shyamvenky

hi all, i did do a good amount of digging through old threads regarding gear-levers and shirt-shift kits.

i have an 86 carrera with the 915. love the special feel of the shifts, no complaints there. i find that shifts to/from 3, 5, R are a bit of a stretch.

my only question is, would a short-shifter alleviate this problem? i know that they will increase the effort, reduce the throw. but will that reduction in throw make shifts seem less of a stretch? lateral spacing reduction isn't an issue and i am not going to be track'ing the car. i am leaning towards the factory short-shifter, thereby changing the shift bushings and linkages.

your suggestions?

thanks
shyam

ivangene

is it a standard now?

I have a factory SSK and it's fine...there are ways to make is smooth and those are worth doing...but as far as working well...yes....and reduced throw...yes but not sure the exact amount...

if you are unsure what you have...its easy to ID through the passenger side of the shift housing...a standard has a recaangle pivot "box" and a SSK has a raised radius in the center of it

yyou may also benefit from new coupler parts and new ball cup/...if those are worn you will need to overcome the wear with increased input of the arm....

- let me know if you want a coupler upgrade...I sell a great one!

(self promoting...I know...but hey! )

shyamvenky

i am pretty sure its just a standard 915 because i mentioned about wanting a short-shifter kit to Mike from Powertech a while back. i'll confirm this tonight.

shifting is smooth but not buttery, and thats fine. the only reason that i want to go for a short-shifter kit is to eliminate that stretch (coming off the backrest/headrest) to shift. a couple of inches shorter throw would be enough.

initially i thought changing the shift-**** to a bigger one would fix it, but then i thought for a couple of minutes and realised that it wouldn't. that said, i do like a big shift-**** that i can hold firmly with my palm. some 915 purists might say that shifting with the fingers is the best method.

Ed Hughes

A short shifter can make a good trans go bad. The extra force can accelerate wear on old parts.

Brownmop

I have a short shifter on my 84 the only problem I have is going from 5th to 4th (and I double de clutch changing up and down)!. I was thinking about having the original shifter put back on ...Any thoughts?

Ed Hughes

Your trans will like the standard shifter better than a short shifter, especially if you are having issues. IMO, Porsche never shied away from offering options, and tried to make the quirky shifting more appealing to the masses. Fine for new cars, not so fine for 20+ yo cars with 10's of thousands of miles on the odo.