Shifting from 1st to 2nd gear seems rough and notchy? Appreciate any feedback .

 

yup, they do that. tons of threads on this you can search for.

 

Is there a solution?

 

they are all that way, especially when cold. I tend to shift slowly into second, and don't go down to 1st until stopped- until warmed up. I've had some improvement in my last 997 by switching gear oil to PBX (??? I think - search for the exact stuff). I'm just used to it after driving 997's for 9 years. just don't force it into gear, as you'll risk breaking shifter cables. if it wont shift into first while at a stoplight, just let it roll forward an inch or two and it'll go, or select neutral and let the clutch out, then in, and it'll sync up. I, like so many here, have come to admire this common quirk as a beauty mark on the face of a beautiful trans.

 

When cold 1st to 2nd can be a thing. Changing the gear oil and installing numeric shifter and cable have all but eliminated the issue for me.

 

The first and second gear synchros are steel since they see the most use and why they feel different. Shift slowly when cold. Replace the gear oil with Mobilibe PTX - do not use anything else no matter how much you love another company's lubricants. PTX is the best for these transmissions and will minimize the notchiness and allow it to go into 1st at a stop as well.

 

I’ve just purchased the PTX fluid to do this myself but haven’t gotten around to it yet. It seems the only place you can get it is Suncoast? It’s not cheap but it seems to be universally agreed upon in this forum that it’s the best thing for alleviating this issue so I went with it!

 

let us know how it works out for ya, did mine, helped a little but did not alleviate it

 

I've changed out the transmission oil for new Mobilube and it didn't change anything.

The only thing that came close to fixing it for me was installing Numeric Racing shifter cables, and shifter. When a synchro doesn't fully match up in speed during a shift, it will kick-back a bit and then lead to a bit of a "grinding" feeling. The rubber bushings in the OEM cables allow for this kick-back. The solid Numeric cables do not, and so long as you keep some mild force on the shifter, the kick-back can't happen so you don't get any grinding. Does it fix it 100%? No - it can still be slightly notchy, require slightly more muscle to get into second, but it won't grind anymore and the notchiness will be reduced. There is no real 100% fix to the 1-2 shift on these transmissions due to the steel synchros and the design of the gearbox. However, the transmissions are bullet proof and never have failure issues that I have ever heard of and I think that's a fair trade-off for a notchy 1-2 shift when cold.

 

Even though this topic has been addressed many times, my 06 C2S with only 14K somewhat had crunchy 1st and 2nd when it was cold then later went away as the car warmed up. I found out about Mobilube PTX (Porsche uses 3 different transmission fluids and owners/dealers have often mistaken specific ones for specific models) and replaced the fluid with that. The gear shifts did get smoother but now that I'm at 22K miles, I've starting to notice that sometimes, there is resistance going it gears. I checked my tail pipes and there is some sagging. I believe it's time for the motor mounts to be replaced.

Without knowing your mileage and service history, I would look into the PTX fluid, engine and transmission mounts then the shifter cable and console. Motor mounts are considered wear items and often overlooked.

 

From Rennlist and other places here is my take-away

occasional can’t get into 1st gear issues
Change gear oil MUCH earlier than the official recommendation
PTX seems the holy grail, Shell Spirax S5 ATE possibly second

1st-to-2nd crunch when cold
related to gear oil as well, possibly add LiquiMoly MoS2

Changed Gear Oil last year at 44k mls for the first time, things improved,
used another brand tho, this year will change to Spirax S5 (done, good)
next year possibly going to PTX and just get that 20l box and be done ....

Klaus