DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Whats peoples opinions on short shift kits? are they worth the money can anyone recommend one?

Steve

getting a wevo put in mine in the next couple of weeks, will let you know what it's like........

I've got one on mine, I find it really hard work. Really easy to crunch, hard to get into 1st It takes a lot of getting used to. To be honest mate I'm hoping to change mine to a standard shift, If you're not too far away, we could meet up and you can give it a try. If you like it, when I change mine you can have this one.

Opinion on Short shifts seems very mixed.

We originally fitted one to a SWB car with a 901 box just to reduce travel as when strapped in with harnesses we found it a bit of a stretch.

We also fitted an improved gate lock at the same time to help to avoid selecting reverse.

The change on the 901 is still slow but at least the gearlever is in easier reach.

I think there is a problem in using the reduced action as a 'quick shift' rather than a short shift.

You still need to be very deliberate and it is always difficult not to crunch the box when selecting first with a 901.

With the 915 we have used a couple of factory short shifts and I quite like the change that this produces but again the 915 isn't the fastest changing box in the world and it will crunch when you change gear too quickly as the synchromesh is relatively slow. (The G50 is a significant improvement).

Again the reduced lever movement is useful when strapped in tightly.

We have installed a few Wevo kits now and I really do like this conversion as the improved gate lock does work and the shorter throw is good, but it doesn't help to speed up the gearchange.

My main concern is how much I have to move the lever to shift gear rather than the time taken to shift. If I decide I want one is the wevo the best?

Steve

IMO short shift kits do make gear changing harder. There is very little springing to centre i.e. the 3 to 4 plane on a 915 shifter. The short shift reduces the distance between 1st-2nd plane and 3rd-4th. Combined with the weak spring it makes it easier to wrong slot and is a common cause of buzzed engines in racing. The 915 is a tricky box to drive well and needs double de clutch changes going up as well as down the box to get the stick moving. Personally I find that challenging and rewarding when you get it right. A short shift makes it trickier still and in a perverse way I quite like them as it adds to the challenge. BTW the G50 is a cinch to change gear with but it has a horrible rubbery feel about it. That's why the purists choked when it was introduced. Porsche seem unable to come up with a slick accurate shift . This is not helped by the rear engined configuration although I have never driven the latest water pumpers so cannot comment on those. But perhaps such a shift would not really be in character with the car.

the WEVO and the Rennshift are very nice units. Not cheap, but very well worth their money IMO

WEVO's gateshift is another nice addition to make your 915 shift better

they don't compare to the factory/weltmeister shortshift kit (which are not worth bothering, again IMO)

I love what the Weltmeister short shift made to my 915!

/jonas

How much are they?

i have the wevo gate shift and also the shift coupler but not a " short shift " as it were....they are both fantastic , especially the two together.....the shift coupler was like night and day when fitted after the gate shift......paul

Hi together,

am engaged with Porsche gearbox conversions for VW Beetle. Have developped an own shifter for this conversion and now also for Porsche installation. The shifter has an own aluminium casted housing and fits 1:1 against the original 901 and 915-shifters. The throw reduction against the 901 is a little more than 50 %. The shift ratios are 60 mm per gear. The shifter is working very precise and is very secure due to a perfect working spring gate. You can push from 1st into second with the 901, or pull from 5th back without moving the shifter sideway. The mechanism is doing the work very precise.
We made a final test in a 85 911 with 915 at a Porsch workshop near to Frankfurt a few days ago (at www.russ-automobile.de). The installation is very easy and the results are perfect. The shifter will come with a leather boot and an aluminium knob. The al. casted housing will be powder coated. The price is 495 Euro. It will be available from mid of April onwards. I think I can not install any pictures here, but you can see the prototype of it on my site www.bugat5speed.de under "Projekte/Schalthebel Porsche-Style". Do also have pictures from the installation. You can also call Russ-Automobile.

If you need further info, please send me an e-mail to info@bugat5speed.de, or give me call +49/6681/9170742