Short Shift Kit

[mpi115]

Hey guys, What's the general consensus on Short shift kits, Worth the $ for the performance you get from them. Im told Yes. I have a 78 Sc an as you know, there's quite a bit of play in the stick. Do these kits make a big difference as well as easier to engage into gears..Thanks

[IslandHopper]

I say hell yes. BUT make sure to buy the genuine Porsche short shift kit, it also contains all the OE parts/bushings to install at the same time and will make it feel the best it ever has. I just did it and its great. It wont help you "find" the correct gears really, only the centering kits help with that BUT it reduces a lot of slop so you are more confident knowing where to put it.

[Joe Bob]

Kits suck.....go with a WEVO shifter or equivalent.

[john walker's workshop]

hate 'em.

[dicklague]

the factory kit is OK. the Weltmeister if you can still get it is not.

Wevo and Renn are terrific.

Be sure you are prepared to replace all the bushings. The stock coupler wears quickly. I would look at the Wevo or other high end couplers.

If you use the Porsche short shift kit the shifting rod needs to be welded onto the lower section. They are just glued at the factory and they come loose. Not sure why they don't weld them.

[joefrantz]

I replaced all of the usual shift bushings, replaced the coupler bushings with the round hole type, and installed a factory short shift.

After 400 miles, I put the original shifter back in.

I definitely prefer the original shifter for its smoothness.

The bushing replacement, especially in the coupler, is what removes the slop.

The short shifter just reduces for/after throw length, at the expense of added effort.

[IslandHopper]

OK yes for $600 instead of $175 the WEVO shifters are nice... I work 1 mile from their headquarters and know of them well... that being said, they are over 3 times the price, the good thing tho is they DO have the centering feature I mentioned above that the factory short shift kit does not.

[SkiVT]

I added the SSk and replaced all the bushings at once. If I started over today, I would replace all the bushings first and drive it with original shifter before deciding on the SSk. The original shifter certainly feels "long" relative to modern cars. However when everything else is tight my guess is the SSk difference is marginal.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by mpi115

Worth the $ for the performance ...

What performance??

All they do is trade one factor for another, usually causing increased wear of expensive parts.

But - hey! - I have one - it is the factory version. IIRC, it is M241 or something. And I am very careful to shift easy and languidly.

Do not use any aftermarket parts instead. if you already bought an aftermarket shift kit, give it away to an enemy as a gift.


BTW - I am talking about Weltmudster, etc. NOT Wevo, SRP which are high quality replacements for the entire shifter.

[Arne2]

My car had the factory kit in it when I bought it. Not something I'd spend any money on if I didn't already have it. In fact, if I had the normal parts, I'd probably give them a try instead. The short shift takes a good tug to shift.

[nineball]

i guess i am the minority. i have the factory short shift kit and i love it.

[porsche930dude]

i have the weltmeister kit and it does the job. i dont know what everybody *****es about. Its just a spacer and a longer handle . how can the factory kit be so much better? I also have the seine kit now. Its like an f1 car compared to my 914 tail shifter lol

[rs6er]

I got mine from PMO 25-30 years ago, before there was a factory SS kit. I am seriously thinking of going back to stock. BTW, the epoxy has worked fine all this time.

[uwanna]

Originally Posted by nineball

i guess i am the minority. i have the factory short shift kit and i love it.

Me Too! Originally had a Weltmeister SSK, replaced with the factory SSK and then added
a Seine gate shift kit and the "coupler whisperer" bushings. I then liked it well enough, but wanted a longer shift stick, so I added approx 6" to it. That made everything just about perfect. The lengthened stick put the shift knob just where I wanted it. Without the SSK, the longer stick would have made the length of the shift motion ridiculous. It shifts so nice in a gated, precise fashion that I couldn't be more pleased!

[pinzy76]

My car had the factory short shift kit installed by PO. I did not like it - shifting felt very vague.
All the coupler bushings had been replaced and adjusted etc.
Luckily PO had kept the original shifter - big improvement when I removed the short shift kit and reinstalled the original.

[dicklague]

Originally Posted by rs6er

I got mine from PMO 25-30 years ago, before there was a factory SS kit. I am seriously thinking of going back to stock. BTW, the epoxy has worked fine all this time.

