USMC_DS1

Today we installed the B&M SSK in my '08 C2S. The car has 52K+ miles and the original shifter has always felt sloppy to me since I bought it at 45K miles last year. The gates were vague and the stop points would give a bit when I got it in gear... to the point where it would cause me to sometime hesitate in my shifts as I was unsure if I was all the way in the gate or not.

Based on the recommendation of a friend who was a Sr. Porsche mech at the p-dealer I purchased the B&M kit from Eric at BumperPlugs. http://www.bumperplugs.com/BMSSdetails.html BTW, Eric has a great promo price right now on it plus you could not find a nicer guy to do business with... BTW, I have no affiliation with BumperPlugs other than purchasing the B&M SSK.

My p-car mech buddy had done 5 of these B&M installs previously so we knocked out the project in ~30-45mins. The thing I noticed once we got the shift boot off and pulled out the original shifter was how cheap/plasticky it was compared to the B&M shifter. In contrast the B&M look liked a finely machined piece of artwork. Even the bushings were of billeted aluminum vs. the OEM plastic tabs. The new SSK had an adjustment bolt which allows you to fine tune how sloppy to tight the shifter feels. I elected to tighten my shifter enough to have zero free play. The B&M kit came with an excellent set of DIY instructions so I'll dispense with doing a DIY write up on this install. Note, however, that to get the shift **** to "pop" into place on the shift rod we had to use a rubber mallet for it to set in place... a light tap did the trick.

Now for the test drive. 1st thing I noticed was that each gate was distinct and had a definitive stop. No doubts about which gear I was in, nor where the gate stopped... like hitting a thick metal plate at the end of the shift. Going into 1st gear was nice and easy... now here's the beautiful part of this thing. As I rev'd up to 5-6K RPM in 1st gear then shifted to 2nd I noted a short, quick, and distinct snitch into the 2nd gear gate with another definite stop... I knew then exactly when to romp on the gas again w/o hesitation. I'm certain my 0-60 times have improved. The remaining gates from 3rd thru 6th gear had similar affects.

This is by far one of the cheapest and best mods I've made to the car. My shift points are now quick and efficient. More importantly the car shifts like a true sports car should... I know the 911 is not an exotic but with this shifter it feels like one. It's now a distinctly different car. +1000 on this mod... minimum spend for maximum gain.

JasonKM

I would agree. I did the same recently on my 2007 C4S and I would agree the best mod for the price. I also sourced mine from Eric a while back

pissedpuppy

OEM SSK is also made by B&M, right?

does it feel notchy, or clunky at all?

USMC_DS1

Not sure if the OEM SSK is build by B&M. I've never actually seen the Porsche SSK but my Porsche mech friend had seen plenty of both types. We discussed the differences a bit during the install. Take it with a grain of salt as he recommended the B&M over the OEM SSK to me. This is per my buddy... Apparently the Porsche SSK is a modified version of the standard shifter... similar parts to OEM shifter but with a shorter shifter. The B&M SSK, however, uses completely different build materials - all metal... here's a pic of the OEM shifter. Compare it with the pic from the link to the B&M. Night and day difference. Sorry I did not take a pic of my actual unit... the install just went much faster then I expected.


To be honest... I was a little concerned at 1st because of some reviews which noted the B&M as being too notchy/clunky. But since it's tunable I figured it was a matter of just finding the right setting for my preference. In practice that is exactly what happened... it's subjective but I'd say the shifter is now tuned perfect for me. No slop, clean 1-6 gear gate contacts, and the perfect human-machine connection. BTW, 2nd to 1st gear down shifts were not hampered while the car was still moving. My buddy commented that he's had one customers ask for completely loose throws and that's the beauty of this thing... you can adjust it to your liking. I'm so impressed by this mod. In hind sight this should have been my 1st mod not my last. The car is so much more enjoyable. It now feels worthy of it's original $100K list price. I can't believe that Porsche cheap'd out on this critical part of the car with the original shifter... but I think they were just trying to appeal to the mass of the market. I could see how a B&M shifter might intimidate some if it was setup like my car... it's assertive. You have to shift with authority... no lazy throws in this car anymore.

krysFly

Great mod, along with gundo hack, it's one of the cheapest, most rewarding upgrades.

