porkster

Current setup is a C4S 997.2 with the whole Numeric setup - shifter, cables, and Heavy ***** inserts. On one hand, it's the peak setup for a manual 997, but when driving the car normally, sometimes it feels a bit too high effort for regular driving. My clutch was replaced only 5000 miles ago by the previous owner, but the pressure plate could also likely use a refresh as the clutch effort is very stiff. All in all, the whole driving experience is pretty tiring.

The extra odd sounds from the Numeric cables are also interesting. The high pitched jet whine is kind of neat, but the loose marbles in a can at certain low RPMs is rather annoying. The shop did their best to try to configure the cables it but the sounds still remain. The feeling of the shifter is indeed the mechanical rifle bolt feeling, but not sure if it's worth the tradeoff at this point.

Would OEM cables with Function First ends, combined with a new pressure plate for a lighter clutch pedal possibly be the magic middle ground?

Petza914

With an S self-adjusting clutch, your pedal effort should not be hard at all..something is wrong there. Pedal effort gets hard when they're almost worn out because of the way the self adjusting mechanism works. Maybe you have an issue with the clutch master or slave cylinder or the new pressure plate that was installed.

I have the OEM SSK. I have a set of Numeric cables in the parts cabinet for whenever the plastic ends on either car let go, but the more I read, am not sure if I'm going to use them and may just install new FF ends on my OEM cables as I really like the way the whole shifting experience with my car is right now - it's precise with a nice throw and doesn't require a lot of effort. I didn't really understand the "rifle bolt" feel until I drove someone else's 928 with a different transmission and shifter in it - it was super precise but required decent effort and wasn't as enjoyable.

997.2GTS

I'm about to do just that; install FF ends on OEM cables with a Numeric shifter, as I wish to try and tighten up the few mm slack I have, but retain the NVH of OEM cables. I think it's going to be the best middle ground.

Have you tried the shifter in other positions? Most likely the shop installed it on the middle setting but the lowest emulates Porsche throw and the highest (shortest) emulates more of a muscle car 'lever-in-gearbox' feeling shifter. I personally enjoy the lowest setting and won't return. It might relieve some of the 'rifle-bolt' feel on a longer throw.

stephen k

I recently decided between FF and Numeric's shifter + Cables and I ended up going with the following

New OEM Shifter Cables
FF-Solid Shifter Cable Ends
FF-Shift Right solution
New OEM Porsche SSK

I love the results. I have felt the Numeric and it was a clean shift action with a "rifle bolt" like action, but far too notchy for me and the gates are too short. I like my gates long and smooth and this is exactly the result I got.

I have also felt a stock shifter (non SSK) with numeric cables and a weighted shifter which felt pretty good and solid but also not notchy. The only downside is that there was some play in the shifter when pushed left to right.. Only matters if you are being super picky about it though. I still preferred this to the full numeric setup.

I also had a very stiff clutch so I did the following:

New Porsche Clutch
LWFW
New Slave Cylinder
New Throw Out bearing

and now it is not stiff anymore.. The combo of all the above makes a huge positive difference on the vehicle.

oalvarez

I can also speak to this. My car came with a Numeric shifter and Numeric shift cables installed. I did not care for the extra effort to shift, nor the "rubbing" trying to get the shifter into 5th gear, nor the cabin noise that the cables generated. I wasn't even a big fan of the rifle-bolt action like feel so I decided to purchase OEM shift cables to see how much of what I didn't like could be alleviated. Went over to the auto mechanic yesterday to look at the car post having the Bilstein coilovers installed and got my first feel of the OEM shift cable installation. Presto magico is all I have to say. The required force to shift into gears was gone, the shifting into each gear was much more smooth, and some of the rifle-bolt action feel was gone. I still yet to drive the car but I imagine that the cable whine will be gone as well.

997.2GTS

With my setup I have zero cable whine or rattle.

porkster

Yep, I have it on the tallest setting with the longest throws. It helps compared to the middle position but still high effort overall.

Did the slave cylinder come with the clutch kit or had to be purchased separately. Even in self adjusting clutches, I find they self adjust but get stiffer over time until you just get a brand new everything.

So you kept the actual numeric shifter (the large aluminum cage housing)? I wonder if the OEM cables wear out at all and I should pick up a new set or use the existing ones. My 997 has 88k so it is up there.

oalvarez

Correct....I kept the Numeric shifter with the hope that installing new cables would suffice. The OEM cables wear at the (transmission) end give their rubber/plastic construction, hence why many go the route of installing the Function First aluminum ends (which can be installed at any time, not just when replacing the cables). Helps the cable's longevity for sure.

skiracer

I did the same thing, but didn't need to replace the shifter cables as the car only had 10k miles on it. I also installed the heavy ***** into the OEM shifter, and the overall shift experience has improved dramatically. Still a little tricky getting into 2nd when cold but that's the only complaint. It's a great setup and like others I preferred to stay w/ OEM parts for key components.