The epoxy will work great right up until it fails.......and hope it does not fail when it is very inconvenient!

We rebuilt my 915 with a Wevo internal shift gate, new synchros, new bearings and lots of new parts.

I upgraded the coupler and all the bushings and installed the Factory Short shift.

A day later the shifter shaft was spinning 360 degrees........makes shifting a bit dicey......THAT IS WHEN I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE EPOXY that bonds the upper shaft to the lower fitting.

yours may never fail. It may fail tomorrow.

I hear it is not uncommon.

I tack welded it with the shifter in the car [I had taken it apart too many times] can be done with a MIG and some welding blankets and being careful.

Just my experience.

[RSTarga]

I've for the factory short shift and it is very smooth. Make sure everything else is in good shape too.
I'm sure the Wevo is better but a lot more expensive to do right with the internal gate + the shifter.

[911pcars]

As supplied, the Weltmeister short shift kit is too aggressive in its zeal to shorten the throws. Combined with the modified geometry (equivalent to the FSS), WM also provides a ridiculously short lever to shorten the throws even more (34% vs 24%). The short lever makes for a very notchy feel and increases the effort. No wonder the complaints from many users.

That said, a longer lever can modify the WM feel to that of a factory shifter. An added benefit is that the shift knob is now closer to the steering wheel for better ergonomics.

I've tested a WM short shifter setup with a longer lever and find it duplicates the feel of the FSS. Adding lever length to both is even better, replicating the feel of the factory standard shifter. Bear in mind the longer levers in both examples also results in replicating the throw distance of the factory shifter, but the net effect is positive. The shift knob is closer with less reaching for all gears.

Factory standard shifter:


Factory short shifter with 3" (76mm) lever extension (Actually a splice extension for mid-lever installation; same effect as a regular extension))


Weltmeister short shifter with 5.5" (140mm) lever extension:


Wevo users can benefit from a longer lever as well.

Sherwood

[Driven97]

I put the factory kit into mine a few weeks ago and love it. A year or so ago I refreshed all the linkage, and it was in great shape. I found the short shifter makes shifting a lot quicker and more positive. I like that it doesn't alter the lateral spacing, and that it preserves the factory lack of self centering. I think that's important to the driving experience.

I'm holding on to my original just in case, but I doubt it's going back in.

[uwanna]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

As supplied, the Weltmeister short shift kit is too aggressive in its zeal to shorten the throws. Combined with the modified geometry (equivalent to the FSS), WM also provides a ridiculously short lever to shorten the throws even more (34% vs 24%). The short lever makes for a very notchy feel and increases the effort. No wonder the complaints from many users.

That said, a longer lever can modify the WM feel to that of a factory shifter. An added benefit is that the shift knob is now closer to the steering wheel for better ergonomics.

I've tested a WM short shifter setup with a longer lever and find it duplicates the feel of the FSS. Adding lever length to both is even better, replicating the feel of the factory standard shifter. Bear in mind the longer levers in both examples also results in replicating the throw distance of the factory shifter, but the net effect is positive. The shift knob is closer with less reaching for all gears.

Factory standard shifter:


Factory short shifter with 3" (76mm) lever extension:


Weltmeister short shifter with 5.5" (140mm) lever extension:


Wevo users can benefit from a longer lever as well.

Sherwood

What you described, is exactly what I was trying to convey in my post! Great pics, and makes the argument crystal clear. The only difference is I used a factory SSK instead of the Weltmeister. Lengthening the shift stick was the magic that made it all work! If you remember back to the VW Bug, the shifter was up there right next to and above your knee, a very comfortable position. Much higher and closer than a 911 stick. When I lengthened my shifter, it felt like I had regained that old comfort zone.
AHHH nostalgia.


"Me Too! Originally had a Weltmeister SSK, replaced with the factory SSK and then added
a Seine gate shift kit and the "coupler whisperer" bushings. I then liked it well enough, but wanted a longer shift stick, so I added approx 6" to it. That made everything just about perfect. The lengthened stick put the shift knob just where I wanted it. Without the SSK, the longer stick would have made the length of the shift motion ridiculous. It shifts so nice in a gated, precise fashion that I couldn't be more pleased!"
__