it would be nice if they offered one that looked a little closer to stock

I installed this Numeric shifter and coupler in my stock ’85 Carrera about a month ago. I’ve waited until now to write about it, to give it a clear-eyed appraisal.

TLDR version: It’s much more precise than stock and I intend to keep it, but I can’t say it’s better or worse than the WEVO or JWest equivalent products. The Numeric does what it says on the box. It takes real patience to properly adjust the coupler and reverse lockout. The throw-reduction is significant, making it obvious to anyone it’s a non-stock shifter. The solid coupler introduces a very slight gear-whine into the cabin.

Full version: I bought the Numeric, in part, because I have their 997 shifter in my 997.2 and love it. I also previously had a Wevo 915 shifter in my Spec911 racecar, which functioned perfectly fine. I chose the Numeric over the Wevo or Jwest for this car (the ’85) because I was curious about their new design and wanted a black, non-aluminum knob. The Numeric shipped quickly and the component parts all appear well-made. Out of the box, my only gripe was my unit arrived with the reverse lock-out installed on the passenger-side (a'la 901), despite my paperwork reflecting that I’d ordered a 915 version. Easy enough to transfer it over to the driver’s side (flipped), but I’m glad I noticed this before getting too deep into my install or it would’ve been a pain to R&R the whole thing.

Numeric’s install video for this product is helpful but imperfect. It deserves to be re-shot with an error-free script & much better lighting (not a flashlight in a dark garage please). The comments in this thread about how to initially align the coupler were also helpful.

I first installed the shifter alone, without Numeric's coupler. My stock coupler is probably original to the car. As you’d expect, this resulted in short shift throws that still had about a half-inch of longitudinal slop in the lever. Some may prefer to stop here.

A week later, I went ahead and swapped in the Numeric coupler. Like any coupler swap, this requires patience to get right. Tiny (and I mean TINY) changes in the positioning of the coupler translate into major changes at the lever. You need to drive around with two 13mm wrenches in your pocket and leave the coupler-cover and shift-boot off so you can adjust things repeatedly until all three of the following are true: 1. each gear is easily found, 2. the self-centering springs perfectly align with the 3-4 plane, and 3. the reverse lockout snaps into place every time when selecting 5th.

If you do all that, the result is very good. If not, you will likely suffer poor gear selection and embarrassing scratches (of reverse) when trying to get 4th. Keep adjusting!

Now that I’ve got mine dialed-in, I can honestly say this mod is a fun, confidence-inspiring upgrade over stock. On the road, every selection of 5th gets an audible, reassuring ‘Click!’ as the reverse lock-out does its job. And I no longer have any doubt what gear I’m selecting. The additional gear-whine noise from the solid coupler is noticeable even with the stock rubber boots and cover in place, but not obtrusive. I'd say it's 10% of what the noise of straight-cut gears in an old Chevy truck sound like, or, for a better point of reference, it’s quieter than switching to ‘semi-solid’ motor mounts. Sensitivity to noise is personal, though, so YMMV.

If I had to do it again, I’d order the 2.5mm spring to further increase the self-centering. I like the tall extender and wouldn’t want it any shorter. The knob is big in the hand (maybe a tad too big? maybe not "OEM+" enough?), but it feels good and doesn’t get hot or cold, ever.

As you can see in this pic, the i-beam shape of the lever is entirely hidden by the stock leather boot so it’s a moot point, for those worried about aesthetics.

Thanks for reading. PM me if you have questions.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1647636165.jpg

Mine arrived with the reverse on the opposite side as well and I sent a note to Numeric suggesting that whoever was doing their quality control or order review needs to be on the alert for it and didnt even get the courtesy of a reply. Unfortunately I spotted it after I had installed the shifter in the car. Another thing to note is that their knob only fits the shaft extenders. I couldnt find it noted anywhere on their web site. I too have a custom knob and had a machine shop turn down the long extender to stock size.

I just received mine in the mail today, can't wait to get it installed. Thank you for your write up, I will check my reverse lockout before I get too far into the project. Great idea to separate the install into two phases. I rebuilt my coupler from a year ago, it is tight, so I will proceed with the new coupler, but I appreciate your approach and detailed descriptions.

Thanks again,
Dennis

Mine is installed, but I’m waiting on my first start. I also have Wevo Gate shift in the gearbox. Will take some adjustment and getting acclimated to.