Eric - Plug Guy

Glad it all came together well.

B&M used to make the Porsche branded shifter, then from my understanding, Porsche brought it in house a few years back (cheaper, I guess).

Still, I love the B&M unit and with a 1 million mile warranty, there's a reason so do so many other Porsche owners. The P unit is good, no question, but the B&M is a great upgrade from stock.

Rocco07

I purchased a 2007 C2S about a year and a half ago. After a few weeks of driving I became annoyed with the shifter. It was notchy with all the gears and noisy when it came out of second into third. It sounded almost like a muffled pop inside the center console. It was apparently abnormal. I took it to the Porsche dealership and to my surprise there was an aftermarket SSK installed. The car was a CPO car and was not supposed to have aftermarket parts in it. I made them remove it, fearing warranty issues later. They replaced it with a factory unit. When they returned the car to me, it had the B&M sitting on the floor.

About a month ago, I traded the 07 in on a 2010. I thought I try the shifter in that car what the heck, it was free. It took me about 3 hours to do the swap. I was gingerly taking things apart, being careful not to break or damage anything. After reassembly, I then drove it around for a day and again determined I didn't like it. The throw reduction was very noticeable and It made less noise but still seemed to want to "pop" in and out of gears. I couldn't accept the trade-off between short throw and smoothness. I swapped it back to stock in about 45 minutes this time. Practice makes perfect.

USMC_DS1

Shifter feel just like exhaust note can be very subject... I don't think this shifter would be a fit for everyone but it's perfect for my taste. BTW, if you do install it yourself make sure to use the lithium grease and apply liberally to all contact points. Ensure that you've marked the shifter cables per the instructions as the P-car shifter alignment tool is not calibrated for the B&M shifter kit. All this is well documented in the B&M instructions but it was very helpful to have a p-car mech who had install several of these on hand. I suspect tuning/adjusting the shifter feel is the trickiest part of the projects. But with my buddies know who... I just described to him what I was looking for re shifter feel and he got it right on the 1st setting. Perhaps after running it as is over several months I might want to go back in and fine tune it some more but for now it's a huge improvement over what I had originally.

One last note, the B&M kit uses the existing Porsche shifter frame. So you'll have to cut out the original plastic bushings holding the original p-car shifter to the frame to get it out. So if you decide afterwards to revert back to the p-car shifter instead of using the B&M... make sure you order new replacement bushing to re-install the original shifter.

pissedpuppy

Q for Eric and the OP, concerning the tunability fo the B&M unit, if it were purchased, and one subsequently went to their indy for the install, if you're not there to actually work with the mechanic - is it safe to assume you get whatever adjustment setting they install???

is the stealership the right guy to go to for install? or any suggestions for someone in SF???

USMC_DS1

Find someone who has installed it several times previously. I assume the p-dealer would only use the Porsche SSK but apparently the B&M was a standard billable project for them. Being tunable is good but it can also be bad if it's not done towards your own liking. The good thing is that tuning is easy... as you just turn the center bolt back and forth to adjust how tight you want the shifter to be then lock it down in position with a nut. To reference the installer's initial setting as provided to you... you could mark with a permanent pen where the adjustment bolt rest against the frame... then back out the lock down nut and adjust the bolt towards your liking.

Rocco07

Really the hardest part is disassembling the interior. Obviously you want to take your time and avoid breaking any clips or marring surfaces. Once the center console is out, it's literally a ten minute job. I'd put the car in neutral and then mark the metal rods where they meet the ball connectors. Once the cables are snapped out, they don't go out of position. As long as you line the marks back up, the shifter will go right back to the neutral position.
The adjustment part is really just a front-to-back bearing free play adjustment, single axis. But, the instructions do indicate to leave it 1/4-1/2 turn loose due to heat expansion or you may get some binding.