I encountered another 986 owner at a gas station today, a guy from the Tri-Cities with a silver '99. He said had just installed a short-shift kit and was delighted with it. It caught my interest because I'll be removing the center console to repaint it, and I figure it would be an ideal time to upgrade my shifter. He'd bought an economical kit from Amazon for about sixty bucks:
https://www.amazon.com/PQYRACING-Short-Shifter-Porsche-Boxster/dp/B07HG21BR6
He said while the Amazon kit might not be quite as good as an expensive one it is nevertheless much better than the stock unit. It comes down to how much you want to spend for a marginally better shift kit.
The folks around here seem big on this one, which sells for $160:
https://www.uniwerksdesign.com/product/bens-porsche-996-986-short-shifter
Has anyone installed one of the Amazon kits and been displeased with it? Or are folks giving this short shifter short shrift?