Mark in Baltimore

Good question, Grant. Yes, scruts sometimes stand by certain turns and see where the shifting occurs, especially if someone is thought to be in possession of a special gearbox.

gr8nine93

As to the charts which I JUST knew were going to be posted, I will not argue if yoiu wind first out till it feels like the rubber band is going to break you might just be at enough RPM that when yoiu shift into second it will not fall on its face. But who wants to drive like that. If I just drive moderately and shift at 4500-5000 into second I am on the power band. Do that with a stock gb and like someone said it is like a Corolla! I spoke off line with Steve and he convinced me that charts are just so much ink on a piece of paper. Soon as the strip opens I will post my times here and I will be interested in what someone with a stock box turns REALLY, not on paper. As to using www.realmeangarage.com ----even tho he is 600 miles away, Bob Grigsby and gang have worked on my P-cars for over 20 yrs and it was always done right the first time. Besides there are only three shops in Oregon I would trust. One also does BMW, Mazzerattis and other exotics. I want someone who is a P-car devotee, so they are out and steve Weiner was too busy and ROTHSPORT was not really interested (too busy?) It is a great ride to SF on some nice two lane roads. And no, I have never drag raced a Pcar. This is a test...this is only a test

Juha G

I'm am with you on this one! The car feels so lively with the shorter gears just because you have so much more torque and HP available in each gear!
It is really a bliss to drive a 993 with short gears and exaclty as you said; there's no need to rev it all the way to 6500rpm to make the car move. With the shorter gears you can easily short shift at 4500-5000 and stil the car pulls very hard in each gear.

My earlier comment was just about the absolute acceleration, which I don't believe is greatly improved. That is more of a function of the vehicel weight and power, not gearing. All though it has an effect on that too.

For any nay sayers, just drive a car with shorter gears and you'll know what we are talking about! Anyone with a 993 with standard GB in florida is more than welcome to come and drive my car to see the difference. It's enourmous in terms of feel!

gr8nine93

Thanks for your support Juha. I have a turn that I go into from a stop sign on my usual route. Before I could blast thru with no problem shifting from first to second. NOw when I shift to second in the turn the car gets a little sideways and I have to be careful AND I have LSD. It seems to me this a simple matter of math. The gearing leverage to move a certain mass (the car) is greater with the lower gears. I had a Corvette that would almost do wheel stands (1968) and I it could beat most small blocks to 60 mph tho others would gain everytime I shifted---but it ran at 4500 rpm at 70 mph. Not really practical. Even if I am all wet and have been suckered into doing something that is complete BS, the grin factor is well worth it. How were these charts caculated? Sliderule?

Juha G

The short gears are definately not bull****. In my opinion this is how the car should've come from the factory!

The car feels very lively and I love it! It is also very good for the track use. However if you are looking to just better the cars performance in straight line, this is not the best way to do that.
I just run with a friends mildly modified 993. The biggest differences between our cars is that he has stock US spec gears and I have short gears.
He could pull on me just because his car weighs about 150lbs less than mine.
The gears help me a little but that is insignificant when you start comparing the power to weight ratios of the two cars.

No need to question if the upgrade was worth it, just take look at the rear view mirror and see how wide your smile is when you blast trough the gears!

Edit: you also mentioned the leverage, that is what is also really helping. Your drive ratio will be reduced with the shorter gears which means you are putting more torque and hp to the ground than with longer gears. That together with the fact that you allways end up in the sweet spot of the power band gives you the lively feel!

cgfen

i was recently in Zuffenhausen chattng with one of the sales dudes in the "special wishes" group.
when i told him about which 993 i had, his first comment was, " ahh too bad, you have the one with the high gear box, you should change to RS spec".

be safe

craig

Jastx

Sounds great gr8nine93. One of the reasons I sold my '98 C4S was that for the street driving I did, I felt like I had a two speed transmission -- it was geared for speeds I never drove and I spent most of my time in 2nd gear and 3rd. It just wasn't fun. It sounds like your solution works.

Cactus

Damn you people...I want a regear now!

GrantG

Yeah, it is interesting that for a 911's first 6-speed gearbox (not including 959) that they came up with such a lousy spread of ratios. I guess it was better in Europe...

TRINITONY

Me too!

Damm it, I drive a slusbox.

Cactus

Kind of reminds me of my jump from a GSXR 600 to a 750. The 7 had about 20 more HP but the 6 was more fun in the twisties cuz I would wind it tight and you had to shift all the time to keep it in the powerband. We rode like hooligans and that is why I gave up riding altogether.

Tom W

I had my car regeared about 5 years ago when a transmission failure required it to be pulled and disassembled. Ya, it's more fun, but it is far from cheap (budget about $1k per gear). And don't forget about the inevitable "while you are in there" repairs and upgrades that you will be tempted to do once the engine and transmission are out of the car. Think $10k and up once you get it back together with the LWF, cleaned up tin, new plug wires, new motor and transmission mounts, etc.

gr8nine93

Jastx. I thought a lot aboiut an earlier model turbo but what swayed me was how much easier the 993 and other coil over cars are to drive. WHile I miss the occasional drift---I mean it is so easy to do in the older cars---I like not watching my *** end going down the road for moment of inattention. ANd yes it is not a cheap job---in fact each gear has gone up $100 in just the last couple of months---but what part of owning a p-car is cheap? It's not transportation. It's a hobby. Oh, and Tom W...engine does not need to come out of the car for this job. Also I elected not to go to LFW. Mine is a 95 and I have read too many opinions. I have driven a car with LFW and w/o and I am not sure one gains a heck of a lot. Did I mention how much I like the occasional WHINE of those Paul Guard gears. Sounds like a supercharger. This is my seventh P-car and I must concede that I do not own these cars. Like most of you, I have a relationship with them, which is why I keep in touch with the sellers and buyers of my Porsches---sometimes to my detriment. I am glad some of you are ready to make the leap. I think you will get your money out shouild you win the lottery and want a TT. Figure 20 hrs labor plus parts.

kb

Question for you gurus! When a 993 comes from the factory with a short gear shift kit, does the factory re-gear already or is the kit added to reduce the throw of the regular gear ratios? Thanks

Juha G

I think you're talking about two different things. The shifter linkage and it's geometry has nothing to do with the actual gearing of the car.
The shortshifter just reduces the travel of the shifter whereas re-gearing means you are actually changing the gears inside the gearbox.
Hope this helps!