Video of its sound.

https://youtu.be/CHdfclbKtNg

I had rebuilt my coupler but figured there was enough variation between the shifters that old and new wouldnt match so went at it. Someone posted in this thread to put it in 3rd and then just adjust f/r. It save a lot of time. Getting it to hit their R lockout when coming out of 5th is the only tricky bit after that. Id hate to think I have a 6 speed

What side should reverse lockout be?
 

Working on this install now. I’ve watched the video and read this thread. I’ve seen some comment the reverse lockout is installed on the wrong side for a 915 transmission.

What side should it be on for a 915 transmission?
Mine currently is on the 5-R side of the shifter tower so I’m getting lockout on the 1-2 plane while towing the gears.

Is it correct to assume I need to re-install the lockout on the driver side of the shift tower?

Silly question but in the video Numeric did it appears it’s on the 5-R side but I just can’t see that making sense.

You are right, and their video is wrong for a 915. The reverse lockout mechanism should be mounted on the driver's side of the shift tower for a 915, so that it engages when you push the lever into the 5-R plane. Sounds like yours arrived on the 901 side. Just flip it and reinstall on the other side of the tower. Easy to do.

Thanks! Will uninstall and try to get this sorted tonight.

Mine was delivered, in December of 2021, on the wrong side too. I sent them a note on it but didnt get any response. Disappointed because its a great shifter. I feel these guys may be a one hit wonder.

If you're talking about the pushing the front-to-back shift rod goes through, someone did just that...and if I were a company selling shifter upgrades, I'd try to get these included instead of the stock bushing...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1117369-ultimate-shift-rod-bushing.html

I've always liked this video for adjusting the coupler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JDlBKERL3w&ab_channel=JWestEngineering

That is an excellent video. You can really adjust the coupler perfectly even by feel and sound when you can see what the movement is correlating to inside the transmission.

No, I think he is talking about ball cup setup at the bottom of the shifter with which the shifter interfaces.

I hate that interface with the soft plastic ball cup bushing. I suppose the only way to make that a U joint would be to raise it out of the tunnel. Would that even work? If the shift rod were straight all the way back, I guess you could spin the shift rode and thread it into a joint.

Edit: No, that wouldn't work.....when the lever goes to the left, the shaft turns to the right.

Hey. Need help desperately. I have a 915 box. I just bought the shifter from numeric. The reverse lockout is on the drivers side which I think is right. However how in gods name do you slide the shifter up through those two spacer washers without completely destroying the sides of shifter. The washers are not flush so it seems that you have to hammer it through to line up the holes and put that little rod through to connect shifter to base. Am I the only one having this problem. If the washers sat flush it would slide right through but they stick out little less than half way. Please help. Anthony

I installed mine a few months ago after letting it sit on the shelf for a year. Was frustrated with the video and was going to sell it. Happy I gave another try. Got the extension which helped with the feel. Haven’t gotten the reverse lockout to work. When looking at the factory shifter, the reverse lock is on the passenger side as is the Numeric. Can’t see how it could work installed on the drivers side??
Tony

I just installed it on my 72. My problem is the reverse lockout. The bottom of the shifter barely skims the lockout piece when I put it in 5th and it doesn’t even touch it when I come out of fifth into 4th. I actually scratched reverse when I was going into fourth. I realize you have to pull it down a little to the left when going from 3rd to 4th and the same pull to left from 5th to fourth. Does or did anyone else have this issue. Thanks. Anthony

Hey ton I just posted on this thread about the lockout problem. Did you get yours to work. When I go to 5th the shaft barely skims the lockout tooth and then when in 5th the shaft settles even further away from the lockout tooth. Have no clue. I played with that little Allen screw. Don’t really see what that even does. I feel the shaft just needs to be closer to the lockout. All gears go in although when shifting from neutral to 5th there’s basically no movement to the left when shifting. There’s no confidence in the least from 5th to 4th. Even 3rd to 4th is touchy and really gotta pay attention. Is it just me or others have these issues. Thanks

Nope. I haven’t done any more fiddling with the reverse lockout. Gave up and am just careful when downshifting from 5-4. My original 915 shifter had the reverse lockout on the passenger side. My J.West was also in that side. Really can’t imagine it would work on the drivers side. With the other shifters on the right, I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be on the right side.

It doesnt work on the drivers side. As I and others posted above, mine arrived installed on the wrong side. Its easy to move to the passenger side of the shifter. Dont risk hitting R from 5. Just move it.