Just remember there are two "stock" Porsche shifters made for the 997 and 987 (hence 9x7) that also fit the 9x6. One is the basic shifter (997-424-010-00) and the other is the short shifter (997-424-983-00) that geoff and I (and many others) have installed.

Both come from Porsche as a complete tower unit, including the alignment tool. The short shifter is more expensive. I bought my short shifter from Suncoast on special.

The B&M and knockoffs require you to use your existing tower and swapping out the stick. It's relatively irreversible as you have to destroy the original bushings.

Thanks this is exactly what I was after.

So how do you like the factory SSK over the standard 9x7 or in general; or as compared to the B+M? Is it worth it for the driving feel? I want to stay away form notchiness this time around.

Where is the best place to buy either one. It strange that suncoast shows the standard shifter as a different part number; I will ask Suncoast what the deal is.

J

I've tried the B&M in a 2001 S 6-spd and thought it was too notchy. I tried a 987 in the dealer lot and found it didn't do enough for me (throws still too long). I found my 9x7 Porsche short shifter on my 01 5-spd notchy at first but that was comparing it to the ridiculously long, soft throws of the original worn shifter. I've since grown to love it. Always remember that physics means the shorter the shift, the more shift effort is required.

Go into a Porsche dealer and try the shifters in their cars on the lot. They might have a short shifter in one of their cars. Check around TO clubs and see who might have one you can try. (That's how I got to try out the 01S B&M.)

If you're having shifting problems now you may have other things that need checking out - cables not adjusted properly, rear attachment problems, tranny problems.

And do a search of 986forum and renntech; there's tons of info.

As I said, I bought my short shifter at Suncoast on special. The other guys with great parts pricing in the states are Sunset in Oregon, but they got burned once with a guy from Canada screwing them, so now they want enough personal information from Canadians to make a privacy guru freak out. Don't forget you're going to pay brokerage and taxes at the border, as well as the currency exchange.

The one good thing about buying a complete unit from Porsche is that if it really turns you off (after giving it a real chance, of course), you can easily swap back in the original tower and possibly sell your new one at close to what you paid for it.

My thoughts exactly. I installed a B&M on an S and when I drove it, it was way too notchy and I couldn't tell what gear I was in some of the time. I drove another non S with a short shifter and it was fine. I purchased the Schnell short shift kit with billet linkage. I installed it all at the same time and have since gone back to the stock linkage. I could never get that billet linkage adjusted correctly and now it just sits in my toolbox. My mechanic also told me, he's never seen the stock linkage fail and it smoothes out the shifts. When I went back to stock it was smoother and I actually like the short shift kit I've got now.

Ahhh this is what was confusing; have a look at this link:

http://www.drivepoint.net/paddock/ShortThrowShifter.html

This porche short shifter looks like a black B+M. Very unlike the blue plastic of the 997SSK???? Are they one and the same?

:confused:

It is my understanding that the Porsche 986/996 short shifter is actually made by B&M. The Porsche 987/997 short shifter appears to be made by whoever makes the stock shifter, but the center section is made from bright blue plastic and has modified geometry for shorter lever travel.

Forget the colour! The B&M style, including knockoffs, comes in black, blue, purple and probably other colours.

What you should be asking yourself is:

Do I want a short shifter? TRY THEM OUT if you're not sure.

Which one do I want? The B&M style like in that ad, where I've got to do surgery on my existing shifter tower to install it? Or the stock units for the 9x7 that are easy to install and smoother shifting? And easily reversible if I really can't stand it.

That linked ad price is a joke. If you insist on the B&M style like that, I've seen them on eBay for as low as US$50, but again it's more work to install and notchier than one of the 9x7 stock units. And you can't go back if you don't like it.

I've heard of the stock 9x7 shifter going for around US$150 and I bought my short 9x7 shifter for US$280 on special. One of those will take no more than a couple hours to install, and most of that is getting the centre console off and on.

Bingo.

The 9x6 factory ssk is made by b&m and is anadized black aluminum. It is identical in geometry to the b&m. This has a 996 part number. Most of the knock offs are copies of this version. The 9x7 ssk is made from a blue plastic and has a 997 part number.

Everyone should keep in mind, the 6 speed in the 986 is a different transmission than the 987. So the any particular kit may feel differerent whether its in a 5 or 6 speed and 986 or 987.

Ahhhh thanks; yes so the black is actually a Porsche 9x6 model very much like the B+M i have now. ......finally getting to the route of it!

What I need to try are the 9X7s stock and short.

Yes I have a B+M now on a 986 s 6-speed. For some gear changes it is fine but a lot the time it is pretty notchy especially 2 to 3.

Great suggestion on heading to a showroom. Ususally they dont let you shift stationary cars

j

There's not much point to sitting in a stationary car and shifting gears. The car's got to be moving.

This ad just burns me up no end. This is a great example of how dealerships get called stealerships. Their "deal" is $670, with 40% off. So the regular price is over $1100!!!

You can buy the knockoffs on ebay for not much more than $50. Even if you bought it from B&M it's no more than $300. You don't have to be that handy to install one yourself; the B&M instructions are excellent.

$1100?? Come on!

Yeah in a perfect world the car should be warmed up etc but you can still feel the throw length and get a pretty good idea of shift effort.

No, you really can't. The gears and syncros have to be spinning or you can't tell anything useful.

No. My B&M shifts like absolute crap when the car is cold, let alone cold and stationary. But drive it around, let the car warm up to operating temperature, and the shifter feels completely different. You'd be hard pressed to tell it's the same shifter.

Their $670 price is With Installation.

I may be digressing here, but I find my B&M coupled to the 6 speed in my S to be very precise; albiet slightly notchy, but I like it that way.

I drive alot of other 98X and 99X cars as an instructor and always felt the throws were long and slightly vague...even driving my friend's new 997 CS.

Maybe I just got lucky, but mine suits me just fine and you're not supposed to slam the gears, anyway. I've tracked 911s for years and learned shifting is always a two step process to the next gear; works the same way in the Box.

Must just be a thing with the 2002 Boxster S's. ;) :D

I think it's mostly a matter of taste. I had the B&M on the same car as you do and was perfectly happy until I installed the 997 mechanism and liked it much more. I like the advise of trying it out in someone else's car to see if you like it, you just have to try it in a moving car with the same transmission as the one you're going to put the lever in to.

I'm not sure if it's been explicitly said or not, but in general the short shifter won't enable you to shift any faster. The shift throw will be shorter and the shift effort will increase. Basic physics, since there's no power assist on the shifter. The synchros in the transmission only spin up so fast, and shoving a short shifter into the next gear as hard and fast as you can force it won't do anything good for your transmission.

The main difference with the short shifter is feel. As many posts have pointed out, a short shifter is harder to use when the car is cold. I suggest you try a car with a short shifter in the coldest conditions you expect to drive and see if you still like it then. It all boils down to personal preference for the shifter feel, and Porsche, in their infinite wisdom, set up the stock shifter feel to appeal to what they expected most drivers would be happy with. The same rationale applies to lowered, stiffer suspensions - preferably by enthusiasts in the minority, but less comfortable for mainstream Boxster drivers.

In today's economy, dealers work all kinds of specials. If you find a good price somewhere for the OEM 9x7 short shifter, definitely shop around and see if anyone will beat the price. Your local dealer might surprise you, especially if you have been a good customer in the past.

If my local dealer were to come up with a "special", unfortunately I wouldn't be able to take advantage of it because I'd be dead from a heart attack brought on by the utter shock.