915 or G50 ??

[mpi115]

Hello to All..Very new Pelican here embarking on my first Porsche. Been searching 2 months now and have been on Information overload. aside from things I read and hear. I have an opportunity to buy a very clean low mileage earlier 911 3 owner unmolested. But im also looking a a couple of later models with the G-50 Trans..I hear they are Night and Day.. Should I be looking at buying the best car I find regardless of Tranny?...I know ultimately its my decision but send me some experienced thoughts..Thanks

[christiandk]

I have had 3 G5 and 2 915. All low milage cars. Like the 915 better. Seems smoother. It is also cheaper to repair if something goes wrong. Many G5s have an annoying rattle on startup in first gear.

I bet that others will disagree.

Get the best car you can 915 or G5.

[pors1968]

You should always buy the best you can afford.915 trans and clucth related are cheaper to fix.

[r-mm]

G50 owner and agree. Buy on condition. Globally speaking, all these transmission kind of suck. Sorry, just being honest. If you've driven even a humble Miata or its big cousin S2000, you know good shifting. All these linkage driven, 80's boxes are not god's gift to quick shifting.

[X JBM X]

Originally Posted by r-mm

G50 owner and agree. Buy on condition. Globally speaking, all these transmission kind of suck. Sorry, just being honest. If you've driven even a humble Miata or its big cousin S2000, you know good shifting. All these linkage driven, 80's boxes are not god's gift to quick shifting.

I agree with what the others have said - buy on condition.

The shifting in all these cars leave much to be desired.

My old STi shifted like a dream - the throw was about 2" long, smooth, but notchy enough to know you were shifting... ah the good ole' days... or something like that.

[Matt Monson]

Always buy on condition. Like Christian I too prefer the 915. Likes to be driven like a racecar. Learn to double clutch and blip and 915s are all kinds of fun.

[mpi115]

Thanks Fellas for your thoughts.

[COLB]

Plenty of afficianadoes claim to prefer a 915 -- some for the lower weight if nothing else.

But most preface that preference with qualifiers like "properly adjusted" or "well cared for."

There is also the qualifier "if you know how to drive one" the 915 is just as good (or better.)

A G50 may not be an intrinsicly "better" transmission when they are both in fine condition, but there is a clear inference that the G50s are a bit more durable, and you are less likely to experience a tatty one than you do with 915s -- where a significant percentage on the market are not "properly adjusted"or "well cared for" and therefore tend to be balky in and out of 2nd gear, and require things like "double clutching and blipping."

For some, there is a joy in mastering a finicky mechanism -- i.e., anyone can drive a G50 without grinding it. A 915 takes a more skilled driver to shine.

Just my take.

[Matt Monson]

Yes Colb, there is no denying the superior service life of the G50. I've seen original ones with 150k on them that we just changed a couple synchros on and it just kept going.

915's on the other hand usually need to be opened up every 50-60k. Don't always need bearings but almost always need new dog teeth and sliders.

Framed in that light, a 915 is not less expensive to own and maintain. If you remanufacture both gearboxes the G50 will cost twice the price. Depending on how the car is used and mileage driven a 915 might actually cost more to look after long term.

And there are a lot of poorly repaired 915s out there. When SCs and 3.2s were $10k cars guys cut corners on gearbox service all the time. A bad 915 is a nightmare.

[Icepack]

Bought my first 911 about a year ago. Started off looking at 3.2 915 cars because there are a lot more of them and all things equal the asking prices for the 915 cars were less than the 3.2 G50 cars. I was very disappointed with the shifting in the first couple 915 cars I drove. The owners drove them with ease but I couldn’t find 3rd gear. I started searching for a G50 car just to drive one and see the difference. I did and it was more like what I was used to (modern Hondas, Corvette Muncies, Mustang T-5s) but still not all that great. I wasn’t convinced the G50 was worth the difference in asking price, which seemed to be $3k-$5k in the price range I was looking. So I drove more 915 cars. It became apparent that no two 915 cars were the same. A couple of the 915 cars shifted as well as the G50. I attributed the differences among 915 cars to factory short shifters, which varied year to year, different aftermarket shifters, and varying states of misadjustment and degradation in the linkage. And most sellers were not very informed about what they had for a shifter in their car, which didn’t help. My plan, if I found the right 915 car, was to have a PPI to verify the clutch and synchros were OK; have the plastic in the linkage replaced and the linkage properly adjusted; drive the car and see if I could get used to the 915. If not, invest in a Seine or Wevo. Ultimately, I bought a G50 car because it was the right car at the right price. Btw – I looked for 3 years and drove 12-15 cars. My advice: drive a G50, drive several 915s, and make up your own mind.

[wally509]

Originally Posted by christiandk

I have had 3 G5 and 2 915. All low milage cars. Like the 915 better. Seems smoother. It is also cheaper to repair if something goes wrong. Many G5s have an annoying rattle on startup in first gear.

I bet that others will disagree.

Get the best car you can 915 or G5.

Not to hijack this thread but my G-50 car does this and has since I bought it a couple years ago. Is this serious and doing damage of any sort?

I ended up spending more for a G-50 car because the 915 equipped cars I looked at were pretty beat. Normally I had the owner drive me around first, then I would test drive. Most of these guys insisted on jamming them into first gear before coming to a stop and the 915s I rode in wanted to grind.

[christiandk]

Originally Posted by wally509

Not to hijack this thread but my G-50 car does this and has since I bought it a couple years ago. Is this serious and doing damage of any sort?

I ended up spending more for a G-50 car because the 915 equipped cars I looked at were pretty beat. Normally I had the owner drive me around first, then I would test drive. Most of these guys insisted on jamming them into first gear before coming to a stop and the 915s I rode in wanted to grind.

If you do a search on it you will see that it is pretty common, and does not affect drivability. Annoying though. C

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/267327-g50-rattle.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/328873-g50-1st-gear-noise.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/429322-infamous-g50-rattle-something-else.html

My 87 with 26k miles had it.

[wally509]

Thanks for not flaming me. I remember searching for info after I bought the car but had it in my head it was clutch / release bearing related at the time so I didn't search for the G50 part of the equation.

Thanks,
Walt