I am considering the OEM short shifter for my 997.2 C2. My car needs a clutch and I asked the mechanic about installing a short shifter. He recommended NOT doing it as he said the short shifters screw with the syncros of the the trans and Porsche just sells them so they can sell you a new tranny later.

Thoughts?

 

Find a different mechanic! I have the Porsche short shifter on my car without issues. It's the driver that screws up the syncros, in most cases, not the shifter.

 

Short shifters do nothing at all to the synchros. The shifter itself is outside the trans.

You burn synchros by forcing the lever into a gear when it doesn't want to go (the gears aren't aligned or the revs don't match well).

A short shifter just makes it slightly more difficult to slot the gear accurately (because you have to use a little more force and it's a little less accurate (because 2mm move of your hand is 1mm of the far end of the gear lever instead of 2mm-->2mm).

So if you're confident slotting the gears and rev matching (meaning you never have to force the lever) and you're interested in shifting faster then a short shift kit may be worth a try. It's easily reversible.

 

Perhaps the mechanic was judging my shifting skills by my bad clutch and was really referring to short shifters and their increased potential for poor shifting?

BTW, I've been driving a stick for 35 years and never needed a clutch before except for my Honda with 120k miles on it in 1992.

Anyone in the LA area ever use Klaus at NARW (North American Racing Works)? He came highly recommended.

 

Get the numeric racing shifter. Great upgrade to the stock shifter!

 

+1... here's a comparison of the various shifters: OEM, B&M, and Numeric.
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...-1-of-5-a.html

 

Thanks for all of the info. @USMC_DS1 awesome comparison post!

 

If the short shifter encourages you to shift more quickly or forcefully, you will see faster synchro wear.

 

Glad it's of help satelles and GL with the shifter.

+1... I've heard this as well and logically it makes sense. Basically don't ever force the shift especially from 2nd to 1st and rev match your shifts. All things we should be doing anyways but the more aggressive/short the throw the more important it becomes to execute the shift properly. BTW, even the OEM shifter has this risk with an abusive driver behind the stick.



Satelles, the Numeric shifter has 3 positions(high, mid, low). The highest position feels slightly higher then the OEM stock shifter so maybe even less risky. Mid position feels slightly lower than OEM. And the lowest position is obviously the most aggressive requiring that we cut the carpet directly below to allow for enough clearance. I started with the Mid position for ~5 months then transitioned to the most aggressive position recently which I'll be keeping. It's quick and transformative in the new level of man/machine connectivity I'm experiencing recently. If there are real concerns re synchro wear then start at the highest/least aggressive position and practice until you feel comfortable(calibrate the foot, mind and machine) with the shifter. So why even get a Numeric if you don't use it as an SSK... even in the highest position the shifter is far tighter and more accurate then the OEM stock unit. My OEM unit was sloppy. I was second guessing my throws = increased risk of a wrong gear selection or "money shift". Another benefit... the installation of the Numeric forced me to tune(adjust the cable length) which has basically eliminated the stiffness in shifting from 2nd to 1st. I still catch myself quick shifting to 2nd then 1st now and then. Old habits die hard. Spending a few months in the mid position also helped me to transition from OEM like throw position to the most aggressive throw position. It's slicky smooth and accurate now. Makes me feel like a better driver than I should be.

re your p-tech... some p-techs are religious about only using OEM parts. Actually takes the guess work/research out of troubleshooting an issue and/or at least provides them with a fall back - Porsche. FWIW, Porsche used to OEM their shifters from B&M in the old days(993 and below I believe). But decided to fab their own with the 996 and beyond. It's also telling that Porsche provides their own SSK = more risk towards the synchros with the avg consumer. Surprisingly my local p-tech recommended the B&M over the Porsche SSK when I was about to purchase the p-SSK... and this is when he was working at our local p-dealer. FWIW, you're just as likely to have synchro issues with that p-SSK if you don't execute the throws properly. IMHO the Numeric has it all covered... at least until I find a 4th option that might be better. GL and keep us posted on your selection and findings.