Very disappointed in my B&M SSK - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

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.

Brucelee · 05-30-2005, 03:04 PM

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Adam · 05-30-2005, 03:15 PM

The reason I went with the B&M is because it has been around quite some time and virtually everyone here that has it was raving about how great an upgrade it was. You are right abou the hand position as well, it feels awkward now and unatural. The worst part is you have to cut off the OEM bushings in order to install the B&M and now I'm SOL because now I have to get another set of bushings from Germany or just use the OEM shifter with the B&M bushings and eat the cost of the shifter kit.

Brucelee · 05-30-2005, 03:42 PM

No returns on this BBK?

Adam · 05-30-2005, 04:06 PM

I can't return it or sell it until I get a new set of OEM bushings if that was what you meant.

eslai · 05-30-2005, 06:14 PM

Short shifters can be a mixed bag. I've installed a few different ones on various cars and generally I hate the way they feel. Sure, they shorten the throw, but they do increase shift effort. Especially if you're going to be doing a lot of rowing, like at a track, any extra effort is unwelcome.

But it shouldn't take THREE TIMES as much effort! Something is wrong and you should probably not drive the car until you find out what it is. I'm not familiar with anything on a Porsche tranny, but it sounds like you definitely have something installed incorrectly.

The bit about the shift knob (I'm looking at the instructions online right now) is that they're telling you to remove it, and they're saying that some cars have a set screw that takes a 5mm hex key. Vague of them, but not inaccurate--they should've said that it usually just pops off.

The installation looks pretty complex on the Boxster, but the one area where I could see problems cropping up is in the cable end adjustment. If you're feeling like the shifter is taking too much effort, I would guess that the end links are too loose or too tight. You should be able to shift easily with very little extra effort when the car is off.

Other than that, the "free play" adjustment they talk about with the set screw on the aluminum bushings could be an issue maybe...

Sorry, can't help you more than that without actually being there and playing with things.

lavsman · 05-31-2005, 01:57 PM

Hello Adam,

I think I know what the problem may be. In the B&M Instructions I do not believe that they mention to mark, using white out, the position of the of the 2 cable holders in conjunction to the shift cables to assure that when reassembling the assembly you maintain the already adjusted position. This position was done from the factory and if this adjustment changes, which is easy to do when installing the SSK, you can get a real crummy shift.

The Schnell SSK instructions do point this out. Although my opinion about the Schnell SSK is biased, as I am the sales manager of ****************************************.com authorized distributor of the Schnell product, I can say that the B&M SSK should not have a bad shift feeling, even though the Schnell is, by far, a better product

If you have any questions on adjusting your shifter you can always call our tech guys for assistance.

Hope this helps.

Vertex Automotive
Charles

98Boxster98 · 05-31-2005, 02:27 PM

Charles (lavsman) - your willingness to offer advice to someone who is using a product other than your own is to me the best kind of advertising you can do. That's the kind of place I want with whom I want to do business. I have a Porsche short shifter (B&M) with which I bought with the car and I am quite happy but I hope to do business with you in the future.

Brucelee · 05-31-2005, 02:37 PM

Thanks for helping out Charles! We appreciate it.

Adam · 05-31-2005, 03:00 PM

Thankyou Charles I appreciate the help. I actually did mark the cables with a permanant marker as the instructions said so that can't be it I guess. I'm thinking I'm just in the 5% that doesn't like the feel of the shift(the effort is just too labored and notchy/tight). My friend has a SSK in his 02 Altima and it is much much smother and even shorter yet(they are worlds apart so I know I'm not just a wimp or really picky). I just can't believe it is this bad. I'm going to try mess around with the adjustments tonight and if it doesn't get a whole lot better I'm going to see if I can throw my OEM shifter into the B&M bushings and get the stock feel back and just chalk it up to a $200 lesson. Lux, I don't know why you think I can't do this, but maybe I will have the answer to that in an hour or two.

Adam · 05-31-2005, 07:48 PM

I messed around with the cable adjustments and other things for about an hour tonight and didn't see much improvement if any. I looked up B&M's website and they said to expect a significant increase in shift effort over stock in the FAQ section. I'm guessing the cable driven tranny we have in the boxster exacerbates this effect. I'm really quite suprised more boxster owners who have done this mod are cussing at their B&M shifter right now. My dad tried it too and said it is pretty awful. It looks like the OEM shifter will work with the B&M bushings but the fit is tight and it probably wont center all that well or be smooth. My best hope now is too call my dealer who is 2 hours away and pray they can get some OEM bushings so I can go back to stock otherwise this could cost alot more than I planned on. Maybe then I can recoup my money back on the part but I really don't care much about that right now....just want my old shifter back. Charlie, I'm tempted to try your shifter but I don't want to keep throwing good money after bad or deal with sending it back. Perhaps I just should have been satified with what I had. Lesson learned.

porscheguy05 · 06-01-2005, 05:27 PM

I am sorry you had a bad experience. I had the opposite, and can shift mine with very little effort using two fingers. I also have no problems going in and out of all the gears. It sounds like something is out of alignment. I am wondering if either you got a deffective unit or it is adjusted improperly. I do admit that it was harder to install than I thought, but then again what aftermarket part isn't harder than expected.

Adam · 06-01-2005, 05:57 PM

I envy you. I wish I had the experience you had. I think my car is just allergic to the B&M or something because it is nothing like that for me now. Since the stick is really the main connecion to the car besides the steering wheel it can really make or break the driving experience. Perhaps there is a pretty large variable on how the kit effects our cars. My car was never as smooth from the get-go as another 02 S I drove. That thing was like butta and I have always wished mine felt like that but it just isn't going to happen no matter what. Alot can happen between a shifter and a tranny that sits about 5 ft away.

Adam · 06-02-2005, 04:19 PM

I am a happy guy again!!! I got my old shifter back...what relief. I used the rubber liners from the OEM and tossed them into the B&M bushings and now the OEM shifter with the B&M bushings works great!!! Just wanted to let you guys know it worked out and I appreciate everyones help in the matter.

Happy boxstering everyone, time for me to get back to what I love most.....driving!

Brucelee · 06-02-2005, 05:45 PM

That is very good to hear.

ENJOY!