NaroEscape

I'm not sure if it's a good thing, or a bad thing.... We started out with the stock 914 years ago. It was my wife's fathers, so she knew it better than me and shifting was fine...

Now, we have a 993 cab, 3 914's, and a 69 911... .it's a slippery slope if she likes the cars!

She loves driving them - street, track, etc. The Rennshift just makes the quick shifts on the track much easier and more precise, but you still need to make sure all your bushings are new and tight, and make sure the set screws at the coupler near the firewall and back by the end of the rod are very tight. If they back out even one or two threads, it will make the shifting VERY sloppy. I put JB Weld on them and tightened them up very tight. I replace the bushings every 2-3 years (only a few buck, it's worth it).

mclaudio

This is a timely thread for me as I'm considering getting a 914-6 track car, but I'm not confident with the shifter. Thanks for getting this one going. For folks who have 914's with Rennshift and also have experience with 911 (915, G50 or even 996 trannies) shifters, please describe the Rennshift relative relative to other 911 tranny shifters. Thanks again.

NaroEscape

Well, nothing you can do to a 914 will make is shift anything like a G50 or newer. With all the shift rods and couplings that a 914 has to have to get past the engine and transmission, there is going to be some level of looseness.

The benefit the Rennshift brings is that when you shift into a gear, you KNOW you are in that gear. Remember, we are only changing the shifter assembly itself, not the entire system, so you still have to deal with the couplers and bushings (not to mention that a 901 gear box is a little less precise to begin with). However, one of the "problems" with a 914 stock system is that the location of the shifter relative to the gear you're in is very "vague". The Rennshift, at least for me, eliminates much of that. And for racing, it's great because it has a manual reverse lock-out, so you'll never accidentaly try to shift into reverse.

Basically, it takes the guess work out of shifting, and for racing, that saves you tons of time....

Oh, and just so everyone knows, I have no affiliation with Rennsift of JW West. I, like all of you, tried it out because I read good things about it. there are a lot of adjustments you can make, so it takes a little time to get it working the way you like it (different spring tensions, throw distance forward/back AND left right, etc). 3 people have driven my cars with it in, and all have since purchased it. (maybe I should start asking for commissions from JW West?)

skl

Trying to install Rennshift on 914 side shifter- had it on and off a dozen times and I can't seem to get it to center on the 2-3 shift. It centers on the reverse-1st shift line and doesn't get close to the lockout for reverse. No way I can get close to 4-5 if I wanted to... JWest is closed till the 21st unfortunately. Hopefully something simple I'm just overlooking...
It goes straight up to reverse and down to first from the center position...


Any ideas out there???

skl

Took apart the whole linkage all the way to the back and greased and tightened everything- put some pre-load on the linkage in back so it would line up on the 2-3 plane and put it together. After some strraightforward adjustments it now shifts very nicely, especially the 1-2 shift past the reverse lockout. The shifter has some "heft" to it and feels much more substantial than the vague OEM shifter. Will drive it like this for a while to see if I want to spend the $$ on the linkage kit.
Changed oil and transaxle oil at the same time- what a messy job!! It's ready for spring, FINALLY!!!
I'll take some pix and post later...

skl

Installed and working!

Jay Gratton

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! Nothing like a easy to shift 914 huh?