My little custom shift knob project
 

For quite a few years now I've been a big fan of simple ball-shaped shift knobs. I've used a leather/aluminum C2S shift knob on my current cab for the past 2.5 years and while it's not a bad solution it has several issues. One is that it's ungodly expensive. Second is that I don't like the aluminum/plastic, the insert on top and, more importantly, I'm not a fan of single-piece shift knob and a boot. My inspiration and desired end result had been the Voodoo shift knob, something I've used on my Miata for the last 9 years and love dearly: http://www.thompson-automotive.com/voodoo.html So with that in mind I've set out on this little adventure.

Two separate pieces needed to be sourced. One is, of course, the shift knob itself. I've spoken to Voodoo and their resellers. The issue there is that Voodoo is threaded inside for Miatas and some other cars and it will not fit on the Porsche's flat shift rod. There are a number of other ball knobs on the market of assorted weights, sizes and quality. For the sake of convenience I've settled on readily available well weighed and right-sized for my hand Rennline shift knob: http://www.rennline.com/Rennline-Alu...uctinfo/I14.1/ The other piece, of course, is a shifter boot. This is a slightly more difficult proposition. You can buy a stock piece from Porsche, remembering that rootwood-optioned car came with a shift boot separate from the rootwood shift knob (the rest of non-RS 993s had a single-piece design that incorporated the knob into the boot's leather portion).

Again, relying on my Miata experience I've spoken to the excellent leather good supplier, RedlineGoods: http://www.redlinegoods.com This is a Poland-based company that's been making leather boots and assorted other small parts for Miata and other cars for at least 10 years in my memory. I have a couple of their pieces and like the quality quite a lot. So I spoke to them and we decided to make a custom boot for a 993. I've sent them an old ratty boot that I had, They made the template, created the new boot for me in my choice of leather and stitching colors, sewed in my old boot frame to the bottom and sent it to me (all in about 2 weeks total time). So, below are some pics and thoughts on the end results:

1. This is what the C2S shifter looked like in my car.

http://www.mikest.com/Cars/ShifterProject1.jpg

2. Removal of center console is fairly simple and well described on p-cars.com DYI. Be careful with 2 clips, don't break the plastic they are attached to:

http://www.mikest.com/Cars/ShifterProject2.jpg

3. Installation is the reverse of removal.

http://www.mikest.com/Cars/ShifterProject3.jpg

4. End product.

http://www.mikest.com/Cars/ShifterProject4.jpg

My conclusions:

1. The quality of both Rennline knob and RedlineGoods leather shift boot is excellent in my opinion.
2. The Rennline knob ends up sitting a bit low for my taste. I do have a short shifter in the car so this is part of the height reduction. But I would probably be looking further into getting a custom knob made.
3. I am not a fan of metal. It's damn cold in Boston and I drive 993 car year around. As much as I love the solid feel, I'll be looking at other materials, probably wood, possibly something else. At the same time I'd like to have a knob made to sit slightly higher on the shift lever.

So, while this is not a completed project for me, this is a good enough intermittent result to present it here. For those curious, the cost of RedlineGoods shifter boot should be in $50 range (btw, this is not the same company that did our steering wheels). The knob should end up in $50-60 range depending on materials, customization, etc. So my goal of keeping the price reasonable (i.e. around $100 total) should be met. And this is certainly a better solution that assorted plastic Porsche-priced OEM sifters.

Questions and thoughts are welcome, of course. Fire away.

I think the boot looks terrific and am amazed that the work only cost $50! Like you, I'm a little iffy on the metal shifter knob. I found a great leather Momo knob for my old 3.2L that would look great with your boot. I don't think I have a pic anywhere but I'll see if I can find one on the interblag.

I have the Rennline knob and I love it. It feels remarkably better than the old stock jobby.

Agree it is sitting too low which makes it appear very stubby right now. This contributes to making it look more suited to a Japanese sports car IMO like Miata, Honda S2K, Nissan Z etc. Feel of the knob is so subjective so whatever is most comfortable for you is the way to go.

Personally I really like the C2S knob esp the feel - ergonomics wise it feels just right and look wise it's period correct and so 993.

The voodoo hands down looks best on a Ferrari and the Rennline appears to work well on modern p-cars, strictly from an appearance point of view. I've yet to actually try them out.

My issue with C2S knob has been that it's not smooth. The insert, the transition between leather en sluminum (or plastic) all introduce edges that I don't like. Voodoo, in my opinion, looks absolutely right in a Miata. And could look good on a 993. So could a golf-ball like VW knob that was actually also used on earlier 911s. But again, I like them smooth.

I will pull the Rennline knob up and see if it it remains stable. Just like the C2S knob it's held by a set screw, so we'll see.

I have an aftermarket titanium shift knob for a Ferrari that is threaded. I've thought of an adapter, then thought that the knob would be too high - like an old VW bus:). With the short shifter, it may be just right. hmmmm

The short shifter doesn't change the knob height all that much (my guess is 1/2" or less depending on the mechanism if the stock shifter rod is still used). What's important is how deep the knob is drilled. Rennline seems to be drilled almost all the way to the top. C2S knob, of course, has a rubber insert that limits the travel down the rod quite a lot - that's why it seats higher.

Here's a little pic of an adapter that I'm thinking of having made to accommodate a whole bunch of different knobs.

Looks good, very similar to my set up that I have with the titanium voodoo knob...nice job!

Could you shoot a pic of your Voodoo in a 993? How did you manage to attach it to the shifter rod?

Mike- so if I have the root wood shifter in my car and separate boot? you are saying that something like the 917 knob you pictured above and proposed adaptor may work?

Justin, yes, in my opinion it should work just fine. Your rootwood shifter is attached by a set screw under the boot.

You are correct about that... I remember having to tighten it a few years a go or more. Maybe a 5mm allen bolt.
I've always liked the 917 shift knob... I'd either do that or the black ball knob that is on the singer 911 if I could get my hands on something like that
I'm interested if you make the adaptor

Well, my issue with 917 knob is that it's "balsa wood" (and in reality it's poplar plywood from what I could gather). Both are very light. In my opinion the knob needs to be well weighted, especially on a somewhat notchy Porsche transmissions.

I did read somewhere that PartsHeaven has some sort of an adapter already build. It needs to be slightly modified but is close enough. I'll try to contact them and see.

Nice^
what you said makes sense about weight
as much as I like the 917 shift knob, i'd really like something that looked like this...
http://files2.porsche.com/filestore....8-40e7bcedbace
It's not that the root wood knob and break look bad on my car, they actually look pretty good with the red interior, but I don't like the shape of the knob. I'd rather have a ball shape shifter.

I'm very happy with my stock X97 shifter. My concern with that aluminum one is how hot it will get in the summer...