I finished up my install tonight. I bought the 997 shifter assembly which has been discussed and written about here before in other threads.
I had wanted to do a short shift kit of some kind since buying my car a few months ago - and based on what I read here - I decided to go with the factory 987/997 shifter, instead of "true" SSKs like B&M. A relative of mine has a 996 with the B&M and I don't like it - it's very short but very stiff.
The stock shifter on my 986 base 5 speed wasn't what I would call "too" long, but it wasn't short either. I have driven a few cars with nice shifters recently - I test drove some RX8s and S2000s before getting my boxster and those cars had great gearboxes. I did think my cars shifter was a bit loose - perhaps being a 2000 with 75k miles on it was part of the problem - my shifter was simply well worn....
the install was pretty easy. I got the B&M short shift install instructions online which did a great job outlining how to get the shifter off and center console out. I took my time - I was so anal that I put most of the screws into little bags and labeled them so they would all go back in the exact same place, not get lost, etc... I also only worked on the car a little bit at a time, so I spread the job over several days. If you sat down and tackled it all at once, you could do it in a few hours.
Now having done it, and knowing how to get all the little pieces apart - I could uninstall/reinstall this part in an hour max.
Now to the good part. How does it feel? It's GREAT! It's much tighter than before. Shift effort is slightly increased, but the feel is better. The shifter doesn't have that loose/sloppy feel that it used to have - it feels more like a newer car - which I guess it should since the entire assembly is new.
the throw is not THAT much shorter, but it is definitely SHORTER. It's not lightswitch/toggleswitch snickety snick like a miata or anything - but it is noticeably reduced. I never measured it b/c I didn't really car - but it almost looks like the shifter is lower in the car - maybe an inch or half inch?
anyway - if you have an older car like mine, and have some miles on it - this is a great little mod you can do yourself. I ordered the part from suncoast and paid $169. Bang for the buck on this is off the charts.
Since the shifter is something you inteface with everyh single time you drive the car - you get your money's worth.
I highly recommend this mod. cheap, easy, and while it's not going to transform your car or anything - but you will notice it and like it.
thanks to everyone here for your threads on this topic - your help, suggestions, ejtc. this is a great board!
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