Biff trout

Just installed the 981-424-010-20 shifter today in my 991.2 C4S.


Observations:

1) As others have pointed out, the SOLE differences between the stock 918-424-010-10 shifter and the 981-424-010-20 short shifter are: All other internal parts measure identically; i.e. there is no change in bracket length below the pivots; only the change above the pivots resulting from the shorter shift rod.

2) Installation took 90 minutes going slow. I have PIWIS so had instructions printed and in order in the car. First time working on P-car (first P-car too) so took it slow on things like prying out covers, switches, etc.

3) Even though PIWIS says to disconnect the PCM, I did not do so as only reason that PCM needs to be removed is to remove the AC control which takes about 10 sec. to remove. Instead, I laid a towel over the front edge of the dash and another on the now bare shifter rod, then 'hooked' the PCM (it is 'L' shaped when viewed from the side) on the dash and held it there with left arm while I removed the AC control and unplugged it. After removing the AC control, I slid the PCM back into place.

4) The red plastic part that ships with the shifter is a Porsche Workshop Tool - #9646 Locking bridge and it is used to install the shifter in proper adjustment. Although I marked the shift rods as others have recommended, I followed PIWIS instructions which were:5) In the installation video posted by the gent who uses a butter knife and spatula to remove trim, he broke the two snap in wire ties while trying to remove them from the stock shifter. This can be avoided by taking the following steps6) To all those who find removing the shift **** difficult or an eye blackening experience, you are likely doing it wrong. Correct steps to remove the **** are:7) End result of the installationPS-Heavier shift **** will not assist with effort needed to overcome the spring. In theory, it will slow down your shifts given that effort required to move stock lightweight **** times increased mass of heavier **** will yield slower acceleration of the heavier **** through the shift gates CONVERSELY to achieve same speed through the shift gates, you will need to increase effort twofold – added effort needed to overcome added spring of short shifter PLUS added effort needed to accelerate the heavier shift **** through shift gates at same speed as lighter stock ****.

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Regards,

BIFF

Needsdecaf

Great write up, thanks. It really is a great mod.

GregD

Still somewhat confused about the effect of this mod in relation to a money shift, as intimated elsewhere - in other threads.... if the spring is indeed stronger on the left-right plane, getting out of 7th or 5th would pull you with more strength towards neutral which is the 3rd/4th plane...

So with that mod, you "could" more easily miss a downshift from 7->6 and get pulled into 4th (no good) or even miss your simple 5->6 upshift (and nab 4th instead). Seems it does the exact opposite of what I'd want, but I get this is a short shift mod, not a "shift pattern improver" mod ;-) Wondering if we can get more opinions on people who did it re: money shifts. I've asked before, sorry if I'm nagging ;-)

My 7MT still feels like this:

9914s

^^^ I don't think the money shift will ever be a problem. On the track you will never use sixth gear and on every day driving the red line on fourth gear is high enough to put you on triple digits speed safely.

GregD

I hear you, but kinda... I've got 7th mastered now (i largely ignore it), but on occasion if I push in fifth and go for 6th and grab 4th (it's happened twice), it's unpleasant.. On track I think that could do the job of a money shift, depends on which track (sebring for sure, Thunderhill not so much) I've caught myself before the clutch is totally released so I've never seen the revs it would give me... At that point I should point out I've owned like 20 manuals cars and I can count missed shifts over 25+ years on *one* finger... until I got the 7MT 991 and I've already done that 5th -> 4th twice because that whole linkage feels effing weird in the 5-6-7 area - it's like the bermuda triangle out there

That's the main reason I'm annoyed my car only displays the gear after the clutch is released, unlike others with more more chrono options I guess... 5-6..

Joec500

On the tracks I drive on, I typically stay in 2nd/3rd/4th

GTSwest

well said, 4th -5th can be messy - certainly not the precise shift experience one would expect from Porsche.

I too would be very interested if other rennlisters with the mod feel it improves this relationship.

Needsdecaf

It's hard to explain. But the stiffer spring forces you to be more deliberate and use more control with your shifts. That ends up helping your precision.

Joec500

I actually feel that the weight of the classic shift **** adds more control to shifting over the stock ****. I can't speak of "speed" of shifting, but subjectively it feels better and more smooth.

Biff trout

Ditto what Needsdecaf says.

As far as coming out of 7th and going into 4th is concerned, I am only in 7th on highways and I let shifter self guide to neutral then move to 6th, 5th or 4th depending on circumstances. 7th gear lockout engages when shifter goes to neutral allowing easy shifts into 5th or 6th.

Regards,

BIFF

Chris C.

Downshifts from 7 are the biggest gotchya, which would be very unlikely on a track.

Its not hard to upshift from 5-6, doubt that will be an issue. Just learn to emphasize right-ward pressure.

My car displays the gear selection before releasing the clutch - but I do have sport chrono.

I see only upside to this mod - the vagueness of the gear slots before the Gt4 shifter would not be your friend on a track either.

chrisgo

Just purchased a used 991 (2014 C4). How can you tell if it has the SSK or factory?

freeman

I have contemplated a short-shift install on my 2015 991 GTS. However, given I have the same complaints with the stock shifter that others have with the short shifter, I am glad I resisted the temptation. The best short shift I have ever driven was when I was pursing my wife-to-be. She had a 1966 MGB with the smoothest shifter I have ever felt. However, that is the only positive thing I can say about a 1966 MGB.

Joec500

I have a short shifter sitting around if anyone needs one. It's in perfect condition.

JoeB3

Wanted to share my experience on installing this short shift kit, albeit in a 982 (not a 911). Amazing how many parts carryover between my 718GTS and 911's - especially on the interior. After reading all the valuable info on this thread, some additional content on the 718Forum and many YouTube videos... it was a success. Little details like @Biff trout adding steps to salvage the wire harness clips on the shift mount are priceless in forums like this. One clarification i wanted to make on my installation, in Biff's step by step post on lines 5b) and 5c) he recommended using a 3/32 socket to recess the fins on the underside of the harness retaining clips to pull them back up through the mount. 3/32 didn't work for me - was much too small for the clips used on my model. i crept up the socket set and found that the 7/32 worked in my instance. i mentioned that recommendation in the 718 forum and got praise for it, but Biff is actually to credit.

I probably spent about 2 1/2 hours on the entire project. 75% of my time (no exaggeration) was on removing the trim. Do yourself a favor and get a few decent auto trim removal tools from Amazon before proceeding. Mine were cheesy and didn’t work well - but you CAN’T safely use a screwdriver without the risk of marring or cracking a piece of plastic so it took WAY longer than it should have for me. I was probably over-paranoid about damaging the console trim since it’s carbon fiber. If it weren’t for the prolonged trim removal I would have been complete in less than 20 mins.

Something else I did that may help others especially if you had difficulty removing the trim… I put the PCM, AC controller, and all of the other components back in after installing the shifter - but did not close it all back up with the trim yet. Took it for a test drive to make sure everything was working the way it was supposed to before I put the final three pieces of trim back on. I didn’t want to wrestle with those again if something wasn’t working right!!!!

It’s a nice change. Worth the DIY install. Honestly don’t know if it would be worth it to me if I had paid and additional $500 for Porsche installation. i don't know that i feel $800 worth of difference if i paid for the porsche service guys to do it-haha, but i do like it. pleased i did it. Thanks for all of feedback and responses above which led to my success. Lots of help!