Not trying to be rude (since I am biased I won't respond directly), but there is plenty here on all the shifters if you search - as it comes up often.

See post #4 (However, this is for a 914)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-autocross-track-racing/486429-gated-shifter.html

Go to advance search and load JWest into the criteria field - Not User/Member field. Isolate on the 911 Tech forum. Plow through some of those threads. Unit reads to be superior to the others.

Sorry Jwest...I didn't mean to create an impression that your product was "unpopular" with other members....quite to the contrary, after reviewing your product as described on your website, I am very impressed!...and, yes, I will do a search.

Cheers!
Alex

I have been using the RennShift unit for a couple of years now and I love mine.

-e.

+1

It is a great product.

My J-west on my 911/901 Transmission is fantastic and easy to install. Ditto on the bushings.

Scott

The factory short shifter includes a modified "cage" - the pressed metal open rectangular part inside the shift tower. The cross shaft which goes through this cage, and through the shift lever base piece is located higher up than it is on the stock cage. And the cross pin hole in the new shift lever is also located higher up.

The result is that while the ratio of above pivot length to below pivot length is changed for the fore and aft motion, it is not changed for the side to side motion. Thus it takes the same amount of side to side motion by the hand as before. But not for fore and aft.

The Automotion style short shifter simply increases the length of the piece below the stock pivot system, so the ratios for both motions are changed. And, to accommodate the lower position of the final ball, the big bushing through wiich the connecting tube runs is spaced down by an equal amount. No such adjustment of this piece is required with the factory SS.

I don't know about the Rennshifter, but the WEVO, when I checked one some years back, did not include a feature to counteract the sideways spring pressure when in 1st or 2d gear. On my car, using a competitor of the Seine (which did not exist yet), I found that there was a whine in 1st and 2d. I could make it go away by holding the shifter a bit to the right while in gear. So I welded tabs to the steel plate on the top of the shift housing, and a hook piece to the shift lever, and duplicated what Porsche did for 5th/reverse. Whine went away.

Without this modification (which is found in the Seine), the ball end of the dongle inside the transmission which engages the 1/2 shift fork shaft is pressed against the forged notch in the middle of the shaft. Whether this then presses an edge of the brass shift fork proper against the ID of the operating sleeve in its groove or not, this at a minimum creates a vibration path otherwise not present.

WEVO believe this is immaterial, and it may be. I'd rather not have anything pressing on anything in there. If Porsche went to the trouble of the tangs and hook for 5/reverse, they thought something was needed to prevent this.

No, I did not take it that way - the responses just seem to always come in batches and I knew it had been discussed a bunch of times. I also did not want to come across as a jerk for just saying "do a search." :)

Interesting post Walt, thanks for sharing.

Ooops - in the 4th paragraph of my little post on short shifters, I should have said that holding the shift lever a little to the LEFT with my hand removed the whine which adding spring loading to get into the 1/2 plane can produce when in those gears. I typed right, but left is what I should have typed.

Walt's assessment regarding the Factory Short Shifter is correct and highlights the desireable side to side spacing of the gates. This provides shorter throws without narrowing the gates, lessening the chance of "miss-shift". The cheaper kits narrow both planes.
The Factory unit is the best shifter under $500.

I started with the OEM short shift kit, and had problems with quality control - it required some modification with the dremel tool to make it work properly. I suspect it was a manufacturing problem with that batch, and probably has been resolved. I replaced it with a Rennshift, and love it. In my opinion, the OEM kit, when properly adjusted, does the job just fine, but the Rennshift is like a fine watch - probably overkill for the street, but beautiful to behold and to use.

I found there are two keys to making any of these kits work their best. 1) replace the bushings in the shifter and the shift coupling, and 2) take the time to get the fore/aft adjustment (done at the coupler) right. It may take a few trips around the block, but is well worth the trouble.

Walt,

Thank you for the information!

Scott

Just to play devils advocate for a minute here. A while back I had looked in to putting a short shifter in to my 78SC. I did a good deal of research but never decided on one. I was leaning to the factory SS, i figured if Porsche designed it, it would most likely work. In the end of the day I was scared off by a few posts saying that the kits can cause the shifter to move farther than it is supposed to and thus put excess stress on the trans. I never confirmed this but it seemed legitimate. Can any one confirm this fact? Just figured i would throw it out there. If it is in fact not true I will defiantly be installing one some time soon.

Regards
Dave

There has been some cases posted here where the inexpensive kits have caused accelerated, excessive wear on the gearbox.

IMO, the factory short shift kit is the best option unless you move up to WEVO, Hargett, etc.

I have the hargett system. Love it! Doesn't look stock at all, but looks darn cool!

+1 and it moves the shifter to a within a very comfortable reach and makes for very smooth shifts.

I've used a Weltmeister, A Seine Shifter, and a WEVO. 3 different price points for sure, and they all actually worked well, but the WEVO was hands down the best. Completely changed the 915 into a different/better shifting unit. Much more precise and positive shifting, with a good reverse lockout.

regards,
al

Dave

I don't think it is possible to overstroke the operating sleeve. Once its teeth lock into the teeth on the gear, it can't go farther. Once you let loose of the shift lever, it isn't pushing the shift fork into the flange of the groove in the operating sleeve. The shifter mechanism has nothing to do with holding the transmission into a gear.

I've had a short shift, first the Weltmeister, then the factory, since the late '80s. I've had to change out some synchros and teeth and sleeves, but that's due to a lot of use, especially at the track.

There is a limit on how fast you can reliably shift. Any short shifter will allow you to push that limit more easily than with the stock setup. It could affect wear rates. But I don't see how the factory design would be more prone to that than othershort shift designs.

Looking at our hosts listings, there are a number of "factory" short shift kits;

- Factory Porsche Short Shift Kit (Factory Option M241), brand is O.E.M. for $187.00
- Shortened Shift Kit, brand is Genuine Porsche for $213.75
- Porsche Factory Short Shift Kit for $TBD

Is the O.E.M. brand listed as the Factory Porsche Short Shift Kit what individuals are purchasing? As it seems to be the featured item whereas the photo for the Genuine Porsche Kit shows the complete shifter and linkage system?