Not spiller, but I installed one in mine last year. It’s plug and play and feels great.

 

Yes. p/n is 997.424.010.91A, about 15% shorter throw than the OEM 996 GT3 shifter or the cup shifter. It also has metal bushings.
Consensus seems to be to avoid short shifters as they can be quite notchy. This one is NOT the 997 GT3 short shifter, which is something like 30% shorter than standard.
Another consensus is that the 996 cup shifter and cup cables are a great upgrade, but you can't get the cup shifter anymore, and I think even the cables are getting tough to find.
I got my 997.2 GT3 shifter and cup cables from Carnewal a couple years ago.

 

The SHIFT-RIGHT Solution will replace the following in the OEM shifter cradle. Think of it as a smoother and more precise 996 Cup or 997.2 GT3 shifter:
- Front and Rear Bushings: Replaced with aluminum housed ball bearings - high load capacity, and all end-play is preloaded out of them.
- Yoke (the white triangular piece that translates lateral movement): Replaced with aluminum unit that pivots on ball bearings - eliminates loss of movement in side-side shift lever action.
- Yoke Bushing (the block piece that slides within the Yoke's slot): Replaced with Delrin block - eliminates premature wear of metal on metal slide interface, and tolerance is matched to Yoke slot for a tight slip-fit.

Here's my recommendation to address the sloppy and loose feeling OEM shifter:
- If you like your shifter throw and just want to tighten everything up, install SHIFT-RIGHT into your existing 996 unit. (Personal Note: I am happy with the 996 shifter throw in my 997 GT3. The reduced throw of the 997 shifter can feel like I'm "rushing" the synchros, but that's a matter of driving preference and personal opinion.)
- If you want the shorter throw of the 997 (as stated above - 15% reduction), buy any standard throw 987 or 997 shifter off eBay and refresh it with a SHIFT-RIGHT kit.

 

^^ as above.

Another point: if you are planning on using Cup or Numeric cables in addition, I believe stiffer engine and transmission mounts are needed to reduce notchy shift feel at “around town”. The more direct feeling of the cup/numeric cables + the FF shift right expose the sloppy factory mounts IMO. I have Torque Solution engine mounts and their street density trans mount inserts and they definitely smoothed things out. My car only has 20K miles and the factory mounts were still in great condition. FF does a trans mount insert too.

 

I have a Cup shifter and cup cables in my Mk1 CS with the factory LWFW.

NVH is off the charts - I get both the flywheel chatter in neutral, as well as transmission hum, but it's a GT3 which only sees spirited driving and track time.

On a daily the low thrum transmitted in the cabin between 1500-2500rpm in higher gear would soon turn from a "cool race car feel" to a pain in the ear drums.

Overall, it's a brilliant update, but not for everyone and not for every occasion.

 

This is a great thread regarding shifter / tranny overhaul. Lots of good Info. I have a 996 C4s with 80k miles and the 2nd gear synchro going (purchased july '22). Since I don't know how long I'm keeping the car, I'm looking at what buys me some time before doing a full re-build at G-Box or somewhere similar (save that for another discussion). My shifter is definitely showing the most issues into 2nd gear as one would assume with my synchro. I've bought a used 997.2 shifter and the FF SRS without the upgraded cables. I plan to have the engine mounts replaced assuming they are likely original, or, if not, also part of the problem. Also plan to have the tranny fluid replaced as well as both front and rear differential fluid. Will report back the results for the group in a month or so when all done. @spiller -- did you notice a big improvement in your shift functionality with the new cables? Any other recommendations for someone in my position? I don't intend to track my car, maybe Autox. At the moment I just want to get the shifting into 2nd and other gears as smooth as possible and not incur anymore noise or vibration in the cabin. Engine MOunt recommendations appreciated also.

thanks

 

I fitted 997 GT2RS engine mounts to my 6.2 GT3; Part number 99737504991, replacing 99337504996. The 993 (original) mounts had elongated by roughly 1/2" inch and I had the usual passenger seat shake. The GT2RS mounts raised the tips back up and made it smoother. I also did the 997 transmission mount and Powerflex Yellow insert, and I also have the 7.2 GT3 shifter & cables. The cables made the smallest difference, but the design of the gearbox end is more robust imho.

 

Question to @Function-First - with a 7.2 shifter already installed, what benefit would I get if I were to replace the plastic yoke part with the "Shift Right" billet piece?

 

The billet yoke will eliminate most to all of the side-side free play from the shifter.
Buy I only offer the kit as a whole (fore/aft bearings and lateral yoke), as there's a lot to gain with the fore/aft bearings, even comparing with the 997.2 GT3 with metal bushings. There's actually a decent amount of fore/aft flex and some free play with those bushings, since they can't be preloaded to eliminate that movement, unlike the ball bearing mechanisms I utilize in the SHIFT-RIGHT kit that allow removing all the "wiggle".

Basically, to boil it down, shifts will feel a lot smoother and crisper and with no notchiness.

 

Really useful, thanks for the info - exactly what I was hoping to achieve. I like the throw of the 7.2 and it was certainly an improvement over the standard 986. part - but still there is some side to side movement I wanted to eliminate.

I'll pick up a spare 997 shifter & order the FF kit.

 

The cup cables do increase the shift effort quite a bit over stock. In my experience, they also really expose the sloppy factory engine and gearbox mounts. If you aren’t doing a lot of track work, they’re definitely over kill. My car is hardly a track car but sees a couple per year. I had a particularly set up in my previous 996 GT3 and was wanting to recreate the same recipe. For your application you might be better off with the function first cable ends which are designed to be fitted to the factory cables. Pair that with the shift right solution and you should have a very direct set up. Taking it further, either replace your tired mounts with new OEM or you can go aftermarket poly. I have torque solutions engine mounts and their transmission mount insert (street version) and there’s hardly any increase in NVH.

 

To add to this, you can also go with 964 RS engine mounts. That’s what I have (in both my cars) with zero complaints. Everything feels tight enough, but I also have a new 997 trans mount and new stock cables. We’ll see how it feels as those wear.

 

I have several Cup shifters and also a standard 996 shifter on the shelf which is identical to the Cup shifter minus the metal bushings. I'd like to swap in the FF metal bushings/bearings to the 996 shifter to do a side by side comparisson to the Cup set up. Do we get a rennlist discount on this?

Thanks!

 

That would be a great comparison. especially given your vast experiences with the Cup setup. Looking forward to hearing your review and thoughts!

(I don't have any special discounts at the moment. I try to price all my upgrades as fairly as possible, avoiding price increases with material cost fluctuations, which have been increasing this past year especially.)

 

I just did the Function First upgrade on mine. The car came with a 997 version shifter that the previous owner installed. It was ok and never felt as good as the GT3 version I had in previous cars. Swapped the kit in which was straight forward with the exception of me not having a snap ring pliers. It hits the sweet spot of how the shifter should feel and eliminates the end play on neutral that always felt kinda sloppy to me. Shifts now feel solid and precise.