them and been very pleased.

[Porsche911R]

53x11 said:

Thanks for all the replies

Looks like a 997 SSK is the way to go

Cheers all.

yep get it bought.

[Sisu9]

I've recently installed the OEM GT3 shifter on my 997.2 and I can't say I notice a huge amount of difference versus the standard shifter. I know the throw is the same but I have only noticed a very slight improvement in the precision and feel of shifts - my old shifter was in good condition though.

In retrospect, I would have gone for the OEM short shifter. The only reason I didn't was the car's reluctance to go into first might have been exacerbated.

[Mike1960]

Hi,
I fitted an eBay special for less than £40 to 987.2. The quality was surprisingly good.
It took about 2 hours from start to finish. If you have some mechanical ability then have a look on YouTube for advise.
It was from a UK seller but was LHD, but changing it to RHD was easy enough.
When I first fitted it, I felt it tightened up the gearshift and made it feel much nicer to change gear. I think the novelty has now worn off, but I wouldn’t go back.
The only issue is that it doesn’t come with an adaptor to centre the lever so count the teeth on the transmission cables, then count them again, then count them again and write the numbers down before you disconnect them. Same process in reverse when you reconnect them.
Hope this helps.

Edited by Mike1960 on Friday 24th April 19:00

[frayz]

Don’t forget the all billet offerings from the likes of Numeric Racing.

[53x11]

Morning.

Has anyone installed something like this:

https://benautodesign.fr/gb/accueil/19-57-short-sh...

Any opinions on these 'upgrade' options over just swapping to an OEM Short Shift? Quite like the exchange option or retrofit of the linkage and bearings so I'm not paying for the whole mount frame again when my existing one will be perfectly serviceable.

Si

[shalmaneser]

53x11 said:

Morning.

Has anyone installed something like this:

https://benautodesign.fr/gb/accueil/19-57-short-sh...

Any opinions on these 'upgrade' options over just swapping to an OEM Short Shift? Quite like the exchange option or retrofit of the linkage and bearings so I'm not paying for the whole mount frame again when my existing one will be perfectly serviceable.

Si

It's just a £25 ebay short shift with a couple more CNC bits and a horrendous markup.

https://ebay.us/2mIfGy

I've got an ebay kit and it's pretty good. It's a very easy thing to fit, too.

[Broccers]

Good thread.

My understanding much of the floppy movement is the cables on the gear shift. Anyone changed those?

[jakesmith]

The 9X7 that I owned (3 so far) all had significant side to side play in the shifter

If you look on Porscheshop and Design 911 there is quite an array of products to address this

There are the cup shift cables which have more solid fixings but they Introduce noise to the cabin

There are a whole load of products such as replacement billet aluminium yoke that sits in the shifter and reduces ‘slop’

I’m sure changing the cables for new would help

There was a bloke on boxa who made better cnc bushings for the short shift. I had them in my car and the side to side slip was still poor but the fire/aft was greatly improved

There are plenty of YouTube vids on addressing this too, such as cutting some shim stock and shimming the inside of the shift where the yoke attaches

It is a poor part of the car and makes it feel less well engineered than it really is

I never got to the bottom of it as I sold the car but it looked like £500+ and Days of messing about trial and error to address it

[TV8]

Paynewright said:

There is a member over on 911uk (Alex) who takes the cheap short shift levers and machines phosphor bronze bearings for all the pivots to replace the nylon bearings and bearing race. Many members have bought them and been very pleased.

I have bought a so from Alex and fitted to my 996. I tried a 987 shifter fitted to a 996 and didn’t find it a lot different to standard (and had a 987 car and found that a long throw) and with the ask there is a noticeable reduction in shift and when adjusted properly a very precise change.