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Adam · 05-30-2005, 02:38 PM

Well, I took the leap and installed a B&M Short Shift Kit on my boxster today and all I can say is I'm pissed off and very disappointed. I took my time and had my mechanically inclined father help me out on the project which ended up taking 2 1/2 hours not an hour as the intructions said. It is not exactly a snap to install....there are 51 steps in the instruction manual. First disappointment was with the instructions. They say the shift knob is held on by a 5mm bolt and in some cases a set screw on the 986. After tearing the face and top of my shift knob apart...that know does not fit back together as good as it once did we found no 5mm allen bolt or a set screw. As a last chanc resort I yanked on the shift knob and it did come off with a good tug. The knob is not bolted on as the instructions indicated but rather just a FRICTION FIT. After finally getting the thing on the car, I tried it out as it was parked in the garage and it was pretty bad. It moves smoothly from side to side when the stick is in neutral but but it takes a very big effort to get it into any gear now....but particulary first and reverse. I thought maybe the tranny just needed to be warm so I went for a 1/2 hour test drive to see if it would be any better. To my dismay it was HORRIBLE. The shifts are shorter but it feels like crap. It takes about 3X more effort to get into gear and the shift feel is terrible. I know other B&M users said there would be a slight increase in shift effort but this is rediculous. The 2-3 and 3-5 shifts are hard to hit and I had to shift very slow and deliberately for it to engage and hit the gate. There is also a clunking feel as you go into the 1st 3rd and 5th gear. On top of it all the shifter knob came loose as I was driving so it was moving up and down until I banged on it with my hand. I can't possibly see this as normal. I thought this B&M shifter was supposed to make the shifting better not worse. My dad and I are almost sure we installed it correctly but if anyone can give me any insight on why this is happening I would be very grateful because I'm about ready to rip the thing out of my car and throw it in the garbage. Sorry for the rant but this is very aggravating. Caveat Empor I guess.

05-30-2005, 02:38 PM	#1
Adam Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,033	Very disappointed in my B&M SSK Well, I took the leap and installed a B&M Short Shift Kit on my boxster today and all I can say is I'm pissed off and very disappointed. I took my time and had my mechanically inclined father help me out on the project which ended up taking 2 1/2 hours not an hour as the intructions said. It is not exactly a snap to install....there are 51 steps in the instruction manual. First disappointment was with the instructions. They say the shift knob is held on by a 5mm bolt and in some cases a set screw on the 986. After tearing the face and top of my shift knob apart...that know does not fit back together as good as it once did we found no 5mm allen bolt or a set screw. As a last chanc resort I yanked on the shift knob and it did come off with a good tug. The knob is not bolted on as the instructions indicated but rather just a FRICTION FIT. After finally getting the thing on the car, I tried it out as it was parked in the garage and it was pretty bad. It moves smoothly from side to side when the stick is in neutral but but it takes a very big effort to get it into any gear now....but particulary first and reverse. I thought maybe the tranny just needed to be warm so I went for a 1/2 hour test drive to see if it would be any better. To my dismay it was HORRIBLE. The shifts are shorter but it feels like crap. It takes about 3X more effort to get into gear and the shift feel is terrible. I know other B&M users said there would be a slight increase in shift effort but this is rediculous. The 2-3 and 3-5 shifts are hard to hit and I had to shift very slow and deliberately for it to engage and hit the gate. There is also a clunking feel as you go into the 1st 3rd and 5th gear. On top of it all the shifter knob came loose as I was driving so it was moving up and down until I banged on it with my hand. I can't possibly see this as normal. I thought this B&M shifter was supposed to make the shifting better not worse. My dad and I are almost sure we installed it correctly but if anyone can give me any insight on why this is happening I would be very grateful because I'm about ready to rip the thing out of my car and throw it in the garbage. Sorry for the rant but this is very aggravating. Caveat Empor I guess. __________________ '03 3.2L GuardsRed/Blk/Blk---6Spd Options: Litronics, 18" Carrera lights, Bose sound, Painted to match roll bars. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...Mautocross.jpg Last edited by Adam; 05-30-2005 at 03:05 PM.