made my decision - bought the 03

[papyrus]

So I went with the 03 and bought my first 911 yesterday. 2003 turbo, 4200 miles (now 4900). I promptly drove it 700 miles to get it home. Hell of a ride. Totally different world of fastness. I would say having this car is extremely dangerous, but its so stable at high speed that it actually feels remarkably under control. A lot of similarities, believe it or not, with my 2000 audi a6 (2.7t 6-speed stg3). Not in handling of course but in rev-matching, turbo delay (lag such an ugly word) etc.

So I've had it less than 24 hours, and I'm looking to make a tweak or two. On my short list is a ssk. Reading the groups I get the feeling I want th schnell or the factory kit. I put a uuc kit in my audi, seems like a similar amount of effort and I'm planning on tackling it myself. Any kit recommends or installation warnings?

Thanks in advance...

[Eric (Plug Guy)]

So I went with the 03 and bought my first 911 yesterday. 2003 turbo, 4200 miles (now 4900). I promptly drove it 700 miles to get it home. Hell of a ride. Totally different world of fastness. I would say having this car is extremely dangerous, but its so stable at high speed that it actually feels remarkably under control. A lot of similarities, believe it or not, with my 2000 audi a6 (2.7t 6-speed stg3). Not in handling of course but in rev-matching, turbo delay (lag such an ugly word) etc.

So I've had it less than 24 hours, and I'm looking to make a tweak or two. On my short list is a ssk. Reading the groups I get the feeling I want th schnell or the factory kit. I put a uuc kit in my audi, seems like a similar amount of effort and I'm planning on tackling it myself. Any kit recommends or installation warnings?

Thanks in advance...

B&M makes the shift kit for Porsche....and we stock the B&M as well. Seems to be the standard in this market. Easy to install (about an hour), reduces throw around 30%. It is a bit more notchy than stock, but if you are used to short shift kits, you know that already.

Factory piece is nice, and comes in its own tower so you don't have to break out the old bushings to install. But it comes with a price, about $500 over the standard B&M.

[whall]

I installed a B & M shifter in my base MY03 Boxster yesterday - thanks for the great service Eric - and would enthusiastically recommend this modification. I spent the afternoon today happily short shifting on a covered bridge run in Bucks County PA with a friendly group of 968ers. The B & M does seem abit notchy, but in a positive manner. Shifting effort doesn't seem much different than the stock unit.

I watched (and memorized) the B & M installation(s) presented on the 9X6 Werks, Vol. III DVD. The installation went extremely smoothly and I would second Eric's one hour installation time estimate.....if you have all the tools, and bits and pieces at hand before you start. (For five speed 986 owners, don't re-install the green plastic part in the shift tower. It will interfere with the shift cable.)

Cheers,

Bill

Edited October 15, 2006 by whall

[papyrus]

I installed a B & M shifter in my base MY03 Boxster yesterday - thanks for the great service Eric - and would enthusiastically recommend this modification. I spent the afternoon today happily short shifting on a covered bridge run in Bucks County PA with a friendly group of 968ers. The B & M does seem abit notchy, but in a positive manner. Shifting effort doesn't seem much different than the stock unit.

I watched (and memorized) the B & M installation(s) presented on the 9X6 Werks, Vol. III DVD. The installation went extremely smoothly and I would second Eric's one hour installation time estimate.....if you have all the tools, and bits and pieces at hand before you start. (For five speed 986 owners, don't re-install the green plastic part in the shift tower. It will interfere with the shift cable.)

Cheers,

Bill

I put the B&M ssk in my 996tt yesterday. It went remarkably well. It's a good project to get your hands dirty with the car and learn a little more about it. I assembled the right tools up front (save 19mm wrench - pliers work fine) and just worked off the instructions. It'd be nice if I could've paid $10 for just the video of the install and downloaded it instantly. Perhaps $10 a pop for the various pieces in addition to the whole DVD for-sale would be a good idea. I think it would appeal to the instant-graitification rush-everything have-no-DVD-player online-or-nothing crowd. I could be way off-base, but I'm thinking there are a few of us in this demographic.

In any event I love the shifter. A few notes on the install:

1 - while tightening the lock-but for the adjustment grub (I believe those hex-headed retention pins are called grubs) I managed to turn the entire bushing in the plastic housing. The plastic is keyed and the aluminum bushing slotted, but with enough (too much) pressure the whole thing twisted. I imagine I sheared off the whole damned key, but it seems fine to me; don't forsee any impact.

2 - a metal nub on the stock shifter pops into a plastic rectangular guide before entering the white cog that engages the reverse cable. The b&m nub is significantly larger, but no mention is made of the plastic rectangular guide and whether it should be retained. I assumed it should be tossed, but was a little wary of the new b&m ball just banging around in the empty space like... ok I digress. Anyway, just to be sure I wasn't supposed to reuse the factory plastic deal I forced it onto the monster b&m nub with some pliers until it shattered into oblivion. Satisfied that I couldn't reuse it now anyway, even if intended, I happily proceeded without it. Seems fine.

3 - Amazed I actually had a permanent marker in the toolbox, I diligently marked the linkage cables before removing them. It wasn't until reassembly that I realized that I was supposed to mark the entry into the forward plastic shaft that is attached to the shifter assembly, and not the point where the metal cable entered the plastic adapter that (permanently) constitutes its end. It's definitely an asinine move in hindsight, but under the heat and ignorance of the moment I didn't know the plastic and metal were all one and didn't recognize what needed marking. It all worked out well - random guessing and intuition worked fine on reassembly.

4 - A little clarity or urging could be useful in the bushing-removal step. A note in the instructions to the following effect would be helpful: "YES... DESTROY a permanent piece of your prized automobile. I know it seems odd, but we want you to DESTROY this piece. All the white plastic involved in the bushing.. everything inside the black housing including the retaining clips, outer body, and inner sleeve, are free for complete destruction, Watts-riots style. Don't worry - we got some nice aluminum bushing assemblies we will be replacing them with. A utility knife may or may not work, but don't hesitate to combine that with needle-nosed pliers, toenail clippers, and a chisel as needed."

The final result is great. Much more precision and a feel that matches the style and behavior of the vehicle.

[SurfCityTurbo]

Me too!

[wachuko]

hehehehe... never mind my earlier post on your search for the car... did not see this one nor the date on the first post...

Congratulations on your choice! Starting to mod the car I see. Enjoy it in good health!!

[Viper TT]

Congrats on your new Porsche!