randlej

I've seen ads for gateshift kits for 915 tranny's. Anyone had experience with these or similar items?

Thx

Petevb

Which one? The Wevo one that goes inside the transmission, or the Seine Systems thing that bolts on at the shift lever?

randlej

Bolt on type.

Richard C2S

I chose the Seine Systems bolt-on. Really a choice based on cost. I've had it in for probably six months, maybe a little more and I'm very happy with it. It will never be a snick-snick gearbox; that said, the Seine Systems does eliminate a lot of the slop inherent in the 915. The spring loading favors the 3rd and 4th gear plane so the stick doesn't just wobble around in no-man's land when in neutral, like at a light. I re-adjusted the shift coupler last week and that also helped.

dma550

This is a question here too... I like the the Rennshift myself, and people rave about them at 914 club , but there are some questions as to which would be better in a 915 trans.

The rennshift also is available with throw reduction, 20 or 33% as well. ANyone test a rennshift, the seine and/or the robotek?

Ted Drake

I have the Seine Systems bolt-on. It cost much less than all the other options and works just as well. I have it on my track/street 911 and really enjoy racing/shifting with it. After you've had it for a couple months you will miss it immediately when drive other 911s missing the shift kit. Sherwood the owner of the company is very helpful too.
http://www.seinesystems.com/

kach22i

I like my Seine very much, money well spent.

I read about someone who hated his robotec and went with a Wevco.

JackOlsen

There are different levels of improvement.

The Seine and (more expensive, but essentially the same) Robotek won't improve your shifting, per se, but will make it much harder to mis-shift and blow your motor. People often replace shifter bushings and correct adjustment issues at the same time as when they install these things, which will improve shifter feel and performance.

The Wevo internal gateshift provides a double-H gate (like you see on a Ferrari shifter), but it does it inside the transaxle, where the precision movement is more useful. I have one of these, and I like it very much. MS Road and Race makes a shift gate that sits on top of the shifter (like a Ferrari), but I have no experience with it. It's hard to imagine it working as well as the Wevo device.

You can also replace the factory shifter (pretty much) outright with the Wevo shifter. Rennshift is a similar replacement unit. These devices can shorten the throw of the shifter, and change (and hopefully improve) the geometry of of the shift selector itself. I have the Wevo 'classic' shifter, but I haven't installed it, yet.

Wevo also makes a shift coupler replacement, which improves on the factory unit. Some other companies make these, too. Even with new bushings, there's play in the factory unit.

None of the above items will save a 915/901 transaxle with worn-out syncros, or other internal problems. I've seen guys spend more than the cost of a tranny rebuild trying to get around having to spring for a tranny rebuild. Sometimes, you've just got to bite the bullet and do it.

If you track your car, your 915/901 transaxle is generating a lot of heat, and is going to age faster than it would otherwise. A transaxle cooler will extend its lifespan, in this case.

The 915 was often singled out in early reviews of the 911 as the car's single best feature. Unfortunately, it's not the most robust transaxle, if not properly cared for, and is often viewed as a weak spot by 911 buyers who are dealing with 20-30 year old transaxles that are now not performing as well as they were when they left the factory.

ebsalem

I've got the WEVO shifter and their all steel shift coupler on my '72. Can't possibly miss a shift. The steel coupler makes a huge improvement.

YMMV,
e

RogerS

I've just installed the Seine kit based on previous recommendations from this forum. The main thing that the Seine kit does is to keep you from shifting into second when you want 4th. It also tightens up the sloppy shifter mechanism.

It's advertised as a one hour job, but to install it correctly and to properly adjust your linkage. plan on a long day.

The $150 kit is worth it but it does require accurate drilling and also the welding of a bracket to your shift lever if you want to install the kit properly. So, if you use the welding as an excuse to buy a wire welder like I did, the project will set you back about $350. Still worth it.

The most important part of the whole process of making shifting as reliable as possible is... not so much the shifter kit installation but, by trial and error, to learn how to properly adjust your shift linkage. The shift kit will not be of much good to you if you don't have things adjusted correctly. The best way to do this is to take the passanger seat out to get easy access to everything and then plan to spend several hours for the kit installation and careful adjustment of your linkage followed by several test drives.

The single best tip for linkage adjustment is to clean the area around the joint where the coupler and clamp are. Then carefully mark the clock position and the forward/rear position where the two shafts meet. This will give you a reference for the very small adjustments that are needed. 5 degrees of rotation and 1/8 inch make a huge difference in how well your linkage works. Take your time and it will definitely be worth your efforts.

P-on

RogerS

I did the Seine kit and am impressed by the improvement. I also did the short shift at the same time. I'm having a little "wierd metallic grinding noise" from the tranny, only under load, in third and fourth gear only. This is only since putting the kit on. Any ideas? My feeling is maybe my adjustment is not correct. I'm finding tiny adjustments make huge differences. Any help is appreciated.

lally911

Wevo shifter and coupler made a dramatic difference for me. The internal shift gate will go in when the tranny gets rebuilt. Fifth to fourth is no longer a guessing game and nicking reverse has been eliminated. Well worth the bucks.

TonyG

I have a question....

I've never driven a setup with the "full Wevo setup".

Other than missed shift and reverse engagement prevention.... how much does the Wevo setup really improve the shift engagement?

Assuming that I had a brand new 915 transmission installed.... What exactly could I expect from the Wevo internal and shift gate mods?

Thanks in advance,

TonyG

lally911

With a rebuilt tranny with new synchros, etc... I expect the whole wevo setup to
provide an excellent shifting package with the 915. Shift engagement, or the speed
from one gear to another, which is what I think you mean, will still not be at
lightening speed like a newer tranny but thats a limitation of the 915. Each gear will
be well defined and selecting out of neutral will not have the element of chance that it
once did. The short throw will solidly drop in and out of each gear and as a racer who
just sat in my car said, "fifth to fourth is now a no brainer".

911pcars

"... I'm having a little "wierd metallic grinding noise" from the tranny, only under load, in third and fourth gear only."

P-on,
The Gate Shift kit replicates the spring-loaded force for 1st and 2nd that exists for 5th/Rev. As such, it doesn't affect 3rd and 4th other than having the lever default to the 3rd/4th shift plane due to the springs while in neutral.

Might be a basic linkage adjustment due to the short shifter upgrade. Just to be sure, you can remove the spring and bolt from our tension bracket. This reverts the housing back to the factory setup. If you still feel/hear some gearbox noise, adjust the shift coupler. Here are some links to installing/adjusting the factory short shift for your reference that might be helpful:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...it_install.htm

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti..._shift_kit.htm

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...provements.htm

If all else fails, reinstall the factory shifter with and/or without the Gate Shift kit and see if there's still a difference.

Sherwood Lee
SeineSystems.com