Happy with the short shifter - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

blue2000s · 03-06-2007, 05:37 PM

Over the winter, I installed an ebay B&M clone short shifter on my 2000 S.

http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/8316-schnell-short-shift-kit-problems-you-get-what-you-pay-post70539.html#post70539

For $55, you get a very nicely made part with some second rate plastic parts. I replaced the nylon plastic parts with teflon and installed the shifter.

I've finally had the opportunity to actually drive the car around now that the snow is melted and I have to say, I really like the way it works. The gates are very well defined and the throws are nice and short. There is an increase in notchiness, but it's not objectionable. The feeling is much more precise than stock.

I know some members on the board have been disappointed with these kits but I am really happy with it.

blinkwatt · 03-06-2007, 06:33 PM

Did you flip the shaft 180 or leave it angled?

blue2000s · 03-06-2007, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

Did you flip the shaft 180 or leave it angled?

I flipped it.

It's really nice to be able to shift with the flip of the wrist. Maybe it will keep me from accidentally opening/closing the window with my elbow.

djomlas · 03-06-2007, 07:53 PM

i have the same shifter as well and love it, its very well made and with the flipped shaft its even better

for that little money you cant go wrong, and its much shorter of a shift too

Cloudsurfer · 03-06-2007, 10:51 PM

I have the Schnell and am very pleased. The only thing I'd like to do would be to re-bush the shift shaft into the body to eliminate the tiny bit of play that is there.

Patrick

Peer · 03-07-2007, 12:54 AM

I don't understand why anyone would lash out dough on something that is so easy to make yourself -- i.e., a home-made short shifter. This is just what I did, and then put on a knockoff MOMO knob:

porsche986spyder · 03-07-2007, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peer

I don't understand why anyone would lash out dough on something that is so easy to make yourself -- i.e., a home-made short shifter. This is just what I did, and then put on a knockoff MOMO knob:

That's not the correct way to make a short shifter. Cutting the stock one shorter, if that's what you did. The "short shifter" works more with the "angle and shape" of the connecting shaft than it does with the overall hight. That's the wrong way to get a short shifter.

Tool Pants · 03-07-2007, 08:13 AM

That is the way Porsche did it on the 2004 special edition. The shift lever is 1 inch shorter than the standard shift.

djomlas · 03-07-2007, 08:52 AM

yes they sure did it that way, but they only got about 15% or so shorter shift, compared to 30% or some, whatever it is that b&m claims.
heck, you can now go as far as to say that cuttin short the b&m shifter will be a good idea as well...

btw, did you notice much difference w cutting it short?

Tool Pants · 03-07-2007, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djomlas

heck, you can now go as far as to say that cuttin short the b&m shifter will be a good idea as well...

One of our local owners, Danny, did this. He cut maybe 2 inches off a B&M. I even pulled his boot up to make sure there was a B&M in there.

Now that is a short shift. Like flipping a light switch.

Peer · 03-07-2007, 02:19 PM

porsche986spyder wrote:
> That's not the correct way to make a short shifter. [...]
> That's the wrong way to get a short shifter.

Oh jeez -- I'm glad I'm not your son. Besides, it's puzzling that you own a Porsche since they seem to do most everything the "wrong way", including their own short-shifter ;^)

In any case, my shifter is now about 2" shorter -- slightly shorter than the palm of my hand -- just the way I want it, (it feels so good to be wrong ;^)

-- peer

porsche986spyder · 03-07-2007, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peer

porsche986spyder wrote:
> That's not the correct way to make a short shifter. [...]
> That's the wrong way to get a short shifter.

Oh jeez -- I'm glad I'm not your son. Besides, it's puzzling that you own a Porsche since they seem to do most everything the "wrong way", including their own short-shifter ;^)

In any case, my shifter is now about 2" shorter -- slightly shorter than the palm of my hand -- just the way I want it, (it feels so good to be wrong ;^)

-- peer

Oh jeez -- Sorry for being wrong. I was just always told NOT to cut them in order to make a short shifter. Seems kind of a cheap and crapy way to do it. I'm not the only person that thinks this. It may just depend on the type of car. Most people I have talked to about this laugh when they hear that someone cut their shifter in order to MAKE a short shifter. Just like cutting your stock springs to make your car lower instead of buying good quality ones that are MADE corectly. You don't have to agree, but just tell your local machanic what you did and see if they don't laugh at you.

Peer · 03-07-2007, 03:10 PM

Porsche986spyder wrote:
> You don't have to agree, but just tell your local machanic
> what you did and see if they don't laugh at you.

I guess most mechanics would also hate so hear that some of us work on our own cars.

-- peer

porsche986spyder · 03-07-2007, 03:56 PM

The reasons why NOT to cut your stock shifter to MAKE a short shifter. I did some research and found this information.

It's still not a short THROW shifter. When you cut the top down, thats the only distance that is decrease. You still have the shifter that's under the shift point to contend with. When you just cut the top, you end up using more force when you shift. Your fulgrum point doesn't change and you need more leverage to shift. The B&M and Schnell shifter made are true short throw shifters. The shaft was cut down by 3" AS WELL AS changing the fulgrum point to make it a 1:1 shift ratio. Hope this helps.

blue2000s · 03-07-2007, 04:06 PM

There's absolutely no problem with cutting the knob side of the shifter short to shorten the throws. It actually does reduce the throw length of the shifter.

It does, however, move the shifter further from the steering wheel and closer to the center armrest, which can bother some folks. It forces you to use a non-OEM shifter, which could bother some folks. And it doesn't get you the same precision feeling of lengthening the rod side of the lever. There is also a counterweight added to the short shifter, which helps to reduce the notchiness in the shorter shifts.

I use a Momo short anatomic shifter on my Rx-7, which shortened the shift throw somewhat and really feels nice, but in the case of the Boxster, I like the position and design of the shifter as it is and decided this route, which I am very happy with.

blue2000s · 03-07-2007, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porsche986spyder

The reasons why NOT to cut your stock shifter to MAKE a short shifter. I did some research and found this information.

It's still not a short THROW shifter. When you cut the top down, thats the only distance that is decrease. You still have the shifter that's under the shift point to contend with. When you just cut the top, you end up using more force when you shift. Your fulgrum point doesn't change and you need more leverage to shift. The B&M and Schnell shifter made are true short throw shifters. The shaft was cut down by 3" AS WELL AS changing the fulgrum point to make it a 1:1 shift ratio. Hope this helps.

When you cut down the knob side, you do reduce the shift distance, but not the shift angle.

The force you apply is proportional to the proportion of the distances on both ends of the fulcrum so whether you increase the rod side or decrease the knob side, as long as it's the same ratio, there will be the same force required to make the shift. The aftermarket shifters decrease the knob side AND increase the rod side, so they require more force than just cutting the knob side down. They also decrease the throw more.

CJ_Boxster · 03-07-2007, 04:51 PM

......everyone shut up about shifters already!!!! jk

God i can really go for some lunch truck tacos---