If you can swing it add the gate during the rebuild. If you can buy the package, I would. If that is tight, do the internals and the Seinie on top...for now.

The coupler is a no brainer with any system.

By all means catch a ride.

Wevos website has the gate package for $895 and at least from the photo it looks like that includes the WEVO Racing PSJ. Is this still suitable for daily driving?

http://www.wevo.com/wevogateshift.htm

After all this, I'm confused as to what the point of the $595 Wevo Shifter is when used with the Gate shift other than to give the shifter a spring loaded feeling.

The picture is inaccurate I believe. But Hayden can clarify that via the phone or here. $895 is just the internal gate, any coupler and the shifter is separate.

I have driven the Seine Systems. Had one here until yesterday that I had thought about installing but for several reasons didn't.

In comparison, there is no comparison IMO. They are both attempts to solve some of the 915's issues. Different approaches to the same general idea. The price points really are a reflection of the end results in this case IMO. I realize not everyone agrees with that view.

The Seine system is great for $150 and a good improvement on the 915. The WEVO is a better improvement, I think, if you can go $600. 4 times as good? For me, yes.

The WEVO coupler is a lot more than a coupler rebuild. $200 as compared to $25 for a bushing kit. My new OEM coupler bushings lasted 12K miles and needed rebuilding long before today by the looks of them. Which surprised me during the swap today. But technically the WEVO coupler is a much more definative and durable sysytem over the OEM part. Like I said before finally a after market parts supplier that has out engineered Porsche. It is impressive.

Hayden at WEVO talked me out of the coupler and the shifter when I discussed my project with him several months ago. "No reason to replace good parts." But he also said the internal gate would make the biggest difference in the feel of my transmission. Better yet it would add to my 915's life span. I though the gate good insurance for an already expensive gear box.

If the WEVO gate adds more than the WEVO shifter it should make the stock G50 pale in comparison from my experience.

I suspect the 3 together are really a nice combination. But you can easily mix and match the WEVO parts to match your pocket book and transmission requirements. I'll know by week's end.

Right now I'm wondering about the following combo:

Wevo shift coupler+Wevo Gateshift+Seine Systems shifter.

I suppose it's all guesstimation for now. Luckily I live near Smart Racing Products and the Wevo HQ so when I'm ready in 2-3 months to drop the cash, I'll be bugging them about details and a possible test drive in a vehicle equipped with their goodies.

Be interested in hearing your feed back after driving them. I think Jack Olsen has the Wevo Gateshift and Robotec.

May be he'll chime in with what coupler he is using and his thoughts on the combo. I saw in a search here the TRE/ Tyson added some comments that were interesting:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/105437-wevo-gateshift.html?highlight=wevo

"It takes a while to get used to the very tight pattern. The short throw is pretty neat........It is a lot tighter than weltmeister/ Seine systems combo or the Robotek set up"

Another good thread:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/96957-wevo-ultimate-shifter.html?highlight=wevo

Jack Olsen recommended the Seine Systems shifter before when I brought the topic up. At $142 it does seem like one hell of a bargain, specially for someone like me who doesn't race.

Jack Olsens comments about Seine Systems:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=128464&highlight=wevo+s eine

Yeah, I think the Seine gate thingy is better than the Robotek, and is also about half the price. No surprise that Seine has sold a lot of them. But it didn't exist when I bought the Robotek, so... I have the Robotek.

I also have the Wevo internal gateshift, but not the Wevo coupler. I'll probably get the Wevo coupler, at some point in the future.

The Wevo internal gateshift provides a great deal of precision. If you see one, you'll see why -- it's like the traditional Ferrar shift gate, but inside your transmission, where it counts. But it's hard for me to give hard real-life experience, because I'd be comparing my old, tired, 7:31 box with my new freshly-rebuilt one, which came with the Wevo gate already installed. So I've never had a clean and simple situation where I could compare.

The Wevo shifter replacement is supposed to be great, but its purpose is different than the Seine/Robotek gateshifts, and also different from the Wevo internal gateshift (although there is <u>some</u> functional overlap). If I had a dedicated track car, or just some extra cash, I'm sure the Wevo shifter would be a blast.

As I've said before, none of the above will replace worn bushings or magically transform a transmission that needs a rebuild. But from my limited experience, the Wevo stuff is very well-engineered and well-thought-out.

While no question the WEVO parts are expensive I miss the connection for a full race car to justify them.

I do track my car some but nothing as serious as Jack or some of my friends. The majority of use my car gets is hauling me around.

I added much better tires from track experience. Their grip will never be tested on the street. The 930 brakes already have. The Ricaro PP race seats made one of the best up grades in my car for stability and comfort on long drives, for passenger and driver.

I have never come close to dinging my transmission in street driving and liked the factory options just fine. Easy enough to change out a set of linkage bushings when needed.

But I also know the difference between a GREAT shifter and a normal 915. A typical Honda or Toyota gear box makes the '80s OEM Porsche gear box pale when it comes to "feel".

My point is we drop in after market Tbars, shocks, struts, coil overs and sway bars or a new 3.6, and big read brakes without batting an eye because we know we can do better than Porsche originally did.

Sorry to say all the short shifts and external gates are simply band aids to dated engineering and production abilities at Porsche.

WEVO costs are steep but the costs reflect the vastly improved engineering and production incorporated in the parts.

