Last week when I was in CA I picked up a billet Short Shift Kit for my 997.1 Carrera S from Darin Fister over at F-D Motorsports. It's basically a knockoff of the B&M, and really a nice piece at a (REALLY) nice price.

I decided to install it last night, after doing a ton of research online, I thought I had it down as far as how to do it. I read a number of pages that showed how to do in the install without completely taking apart the console, just removing the front portion of it. Here's my advice on that, DON'T DO IT THAT WAY.

I'd planned on taking photos through the whole thing, but to be quite honest, I got so frustrated and ticked off I gave up on photographing it. So, to whit, here are my lessons learned and suggestions that I'd like to pass along to anyone looking to do the install, so hopefully you can avoid ending up fuming/crying/bleeding like I did.

1. Get yourself a trim removal kit. I got mine from USP Motorsports, and am very happy with it. It will save you a lot of headaches, pain, and broken clips.

2. Get some painters tape, and as you remove each trim piece, tape the screw next to the hole it came from. It will save you huge headaches later on when it comes time to reassemble things, you won't have to try to figure out which screw goes where.

3. Be VERY careful when pulling forward on the side trim on both sides of the center console. There are very sharp metal pieces that will shred your knuckles if you're not careful and cognizant of this. Side note: be sure to have Band-Aids readily available.

4. When you're pulling out the lower storage box on the center console push a trim removal tool into the top, there's a plastic bit (that you can't see) on it up top that needs to be leveraged down, or it will catch your panel that has the spoiler/PSM/Sport buttons and will pop the faceplate off and spew the guts of it all over your interior if you don't do this. Don't ask me how I learned this.

5. Contrary to a lot of instructions, don't JUST pull up on the shift ****, make sure you turn the plastic lock on it first (you can see it below the **** when you lift up the shift boot), it will come off pretty easily after that.

6. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT attempt to install a short shift kit without removing the entire rear center console (from the shift boot through the storage area). There are a number of guides out there that say you can install it without doing so, but you'll waste more time than you'll save. I'm kicking myself for not just doing so in the first place. I probably spent an hour and a half trying to shoehorn stuff into a tiny little hole before I got too frustrated and gave up and just removed the whole console. Once I spent 5 minutes (literally, it only took five additional minutes) to remove the rear center console it only took me another 5-10 minutes to complete the installation. Definitely kicking myself for not doing that from the get-go.

7. Most instructions tell you to use needle nosed pliers to turn the original bushing as you use a utility knife to cut off each of the tabs. I had the best look actually using the needle nose pliers to just snap off each tab, it was quicker and easier than using the utility knife. I also found it easier to turn the original bushing by taking a screwdriver and placing it on the tabs on the outside edge and tapping it with the palm of my hand to get it to rotate. It sounds confusing, but you'll see what I'm talking about when you try it.

8. Do not be afraid to do this. It's actually a lot easier than it seems, especially once you remove the whole console. If you do that, there's no reason it should take over an hour, in my opinion. Driving the car now, the shifter now feels like a beautiful, well-oiled bolt action rifle, rather than some old piece of vague farm equipment. Definitely worth every penny.

Hope this helps some of y'all out there!

 

Thanks for the tips. Would love to see some of the pix if you took any. Particularly for tips number 4, and number 7.

Congrats on the mod. I'm interested in the short shift, but am still in the 'researching who makes the best one for the best price' phase.

 

I tried B&M before on my 996 and I didn't like it. 996 and 997 use the same part. It felt notchy on 1st & 2nd gears. I ended up replacing it with the Porsche Short Shifter from Suncoast. It is a direct replacement so it was a breeze to install.

http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...=CarreraSSport

 

Had the B&M on my -06 and it was perfect. Snic, snic....smooth as butter. Installed by Suncoast incidentally. I wonder if the B&M kit gets a bad rap by some because it requires more work to install and people attempt it themselves and fail. The Suncoast tech told me it doesn't take much sloppiness putting the cables back on to screw it up. Small adjustments can make a big difference.

 

Another vote for the B&M. Billet B&M > plastic OEM SSK, IMHO.

 

is it okay to ask who is the preferred vendor of a good SSK, or does that go against a forum guideline?

I had seen a post about an SSK sale on rennlist the other day, (Numeric). It looked like a really well built one (read: expensive) and listed all the racing that use them in their cars.



Can anyone speak to the value, quality, feel, & cost differences between B&M Billet, Numeric, and the Suncoast options?

all the input and opinions are super helpful.

OP - do you think the new short shifter is a night and day experience when driving?

Does anyone have any input on some opinions that the shifting can be a little stiff or difficult when cold?

 

I have a ssk from gemballa, uses a different shift **** that goes with the kit, I like the look and it feels perfect to me, though I have no experience with the other ssk's, mine is also stiff when cold but I am sure that is just the trans oil needs warming to smooth out shifting...

 

+1 to the adjustment statement as it makes all the difference. When installing you need to leave to console off until you've driven the car and then made the minor adjustments necessary to get the shifting smooth. After you're happy with it then you can button it up. My 2 cents. I doubt the shifter itself, B & M or Porsche OEM, has as much to do with it as the adjustments do.

 

The Numeric is a thing of beauty, damned-near a work of art (and priced for it, too). The B&M is a great shifter, but isn't a complete assembly like the Numberic is. The Porsche plastic part I'd list as a step down from those two.

Yes, it's DEFINITELY a night-and-day difference and improvement. It's really an incredibly difference in shifting now!

 

Got together with another 997.1S owner today, and we got a chance to back-to-back compare my car's SSK with his B&M SSK. Long story short, we both liked elements of the other shift kit, but are happy with both.

Side note, I got my Dectane rear LEDs in today. LOVE LOVE LOVE love 'em. Totally changes the look of the car, really updates it, especially in conjunction with the LED DRLs. I think I just might have the other owner talked into getting 'em, too. Also, learned something: I was staring at them tonight thinking "What the hell is wrong with them? Why is the left one so much brighter??" As we stared at them, talking about how to let Dectane know there was a problem and trying to figure out what was causing it (we both agreed it was probably a resister going bad), I had a thought and checked, and yup, sure enough, I had the rear fog warning light on. DOH. LOL Once I turned off that, everything was hunky-dory. LOVE them.

 

when you say snic snic it takes me back to other cars with gates, i wonder is it really possible that snic, not being facetious here, i would lovve it if it is possible, i have a ssk from gemballa, posted a pic a ways back, the thing is, is it possible with the cables to get that level of precision? and if so, i may need to adjust my cables or whatever it is that gets adjusted, i just disconnected the cables and reattached and off we go, could someone let me know? thanks, kk

 

I can tell you, USMC_DS1 has the B&M SSK, and with his cables adjusted like they are, it really has that "snick-snick-snick" tight shift just like my old Ferrari did.

 

then this is good news, I have to adjust the cables...now, do I need to remove the console to do this? can't wait to get this right...

 

Yes, you do.