Ed Hughes

Oh, not everyone has the skill to drive a 915 'box.

butzip

PM sent - Carrera for sale - excellent example

butzip

Of course I can always post the link....

https://rennlist.com/forums/for-sale...ort-seats.html

w00tPORSCHE

Thank you for all the suggestions and teaching..it means a lot to someone like me who is still in the infancy state when it comes to the knowledge of air cooled era cars. PM's sent and I guess I should also be considering 915's. Some people I've spoken and articles on total 911 say that G50's shift smoother and are more sought after...that is the reason for my OP. I am confident of my driving skills so I should be able to handle the nuances of a 915. I must admit, I have never driven an aircooled porsche but just love the sound of the engine exhaust note. Can someone tell me why the 915's have this reputation of being percieved as less sought after. My budget will not allow me to have a 993...besides I do want something that is more classic although I understand that aircooled ones can all be somewhat bracketed into this category.

rusnak

I like the 915 because I grew up driving air cooled boxer engined cars. I also grew up on the cable actuated clutch and therefore never liked hydraulic clutches. I don't think the issue should be the shifter unless you have a bad 915. To me, it's the effort to push the clutch pedal. I like the heavy Carrera clutch, which by the way is much stiffer than a 911SC clutch. The air cooled 911 is not a woman's car.

Ed Hughes

The G50 is the course of evolution. Does it shift "better"? Yes. Is the 915 a "bad" gearbox? No.

There are thousands of 915 equipped 911's that were very much a part of the 911's awesome history and put the power to the ground on the world's racing stage for many, many years. To think they are something to avoid would be folly.

theiceman

driving a 915 has nothing to do with driving skill .. if you can drive a standard you can drive a 915 equiped car , personally i think it has more to do with appreciation of the engineering and mechanicals involved . As Ed pointed out the 915 is just different and is further back in the evolutionary scale. It does not make it a bad gearbox. I think people selling cars with g-50s will tell you it is desireable , but get out and drive a few, develop your own opinion.

Good luck ..

full_garage

It's not that people "think" a G50 is more desirable.. (To buyers in general, not to "911 guys") it is more desirable in the marketplace.

if you're a "911 Guy" and a 3.2 is part of your own evolution from a a 2.4 to an SC to a 3.2, then the 915 just "feels right"- It's that classic Porsche long throw liquid gear change- For that kind of guy the G50 at first blush feels tight and notchy and way too abrupt. Just as I got used to diping the gear lever into 2nd gear for a second before engaging first gear on my Alfas, 915 owners have learned to adapt their driving style to the gearbox, and once you get it down it's pretty sweet.

For those of us coming from other gearhcanges- in my case BMWs and then a 996, the G50 feels right, and no matter how many 915s I drove I always felt the gearbox let the car down- My opinion of course. I sought out rebuilt cars to see if a perfect 915 would be more to my liking- it just wasn't.

People like different things for different reasons. The 915 is a more authentic experience for sure, but I think someone coming from a 997 would chose a G50 car over a 915 car pretty much every time.

Only way to find out is drive a bunch! No shortage of cars out there.

ivangene

OK - you stand behind ---------------------> that line



LOL

SPD YLO

I microsecond delay would help your transmission last a long long time.



I had an 89.
The G50's no piece of cake.

whalebird

IMHO, the biggest differance in the G-box is the hydrolic clutch. A 915 can handle 300 hp and last for decades. An "86 would be my ideal choice in 3.2 cars. If the G50 makes that big of a differance to you, by all means consider a 964. The 3.6 cars will create more of the torque you are used to in the 997, and can make a knarly sound. State of the art brakes/chassis, climate control, airbags and fuel managment are some more of the perks.
The 3.2 is really a purist 911 in the essance of the 911.

ivangene

I gotta say - the 3.2 / 915 set up has been getting me to work with a giant smile everyday !

FWIW

I have a question for you experts out there:

The stock coupler is a threaded rod that is pinned to the cast aluminum part via a 12mm pin pressed into the end of the threaded rod and thru a plastic "bearing" on each end. The plastic wears out and we replace the entire part with a wevo - nuff said
but in taking apart the stock part i noticed that the plastic bearing doesnt have a round hole thru it (was thinking of re-engineering this with an actual roller bearing) but more like a slot... do you know why it would have built in "play" from a slotted bearing and what the effect of replacing it with a solid (rigid) connection like the wevo or a home made bearing set up would cause/prevent?

I just thought it was wierd that they went thru the efforrt yo build in some play - must have been some reason or thought behind it

whalebird

A little easier on the synchros I suspect.

Tango635

LOL, You guys are making me feel bad for even looking at an 89 3.2.

From what i have read from experts, i.e. Zimmerman, Weirner and others, a well setup (blue printed) 915 is just as good as a G50. And fitted with a JWest or Wevo shifter, the 915 is probably better than a standard issue G50.

So as Ed said, don't let the transmission be much of an influence and what year 3.2 you look at. Although, it might be tough to find a well maintained, much less well set-up 915 right out of the box, most of the cars you look at will probably need attention.

Your best bet might be to attend a PCA or similar event and ask, plead for owners of each to let you drive their car.

ivangene

that was mu thought that maybe it prevented tension against the gear while cruising.. allowed a little "float" so it would settle where it wanted to instead of being held against its will..

interesting - makes me think about not running the wevo and actually machining a replacement part for the plastic bearing that is more precise in the one dirrection (rotational) and has a little free play in the lateral