New shifter stuff

[Tool Pants]

A few hours ago. We put in both units. The shift link is a waste of money.

[mrmickeymouse]

Tool pants:

I am lost, put in what and found what ????

I appreciate the info though...

Thanks,

Scott

Edited July 25, 2004 by mrmickeymouse

[Lars996]

You mean - noch change of handling, by using this Alu-Part instead of the original plastic?

L@rs

[Tool Pants]

I should not say it is a waste of money. It is well made. I would like to see some proof to support the claims made about the EVO shift link. Plus, if it makes you feel better and does not make you fat....

We put in the shift link and B&M in Taian's 2002 2.7. First I put the shift link in while the stock shifter was still in the car. The female ball joint on the shift link is plastic - much to my suprise - I expected it to be made of metal just like the rest of the unit. On the oem plastic cable connector the ball joint is, guess what, made of plastic. In my opinion if there is a weak spot in the shift assembly it is the plastic ball joint. So the critical part of the EVO shift link is plastic. I will say one thing, the plastic ball joint socket on the shift link is a much tighter fit - that fact alone makes the unit worthwhile.

Once the shift link was installed with the oem shift lever it was time to see if we could feel any difference. There were several of us 5 speed Boxster owners there and non of us could "feel" a difference. I also measure the shift throws before and after and there was no difference, and EVO makes no such claim.

Once we were satisfied the shift link was installed and worked properly with the oem shift then we installed the B&M shift. This is the first time I have measured the shift throws on a 5 speed. First to second was reduced by 38.3%, and third to fourth by 46.4%. This is unique as on the 6 speeds the percentage of reduction is the same on all the gears. There are pictures of my measurements in the 996 section.

This is the shift link being installed on the oem shift. Once we put in the B&M unit we had to remove the green plate as the shift link was rubbing against it. The shift link comes with 2 set screws but there are 3 holes. We added a third set screw.

[sinbad]

Tool Pants - thank you for the excellent photos and impressions of metal shift-link. I was also skeptical of metal shift-link until I helped "boxer6" install Porsche Short Shift Kit in his '99 996 C2. His stock shift link showed considerable wear at the 2 O'Clock postion on the rubber housing (12,500 miles odo). The plastic socket seemed intact; however, if the exterior was already failing - I suppose with time the shift-link could fail. I installed that same Porsche Short Shift Kit on my '00 986 S. There was no wear on my stock shift-link (2,200 miles odo). Since the Porsche SSK comes pre-assembled in bracket with new shift-links attached, both myself and "boxer6" have spare plastic shift-links in case of failure - so buying metal ones would be a waste of money. :cheers: Cheers, you always well informative posts.

[Tool Pants]

The oem cable connector has a rubber coating on it, and I have seen a few where the rubber became torn. But when you clean the grease out of the socket the socket itself looks fine. I assume the coating has something to do with noise or something like that, since it is cosmetic more than anything else. On the next car I am going to play around with the shift lever and figure out if the rubber is hitting something.

When I started out 5 years ago the EVO short shift was the big thing. I don't remember if the B&M was out back then. The reduction on the EVO unit is not as much as the B&M. With the EVO unit the oem plastic cable connector is removed. The EVO short shift unit is all metal. This is why I expected the EVO shift link to be all metal.

[dj996]

I just bought a new cable connector for my shifter, as the old one has a lot of wear on the rubber exterior, I don't want to be stuck somewhere. The new piece only cost $16, far less than the shift link, and it seems a little sturdier than the original.

[jimlad]

I've just fitted my B&M short shifter today & I must admit to being less than impressed with the poor quality cable connectors that Porsche use, they look as if they are going to break any minute. My green floor plate seem to catch on the connectors & pull the threaded rod out of the casing so I have not refitted this, don't know whether I'm supposed to or not.

I like the look of the EVO connectors, will these fit the B&M OK & if so can someone post me a link to them please?

[Tool Pants]

I installed the EVO shift link first on the original shift lever as a test, then on the B&M shift.

You are supposed to remove the green plate with the B&M,

[jimlad]

You are supposed to remove the green plate with the B&M,

TP, I guessed as much

have you a link to the EVO cable coonector?

[Tool Pants]

The company is in the US. http://www.evoms.com/p%20boxster%20swiftshift.htm

Here is another version, from Agency Power.

Edited January 24, 2005 by Tool Pants

[Tool Pants]

Schnell has just come out with their version. Looks like a copy of the EVO unit.

[jmatta]

Something else to spend money on...I still appreciate my B&M, though. Huge improvement over stock.

[pifcat2]

Paragon has one too: http://www.paragon-products.com/product_p/ap-996-300.htm

[Malakas]

tool pants,

I have both the b&m and the Evo link sitting in a box waiting for install. Now I'm wondering if I should return it... (it was a gift). My biggest concern is the set screws - did you have any issues there?

Wouldn't there be some advantage to having the Evo just for increased counter-weight on the shifting mechanism?

[Tool Pants]

You got the part - might as well put it in.

No problem with the set screws. I did use loctite. Does the link still come with 2 set screws, but with a threaded hole for a 3rd? If so I would add the 3rd. Less of a chance of the link pulling out of the cable. You can go to a hardware store and match it up. It is a coarse 8/32 by 3/16".