Bottom line? I think the entire WEVO parts set up is appropriate for street use. It will improve the durability of your gear box and more importantly it will add a great deal of pleasure to your everyday driving I suspect.

It won't help a bad transmission but if you are refreshing your gear box, any of the WEVO parts will improve a 915.

Does anyone have a diagram of all of these parts for a clear explanation of all the parts involved and what the NEW ONES replace for us dummies? Couplers, shifter, bushings, internal gates. Too confusing for us non-mechanics.

Might as well throw this in the loop (Fabcar):
http://www.smartracingproducts.com/ProdCat/Shifter/Shifter.htm
The most expensive shifter of the bunch. But they do not make it for 915's.

The difference in shift feel between a Honda and a 911 is the gearbox, NOT the shifter. I think Porsche owners obsess about different shifters because they're a cheap, DIY, slight improvement.

From various posts here, it sounds like Jack spend north of $5k for his modified 915. In the riceboy-tuner world, $5k buys a pretty nice close ratio dogbox, good for 400+ HP.

How about focusing on modifying transmission internals to fix the core problem, instead of worrying about shifter band-aids? The WEVO gateshift sounds like a step in the right direction. What about updating the synchros to a more reliable modern style? What other changes could be made if you were designing a modern performance gearbox with the sole constraint that it had to fit in a 915 case?

I know I'd pay a few thousand $$$ for a quick shifting, modern feeling replacement for my 901, that didn't require almost a second of nursemaiding to positively shift from 1st to 2nd.

Wevo seems to have done this, albeit for about $10k and a noisy gearbox though.

http://www.wevo.com/915SPEC.htm

rdane's comment was right on target -- maybe we can get Honda or Mazda to design a new tranny for us.....

Hey guys,

I don't have experience with the other systems, but I can vouch for how well the Wevo components work as a system. I had just the wevo coupler and the shifter until last week, and I took the opportunity with the tranny apart to install the gateshift kit.

I just spent four days on the track with the car, and the shift system is awesome. If you miss a shift with this system in place you should be ashamed of yourself. It definitely gives you all the feedback you should need when you are trying to put the shifter into a position it wasn't intended to go. If, when going for 4th from 3rd, you try to pull the shifter just a little bit towards 2nd (partially engaging the 1st/2nd shift rail) instead of straight back to 4th, you get a lot of resistance - good feedback to the driver saying "hey, this is NOT what you should be doing". I've already cleaned up my shifting and don't even notice the gateshift anymore. Now it is there just to save my butt instead of to guide me.

I drove a couple cars with stock (but relatively low mileage) G50's on Sunday afternoon. Man, it felt like I was trying to shift with a wooden spoon stuck in a bowl of really thick clam chowder. I can't believe how short and precise the throws are in my wevo-ized 915 compared to a G50 now!

I'd recommend the shifter and the coupler for "feel" and the gateshifter for tranny protection if you are a spirited shifting driver. I haven't read the whole thread through, so I don't know if this was mentioned, but wevo now has a tool that allows you to install the gateshifter with the tranny still in the car.

Now that my car is all back together, my offer stands again for anyone local to the Bay Area who wants to check out the whole system together in a car to take mine for a little spin.

Dean

I actually had a few minutes more behind the wheel this afternoon. I was wondering if all the hype was actually just in my mind. It aint.

Box is now better than either of our late model 2000/01 import cars.

Downsides....the reverse blocker took a little bit more (ten minutes) adjustment to get right. There is some little added noise in the cabin from the coupler. Oh, the shifter now has zero slop in neutral...which is an old habit hard to "shake" :)

So I found someone here in the Bay Area (Dean) who will let me try their Wevo system. I expect I'll be amazed on Friday.

Now then, who will be the jolly good chap to step up and let me try their Seine Systems setup for comparison? :)

A word of cautuion here. I and two, experienced, full time Porsche mechanics spent 5 hours trying to add the gate sysytem while the car was on a hoist.

I was told it was a two hour job by an experinced hand. Turns out at the moment, only Jerry Wood's shop has installed a total of 4 gates while the transmission was in the car.

While I'll not doubt that it can be done, I suspect Jerry Wood's has installed dozens of the gates while the transmissions were out of the car which would make an immense difference trying to sqeeze it in the inspection gate fom below.

Just my 2 cents but do it while the tranny is out. Because aferwards is damn near impossible even with Hayden's help on the phone. The current installation directions are for the transmission while it is out of the car.

I seldom give up on projects but on this one I threw in the wrench. I'll add it to the tranny when i pull the engine next month.

Yeah, if and when I do this, I'll have it done when the tranny is being fixed up anyways. And if I do end up going the Wevo Gateshift route, I'll probably beg Jerry Woods to do the transmission rebuild for me.

Today I drove Deans (dtfastbear) car with Wevo gateshift, shifter and coupler.

I can definitely say that with those 3 Wevo additions, the transmission feels *nothing* like any 915. Heck, it even made the G50 feel like crap!!

I think the Gateshift is overkill for my needs. I'll definitely end up with the shift coupler though, and I have some thinking to do about the Wevo shifter (as compared to the Seine).

Either way though, if you were to use this setup, you just can't lose! It feels even better than my previous 2002 VW GTI 337 with 6 speed manual. Absolutely amazing.